Ambi raises $26 million for AI app that listens in the background — TechCrunch

Startup Ambi, co-founded by former Plaud executive Peter Mo, has raised $26 million across several funding rounds. The rounds were led by Luminous Ventures, which has invested in Meituan and Unitree Robotics, among others, and electronics manufacturer Huaqin, TechCrunch reports.

Apps for Apple devices

Ambi develops apps for the iPhone, Mac, and Apple Watch. They can work as tools for taking notes during meetings, but users can also enable background context collection throughout the day.

The company says its AI agent will be able to offer recommendations during a meeting or display relevant information based on the calendar, meeting data, knowledge base, and web data. Users will also be able to start tasks on one device and continue them on another.

Plans and privacy questions

Ambi is preparing a desktop app that will be able to analyze a user's work activities and store important fragments in memory for personalized prompts. The startup also plans to release its own device with a screen, speaker, camera, and microphones to collect context and display information.

More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.

According to Mo, the background data collection feature can be turned off in the apps and devices at any time, and it is disabled by default. The company said it does not retain user recordings and encrypts data, but did not specify the type of encryption.

At the same time, it is unclear whether the apps and future device will have sufficient indicators to notify other people that their conversations are being recorded. Mo acknowledged that responsibility for informing others about background data collection currently lies with users and is an issue for the entire industry.

Ambi has more than 50 employees in offices in San Francisco, Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen. The company is hiring go-to-market specialists and AI engineers to work on speech recognition models.