Former Apple Engineer Raises $5M For A Note-Taking Pendant That Only Records Your Voice

Taya Necklace is a privacy-first AI voice pendant that records only your voice — and just raised $5M in seed funding. Here's why it matters.
Matilda
Former Apple Engineer Raises $5M For A Note-Taking Pendant That Only Records Your Voice
The Taya Necklace is a voice-recording AI pendant that only captures your voice — not the people around you. Built by former Apple design engineer Elena Wagenmans, this $89 wearable just raised $5 million in seed funding. If you've been watching the AI wearable space and wondering when someone would tackle the consent problem head-on, this is that moment. AI Voice Wearables Are Everywhere — But Privacy Wasn't Keeping Up The race to build AI-powered wearables has been accelerating at a pace few industries can match. As voice-to-text technology improves, startups and established players alike have been pouring resources into pendants, wristbands, and clip-on gadgets that can record, transcribe, and summarize your day. Some are targeting enterprise productivity. Others are going after life-logging — capturing everything you see and hear from morning to night. The hardware is becoming more refined, the software more powerful, and the pitch to investors increasingly compelling. But so…