Startups that are developing speech AI technology and its uses are in a great position right now. Bright minds of the industry, such as ElevenLabs and Cartesia, have been receiving generous donations in millions in recent times. Moreover, applications featuring AI, namely the note-taking app Granola and meeting tools Read AI and Fireflies AI, have also successfully caught the investment gaze.

Keeping up with this trend, the dictation app, Wispr Flow, excitedly announced its latest feat of securing $30 million in Series A funding. This funding round was led by Menlo Ventures with notable participants from NEA, 8VC, and other eminent entrepreneurs. Matt Kraning, from Menlo Ventures, who also supported the company as an individual investor, is expected to join its board. Since its inception, the total funding raised by the company adds up to an impressive $56 million.

The creator and CEO of the startup, Tanay Kothari, embarked on the journey of Wispr with the ambition to transform the way we type - by merely miming the words. The funds raised earlier were primarily directed towards this goal. However, now, their main focus lies in Wispr Flow, a software interface unique to their hardware.

The launch of their Mac app in October 2024 marked their first significant milestone, quickly followed by a Windows app in March 2025 and an iOS app earlier this month. One interesting fact shared by Kothari was the widespread usage of the product by VCs in Silicon Valley since its release.

The enthusiasm of these VCs had a ripple effect, leading to a surge in investor interest as Kothari comments, “Every Venture Fund in the valley is completely smitten by Wispr Flow. It's become an essential part of their daily routine, spurring a lot of inbound interest." Granola also experienced a similar surge, as it gained investor's attention since VCs extensively used their product.

Enterprising CEO of the startup, Tanay Kothari.Image Credits:Wispr Flow

Despite approaching profitability at their current growth pace, Kothari initially held back from raising funds. His vision was to mitigate the looming threat from Big Tech companies by swiftly boosting its revenue and market impact, leading him to welcome the investment.

Menlo Ventures CEO Matt Kraning excitedly discussed why he chose to invest in Wispr Flow. He said, "The app's ability to efficiently capture a user's speech and intent has the potential to revolutionize how we interact with technology."

As for the app's success story so far, it's gaining popularity quickly with a staggering 50% month-over-month growth in users. Diving a little deeper into their user base, Kothari shared that the app's reach was broadly spread with 40% in the U.S., 30% in Europe, and the remaining in the rest of the world. Remarkably, a noteworthy 30% of users come from a nontechnical background.

Commenting on the wide appeal of Wispr Flow, Kothari stated, "Our goal is to close the gap in the market and simplify the way AI tools interact with all kinds of users, so they don't need to write system prompts to interface with AI."

Presently, Wispr Flow offers support for dictation in as many as 104 languages! Shockingly, the majority of these (60%) are in other languages than English, including popular ones like Spanish, French, German, Dutch, Hindi, and Mandarin.

New funding will be used to expand their modest team of 18 by hiring for engineering and go-to-market roles. They also plan to craft an Android app and cater to enterprise consumers in up and coming releases. In time, they aspire to create an AI-powered assistant with Wispr Flow that won't just take notes and send messages but will also know your personal context and assist you with everyday tasks.