Wispr, a San Francisco-based voice AI startup, has raised $280 million in a Series B funding round, nearly tripling its valuation to $2 billion. The round was led by Menlo Ventures, with participation from several new and existing investors.
TL;DR
- Wispr raises $280M in Series B, valuing the company at $2B, up from $700M less than a year ago.
- The funding will support the development of its proprietary speech recognition model, Canto, and expansion into workplace productivity tools.
- Wispr faces increasing competition in the AI-powered dictation space, with rivals like Willow, Monologue, Aqua, and Superwhisper targeting similar users.
What happened
Wispr, co-founded by Tanay Kothari and Sahaj Garg, has raised $280 million in a Series B funding round. The round was led by Menlo Ventures, with participation from notable investors including Acrew, Forerunner, Goodwater, Peak XV, Together Fund, and PLUS Capital. Existing investors Notable Capital, NEA, Neo Ventures, 8VC, and MVP Ventures also joined the round.
The latest investment brings Wispr's total funding to $361 million and comes less than 10 months after its previous fundraising round in November 2025, which valued the company at $700 million. The new funding will be used to improve its speech AI technology and broaden the range of tasks its products can perform, including its recently launched meeting note-taking service.
Why it matters
Wispr is expanding as competition in AI-powered dictation increases, with products like Willow, Monologue, Aqua, and Superwhisper targeting similar users. The company is also moving further into workplace productivity with its meeting Notetaker, putting it in competition with services such as Granola, Fireflies, and Read AI.
Alongside the funding, Wispr introduced Canto, its first proprietary speech recognition model. Canto is designed to improve speech recognition in difficult conditions, including environments with background noise, wind, music, and a range of accents. Wispr claims that Canto can reduce word error rates from more than 30% to between 5% and 10% in the most challenging conditions.
Key facts
- Wispr raises $280 million in Series B funding round, valuing the company at $2 billion.
- Total funding brings Wispr's total capital raised to $361 million.
- The round was led by Menlo Ventures, with participation from several new and existing investors.
- Wispr's previous funding round in November 2025 valued the company at $700 million.
- The new funding will support the development of Wispr's proprietary speech recognition model, Canto, and expansion into workplace productivity tools.
- Canto is designed to improve speech recognition in difficult conditions, reducing word error rates from more than 30% to between 5% and 10% in the most challenging conditions.
- Wispr is also expanding its dictation app on Android and increasing its go-to-market operations in markets including India and the UK.
- The company is working with hardware companies, including the maker of the Oasis ring, to explore ways for users to dictate through wearable devices.
Context
Wispr is part of a growing trend of AI startups focusing on voice AI and workplace productivity. As the competition in this space heats up, companies are racing to develop more accurate and versatile speech recognition models and expand their product offerings to meet the needs of a wider range of users.
The launch of Canto and Wispr's expansion into workplace productivity tools demonstrate the company's commitment to staying ahead of the competition and meeting the evolving needs of its users. As the AI industry continues to grow and evolve, voice AI is likely to play an increasingly important role in the way we interact with computers and AI systems.
