Sandbar secures $23M Series A for its AI note-taking ring

Sandbar, a startup developing a smart AI-powered note-taking ring called Stream, has secured $23 million in a Series A funding round, bringing its total funding to $36 million. The ring features a microphone tuned for proximity, requiring users to lift their hand to their face to take notes, which signals intentional and private use. After over two years of development and a stealth testing phase, Sandbar launched last year to positive reception, with the first batch of pre-orders selling out and a second batch opened to meet demand. Users reportedly engage with the ring extensively, sometimes over 50 times daily, for tasks such as planning presentations, trips, or meals. Shipping is planned to begin this summer. Sandbar is currently focused on enhancing its app experience, including developing a web platform, refining the user interface, and reducing latency in AI model responses. The company aims to enable more interactive, multi-turn conversational workflows with its AI assistant, allowing users to clarify and expand on notes beyond simple commands—a feature