Why investors are backing Applied Brain Research’s on-device voice AI approach.
Updated
January 14, 2026 1:38 PM
Plastic model of a human's brain. PHOTO: UNSPLASH
Applied Brain Research (ABR), a Canada-based startup, has closed its seed funding round to advance its work in “on-device voice AI”. The round was led by Two Small Fish Ventures, with its general partner Eva Lau joining ABR’s board, reflecting investor confidence in the company’s technical direction and market focus.
The round was oversubscribed, meaning more investors wanted to participate than the company had planned for. That response reflects growing interest in technologies that reduce reliance on cloud-based AI systems.
ABR is focused on a clear problem in voice-enabled products today. Most voice features depend on cloud servers to process speech, which can cause delays, increase costs, raise privacy concerns and limit performance on devices with small batteries or limited computing power.
ABR’s approach is built around keeping voice AI fully on-device. Instead of relying on cloud connectivity, its technology allows devices to process speech locally, enabling faster responses and more predictable performance while reducing data exposure.
Central to this approach is the company’s TSP1 chip, a processor designed specifically for handling time-based data such as speech. Built for real-time voice processing at the edge, TSP1 allows tasks like speech recognition and text-to-speech to run on smaller, power-constrained devices.
This specialization is particularly relevant as voice interfaces become more common across emerging products. Many edge devices such as wearables or mobile robotics cannot support traditional voice AI systems without compromising battery life or responsiveness. The TSP1 addresses this limitation by enabling these capabilities at significantly lower power levels than conventional alternatives. According to the company, full speech-to-text and text-to-speech can run at under 30 milliwatts of power, which is roughly 10 to 100 times lower than many existing alternatives. This level of efficiency makes advanced voice interaction feasible on devices where power consumption has long been a limiting factor.
That efficiency makes the technology applicable across a wide range of use cases. In augmented reality glasses, it supports responsive, hands-free voice control. In robotics, it enables real-time voice interaction without cloud latency or ongoing service costs. For wearables, it expands voice functionality without severely impacting battery life. In medical devices, it allows on-device inference while keeping sensitive data local. And in automotive systems, it enables consistent voice experiences regardless of network availability.
For investors, this combination of timing and technology is what stands out. Voice interfaces are becoming more common, while reliance on cloud infrastructure is increasingly seen as a limitation rather than a strength. ABR sits at the intersection of those two shifts.
With fresh funding in place, ABR is now working with partners across AR, robotics, healthcare, automotive and wearables to bring that future closer. For startup watchers, it’s a reminder that some of the most meaningful AI advances aren’t about bigger models but about making intelligence fit where it actually needs to live.
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From pre-orders to market entry, Rokid’s Taiwan campaign reflects how AI hardware is being introduced to consumers today.
Updated
January 8, 2026 6:30 PM
Rokid Glasses, a pair of AR glasses from Rokid. PHOTO: ROKID
Rokid has reached a significant crowdfunding milestone in Taiwan. Its Rokid Glasses campaign surpassed NT$62 million in pre-order funding on zeczec, Taiwan’s creative-oriented crowdfunding platform. The campaign ranked No. 1 across all categories on the platform in 2025 and entered the Top 10 funded campaigns in zeczec’s history, setting new records for AI and XR-related projects.
The campaign launched on October 28 and became one of the platform’s most prominent technology initiatives of the year. According to the company, the outcome followed growing visibility for Rokid Glasses after product showcases in New York, Berlin, Singapore and Paris, positioning the Taiwan campaign within a broader international rollout.
The crowdfunding achievement coincided with Rokid’s official market entry in Taiwan. On December 10, the company debuted Rokid Glasses locally, introducing the product to media, partners and early users in the region. The Taiwan launch mirrored earlier international events and connected the online crowdfunding campaign with a physical market presence.
Rokid Glasses combine augmented reality displays with built-in AI functions, including real-time multilingual translation, live transcription, navigation, object recognition and voice assistance. These capabilities were central to how the product was presented during both the crowdfunding campaign and the Taiwan launch, without framing the project as a traditional consumer electronics release.
The Taiwan campaign builds on Rokid’s prior crowdfunding history. The company previously raised more than US$4 million on Kickstarter, where Rokid Glasses became the highest-funded XR wearable project on the platform. The zeczec campaign extends that track record into one of Asia’s most established consumer electronics markets.
“Taiwan has one of the world's most mature and discerning consumer electronics markets”, said Said Justo Chang, Head of Global Channels at Rokid. “Reaching the top of Taiwan's crowdfunding platform is a great commercial achievement. We are excited to finally introduce Rokid Glasses to Taiwan”.
More broadly, the campaign highlights how crowdfunding platforms continue to function as launch and distribution channels for emerging AI and XR hardware. In Rokid’s case, product rollout, market entry and public participation converged within a single campaign, marking a notable moment for AI-enabled wearables in Taiwan’s technology landscape.