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AI-Powered 'Second Brain' Startup TwinMind Raises $5.7M, Leveraging Ambient Audio Capture

AI Speech Recognition Knowledge Graph Startup Mobile App Privacy Tech Innovation
September 10, 2025
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Article Summary

TwinMind is a disruptive startup leveraging the growing capabilities of AI to create a truly personalized knowledge assistant. Founded by Daniel George (CEO), previously of Google X, and two former Google X colleagues – Sunny Tang and Mahi Karim (CTOs) – the company aims to capture and synthesize information from your everyday conversations. The core of the app lies in its ability to passively listen to your surroundings via the Android and iPhone apps, transcribing audio in real-time and using it to build a structured knowledge graph. Unlike traditional note-taking apps, TwinMind operates offline, processing audio locally and storing only transcribed text. This approach differentiates it from competitors like Otter, Granola, and Fireflies, which often rely on cloud processing and aren’t designed to capture continuous, ambient audio. The seed funding round, led by Streamlined Ventures with participation from Sequoia Capital, is a testament to the potential of this innovative approach. The team’s prior experience at Google X, particularly George’s work on gravitational wave astrophysics, significantly contributed to the app’s rapid development and focus on efficiency. Notably, the startup’s use of a Swift native service and the strategic decision to operate without sending recordings to the cloud are key elements of its privacy-focused design. They are even using the extension itself to shortlist interns from over 850 applications they received this summer. The TwinMind Ear-3 model, with support for over 140 languages and a low word error rate, further enhances the app’s capabilities, highlighting the team’s commitment to continuous innovation.

Key Points

  • TwinMind, founded by former Google X scientists, is building an AI-powered app to passively capture and synthesize information from your conversations.
  • The app operates offline, processing audio locally and creating a structured knowledge graph, differentiating it from competitors who rely on cloud processing.
  • The startup secured $5.7 million in seed funding, demonstrating investor confidence in the app's potential and the team's expertise.

Why It Matters

The rise of AI-powered tools for productivity and knowledge management is accelerating, and TwinMind represents a novel approach by directly capturing the unstructured data of our daily lives. This has significant implications for professionals who are constantly juggling information and need a more intuitive way to organize their thoughts and insights. Furthermore, the privacy-focused design – prioritizing local processing and avoiding cloud data transmission – addresses growing concerns about data security and user control. This technology could fundamentally change how we learn, create, and collaborate, moving beyond traditional note-taking towards a truly personalized and dynamic knowledge system. It’s a compelling example of how Google X’s research and innovation can be applied in a commercially viable and impactful way.

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