In 2022, Rewind had recently secured a substantial $10 million investment from A16Z. The company was diligently working on developing a cutting-edge personal data recording service. This innovative service aimed to provide users with the ability to confidentially record their own activities and effortlessly search through their personal histories. However, everything changed when OpenAI introduced ChatGPT.
Today, generative AI has the capability to enhance the usefulness of what Rewind had previously built—a searchable record of your activity. It’s not unexpected to witness the startup shifting its focus to incorporate AI more extensively into its product. The company has recently undergone a rebranding, now known as “Limitless.” They have incorporated an AI-powered advanced meeting suite into their new offerings. Additionally, they have also developed a hardware pendant that has the capability to record conversations.
In October of last year, Dan Siroker, one of the co-founders of the company, introduced the concept of a pendant that can record conversations. The company then made this innovative device available for purchase at a price of $59. In January, he announced that the company had completed the design and plans to deliver the product in the fourth quarter of 2024.
Siroker shared the final design this week, along with the announcement of the company’s pivot. The company recently posted a $99 pendant on X. The company is currently accepting preorders and plans to ship the initial batch in August. Siroker mentioned that the company intends to fulfill the initial preorders at a price of $59. Earlier on Wednesday, he shared that the startup has already received an impressive number of over 10,000 preorders for the product.
We are currently exploring the product features and the pivot.
The Limitless pendant has a variety of attachment options, allowing you to effortlessly secure it to your shirt like a wireless mic or wear it as a necklace by tying it with a string. This convenient device enables you to discreetly record conversations. The main purpose is to record and transcribe meetings, eliminating the need for note-taking. They tout the device’s weather-proof design, 100-hour battery life, and convenient USB-C charging capabilities.
The hardware also features a “consent mode,” which prevents recording the other person in the conversation unless they explicitly consent. This mode’s default setting remains unclear.
The company has developed an app that allows users to record meetings, which is currently available on the web, Mac, and Windows platforms. Users can already access the app, even though the hardware product is still a few months away from shipping. For recording, the app uses system audio and a microphone, eliminating the need for a bot to join these meetings.
The app includes features similar to those found in popular meeting tools such as Otter, Zoom, TimeOS, and TLDV. Siroker told Eltrys that the company aims to differentiate itself by providing features like instant automated notes and automatically generated meeting briefs that consider participants and previous meetings.
The app is available at no cost and includes unlimited audio storage. Additionally, users can enjoy 10 hours per month of AI features such as transcription, summary, and notes. Our AI features are available for a monthly subscription of $29, or you can save by paying an annual fee of $19 per month.
Siroker highlighted a key feature of the company’s latest offering: a secure cloud product that safeguards data through encryption. Previously, users primarily used Rewind within a specific location. However, with the introduction of the cloud, users now have the convenience of accessing their data from anywhere.
According to Siroker, the company enlisted Leviathan Security Group’s services to conduct an independent audit of its solution in order to assess its security measures.
Confidential clouds may seem contradictory, but they are not. Privacy is a fundamental aspect of its design. With our software provider, your employer, and the government, your data remains secure and inaccessible without your consent, even in the face of a subpoena. According to him, the decryption of your data is solely under your control, as he mentioned to Eltrys.
The path forward
Rewind’s website proudly states that it has secured an impressive $33 million in funding from esteemed investors such as a16z, First Round Capital, and NEA. The company stated that it did not utilize any funds from the previous year’s unique Series A round, which involved reaching out to investors through a video on X. As a result, the company has no intentions of seeking additional funding.
The company has confirmed that it will maintain support for Rewind in its current state without actively introducing any new features. The startup has decided not to deliver the Windows app it had previously committed to creating last year.
“There are currently no plans to shut down or merge Rewind into Limitless.” Siroker mentioned that they intend to incorporate several popular Rewind features directly into Limitless, which is exciting news for our users.
Users have the option to use both products simultaneously and determine their preference. We hope that, in due course, they will come to see the superiority of the limitless approach and choose to use it exclusively.
The company has announced that the hardware product will utilize an AI-powered bot to provide answers. The bot will achieve this by analyzing meeting recordings, connecting with personal accounts, and accessing information from the web. In addition, developers will have the opportunity to create apps or experiences that revolve around the product.
However, Limitless has the broader objective of creating AI agents that can perform tasks on your behalf. It appears to be the dominant pattern for AI-related startups. Humane and Rabbit, two hardware startups, are developing devices embedded with advanced AI tools. These devices aim to efficiently handle various tasks on your behalf.
Some browsers, such as Arc by The Browser Company and Sigma OS, backed by YC, are developing agents that can browse the web on your behalf. However, the output AI bots generate frequently contains numerous errors, making it challenging to accurately understand the context and intentions of your query. AI-powered agents performing tasks on your behalf certainly seems like a fascinating concept, although it may take some time before it becomes a reality.
