Two former Meta interface designers have unveiled Sandbar, a startup reimagining how people interact with AI through a sleek new device, a smart ring called Stream. The company calls it “a mouse for voice,” combining voice note-taking, AI-powered journaling, and music control in a minimalist wearable.
Sandbar’s founders, Mina Fahmi (CEO) and Kirak Hong (CTO), bring deep expertise in human-computer interfaces. Fahmi previously worked at Kernel and Magic Leap, while Hong spent time at Google and CTRL-Labs, the neural interface startup later acquired by Meta in 2019. Their experience in designing next-generation interactions directly shaped Stream’s creation.
The idea for Stream began when large language models started to emerge, and Fahmi built an experimental journaling app. He quickly realized that traditional apps still required too much effort to capture spontaneous ideas. That frustration sparked a question: What if you could record a thought as easily as breathing?
Fahmi explained that inspiration often strikes while walking or commuting, moments when pulling out a phone breaks concentration. Speaking into earbuds also felt awkward in public. To solve this, the duo began prototyping a discreet conversational interface.
The result was Stream, a voice-activated ring designed to be worn on the index finger. It features built-in microphones and a small touchpad. By pressing and holding the surface, users can record voice notes or interact with the AI assistant. The microphone stays off by default and activates only with that gesture, ensuring privacy.
In a live demo, Fahmi showcased how the ring can capture even whispered thoughts and automatically transcribe them into the companion iOS app. The transcription was fast and accurate, thanks to sensitive mics and AI integration.
Inside the Stream app, users can talk to an AI chatbot that helps organize their notes, edit them, and summarize key ideas. The interface also allows you to zoom out and visually explore past discussions across days or weeks. Sandbar has added a personalization layer that subtly tunes the assistant’s voice to sound similar to the user’s, creating a more natural, conversational feel.
In noisy or public environments, users can connect headphones to converse privately with the assistant. Without them, the ring provides haptic feedback, confirming when a note or task is registered. This tactile signal allows users to add to-dos, take quick notes, or check off items on a grocery list, all without ever looking at their phone.
The ring’s flat surface also doubles as a music controller, letting users play, pause, skip, and adjust volume directly from their finger. This is particularly useful when your hands are full or you’re moving through a crowd.
Sandbar has opened pre-orders for Stream starting at $249 for silver and $299 for gold. Shipments are expected to begin next summer. Customers who pre-order receive three months free of the Stream Pro subscription, which later costs $10 per month. The plan unlocks unlimited chats, note storage, and early access to new features.
Fahmi emphasized that data privacy is central to Sandbar’s design. All user data is encrypted both at rest and in transit, and users retain full control. Unlike other AI hardware ecosystems, Sandbar says it won’t lock users in, it plans to support exports to popular productivity tools like Notion.
So far, the company has raised $13 million from True Ventures, Upfront Ventures, and Betaworks.
True Ventures partner Toni Schneider said he was initially skeptical of voice-AI hardware until seeing Stream’s demo. He noted that most devices he’d seen before felt clunky or unnecessary, but Stream’s interaction model “just made sense.”
Voice-AI devices are becoming an increasingly crowded field. Startups like Friend, Limitless, and Taya are experimenting with pendants, while Bee, now part of Amazon, has developed wristbands for similar use cases. Sandbar’s ring form factor aims to offer something more natural, a way to think out loud, anywhere, without breaking focus.
Fahmi said he doesn’t want Stream to become yet another digital companion. Instead, he envisions it as a pure interface for expression, a bridge between human thought and AI, built for those moments when inspiration strikes mid-motion.
Still, the path to mainstream adoption won’t be easy. Competitors like Humane and Rabbit have struggled to turn early buzz into long-term traction, while others like Friend are capitalizing on user backlash to refine their products. For Sandbar, success will depend on proving that its ring design delivers genuine convenience and emotional value where other AI gadgets fall short.
