AI dictation startup Wispr raises $280M Series B at $2B valuation

Wispr, known for its AI dictation tool Wispr Flow, raised $280 million in Series B funding led by Menlo Ventures at a $2 billion valuation. The round brings Wispr’s total funding to over $361 million, with the company noting its last round occurred less than 10 months prior.

The new capital will support Wispr’s expansion beyond dictation into meetings via a newly released note-taker tool. The company also announced a new speech model, Canto, aimed at improving dictation quality by reducing error rates from 30% to less than 10%.

Existing investors Notable Capital, NEA, Neo Ventures, 8VC, and MVP Ventures participated in the round, joined by new investors Acrew, Forerunner, Goodwater, Peak XV, Together Fund, and PLUS Capital.

Wispr’s growth follows increased competition in the dictation space from apps such as Willow, Monologue, Aqua, and Superwhisper, as well as the emergence of free or lower-priced tools for prosumers.

The company has expanded its go-to-market teams in regions including India and the U.K. since November, and partnered with hardware makers like the Oasis ring to enable hands-free dictation on devices.

Wispr’s meeting note-taker competes with tools like Granola, Fireflies, and Read AI, offering features such as summaries and action items, with potential integrations to update documents or draft emails.

In July, Wispr launched Wispr Interface Labs under Ariya Rastrow, a former Amazon Alexa team member, to explore new human-computer interaction interfaces.