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NeoSapien Raises $2M for AI Wearables

In December 2025, the Bengaluru-based hardware startup NeoSapien raised $2 million in a Seed funding round. The investment was led by Merak Ventures, with participation from a roster of prominent angel investors including founders from boAt, Shaadi.com, and Pixxel.

The company is led by CEO Dhananjay Yadav and co-founder Aryan Yadav. NeoSapien is entering the “post-smartphone” race with its flagship device, Neo 1.

Unlike smartwatches or phones that demand visual attention, Neo 1 is a screenless “ambient” wearable worn as a pendant. It acts as a passive “second brain,” listening to daily conversations (with consent), transcribing them, and extracting action items in real-time. By offloading the cognitive load of remembering details, NeoSapien aims to build an always-on intelligence layer that fades into the background, similar to the vision of the Humane Pin but with a more focused utility on memory augmentation.

The new capital will be used to accelerate the manufacturing of Neo 1 and develop its proprietary “NeoCore SDK,” aiming to become the operating system for future form factors like smart rings and glasses.

Market Signal

  • The “Ambient” Trend: This round validates the growing VC appetite for “Ambient Computing”—devices that are present but invisible. NeoSapien is betting that the next computing platform won’t be a screen you look at, but a sensor you wear, directly challenging the smartphone’s monopoly on attention.
  • Competitive Landscape: NeoSapien is entering a crowded but unproven global arena, competing directly with US-based players like Limitless (pendant), Friend (necklace), and Tab. Its advantage lies in cost-effective manufacturing and localized Indian language support.
  • The “OS” Play: While starting with hardware, the founders’ explicit goal to build an “OS layer” for other devices suggests a long-term strategy similar to Android: proving the software on their own device first, then licensing the intelligence stack to other wearable makers (like boAt or Noise).

Key Details

  • Company: NeoSapien
  • Funding: $2M Seed
  • Headquarters: Bengaluru, India
  • Lead Investor: Merak Ventures
  • Founders: Dhananjay Yadav (CEO), Aryan Yadav
  • Use Case: AI wearables and ambient memory assistance

Written by Megan Harper

Megan Harper, Senior AI Industry Analyst at AIPressRoom, specializes in founder interviews and VC deal analysis, focusing on Generative AI. Her insights, backed by a decade of tech-journalism and a Stanford M.S., are cited by firms like Gartner and IEEE.

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