Meta has announced its acquisition of Limitless, a US-based startup known for its AI-powered wearable pendant designed to record and summarize conversations. While the financial details of the deal were not disclosed, the move marks a significant step in Meta’s strategy to dominate the emerging AI-enabled wearables market.
The Limitless team is set to join Meta’s Reality Labs division, which focuses on AR/AI glasses and other futuristic hardware.
A Shared Vision for AI Wearables
The acquisition is rooted in a shared ambition to develop personal “superintelligence.” Dan Siroker, CEO and co-founder of Limitless, explained the rationale behind joining the tech giant.
“Meta recently announced a new vision to bring personal superintelligence to everyone and a key part of that vision is building incredible AI-enabled wearables,” Siroker stated. “We share this vision and we’ll be joining Meta to help bring our shared vision to life.”
A spokesperson for Meta echoed this sentiment, confirming the company’s enthusiasm for the new addition. “We’re excited that Limitless will be joining Meta to help accelerate our work to build AI-enabled wearables.”
The Future of the Limitless Pendant
For existing customers of the Limitless Pendant, the company will continue to provide support for at least another year. However, it will no longer sell the hardware to new customers.
In a move to ease the transition, current users will no longer need to pay a subscription fee and will be upgraded to the Unlimited Plan for free. The company also announced it will be sunsetting its non-pendant software, “Rewind,” which recorded users’ desktop activity.
Relevance for the MENA Tech Scene
This acquisition by a global tech titan like Meta sends strong signals to the MENA startup ecosystem. For founders and VCs in the region, it validates the growing market for specialized AI hardware and wearables, a sector that is still nascent in MENA.
The deal underscores the immense appetite of major corporations for innovative AI startups, highlighting lucrative exit opportunities for regional companies that can build unique and defensible technology. It serves as an encouragement for MENA-based entrepreneurs in the AI, IoT, and hardware spaces, proving that groundbreaking ideas can attract global attention and investment, regardless of their origin. This trend of integrating sophisticated AI into everyday devices offers a clear roadmap for product developers across the region looking to build the next generation of consumer tech.
About Limitless
Limitless, formerly known as Rewind, is a US-based startup that developed an AI-powered wearable pendant designed to capture, transcribe, and summarize real-world conversations and meetings. Founded by Dan Siroker and Brett Bejcek, the company aimed to augment human memory and productivity through its AI hardware and software solutions. Prior to its acquisition, Limitless had raised approximately $33 million in funding from prominent investors including Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), First Round Capital, and NEA.
Source: Al-Ain
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