Sound-powered fire protection startup gets $15M to snuff out fires before they turn catastrophic; plus, Wispr looks beyond dictation

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0:45And while they can prevent catastrophic fires, the cleanup bills can be significant. But maybe not for long. Sonic Fire Tech is testing a sound-powered fire protection system, which it says snuffs out fires within seconds while also sparing properties from messy water and chemical damage. The company announced on Monday that it has raised a$15 million round led by the Ohio Fund with participation from Coastal Adventures. The startup previously raised a$3.5 million seed in October. The fresh funding will help the Ohio-based startup hire more employees and run the battery of tests needed to earn approval from the National Fire Protection Association, which writes model codes adopted by fire departments around the country.

1:38Approval typically takes about three years, but co-founder and CEO Jeff Bruder told TechCrunch that he thinks Sonic Fire Tech's process will be significantly shorter than that. A part of Bruder's optimism stems from the fact that Sonic FireTech's system does not leave a mess after a fire suppression event, which should speed up the process. The tests are conducted in a lab, and preparation can take hours. That advantage in the lab could pay dividends in the real world. Commercial kitchens, for example, can face months of cleanup and restoration following a fire. Some 75 % of them don't reopen.

2:17Sonic FireTech's acoustic fire suppression system uses a sound generator to pump inaudible sound through PVC pipes in the ceiling. When sensors in a room detect a fire, the generator kicks in and infrasonic waves around 20 hertz bombard the flames. Ribbington Bixby Hotchkiss, Sonic FireTech's COO, said, We are the only technology that creates its own suppressant without collateral damage. which false alarms are less of a concern for us, we deploy within seconds. That speedy response could stop fires before they cause significant damage, which has the insurance industry interested. The startup is in talks with insurers about whether the system will qualify for premium discounts.

3:03The insurance industry's acceptance could speed adoption of the company's product. The system also shows promise when applied to lithium-ion battery fires, which are among the most challenging to put out. In the few tests Sonic FireTech has run so far, Bruder said, we don't put out a lithium-ion fire, but we contain it. If we're able to keep the outer casing from lighting fire, we can potentially stop cell-to-cell spread and limit the size of the fire. Sonic FireTech is working on systems to protect the interiors of commercial buildings, kitchens, and homes, both for new construction and retrofits.

3:40The company has also been working on a system to safeguard the exterior of homes in wildfire country, though development of that has progressed more slowly as the startup waits for time at a suitable testing lab. In addition to quicker fire suppression, Sonic Fire Tech's system promises to lower restoration costs, if any are needed at all. Today, about 500 jurisdictions mandate interior fire protection systems, but Bruder points out that 50 % of home fires start in the kitchen, whether they be grease fires or electrical fires. Even a small sonic fire tech system focused on the kitchen could go a long way to minimizing the risk of catastrophic house fires, lowering premiums in the process.

4:25Bruder said, sprinklers that they're putting in now can't handle those fires.

4:33Whisper, a startup known for its AI dictation tool, raised$280 million in Series B funding led by Menlo Ventures at a$2 billion valuation, according to a company announcement on Monday. The funds will allow Whisper to increase its footprint as it ventures into new areas, such as meetings with its newly released note-taker tool. With this latest round, the company has raised$361 million to date. Its last round was less than 10 months ago. The new capital comes at a time when there is increased competition in the dictation space with apps like Willow, Monologue, Aqua, and SuperWhisper, among others.

5:14In addition, several developers are creating free or lower-priced tools for prosumers. Existing investors, including Notable Capital, NEA, NEO Ventures, 8VC, and MVP Ventures, doubled down in the latest round. The company also gained new investors, such as Accrue, Forerunner, Goodwater, Peak15, Together Fund, and Plus Capital. Alongside the funding news, Whisper announced it's launching a new model to improve the quality of speech understanding. For the last few weeks, several users have complained about a quality dip in Whisperflow's dictation output. The company said its new model, called Kanto, will reduce error rates from 30 % to less than 10%.

5:54Since last November, Whisper has released its dictation app on Android and has scaled its go-to-market teams in regions like India and the UK. It's also partnering with hardware makers like the Oasis Ring to let customers dictate on their devices without speaking loudly. Separately, with its meeting Notetaker, it's taking on others in the space like Granola, Fireflies, and Read AI. While Whisper's Notetaker can display summaries and action items. There is scope for it to integrate with other tools and make updates or create documents or email drafts. Last month, the startup announced Whisper Interface Labs under Aria Rastro, who was one of the people to work on Amazon Alexa in its early days.

6:40With this lab, Whisper aims to explore new interfaces for human-computer interaction. That's all for now. For the latest startup tech news, go to techcrunch.com.

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