Nirva raises $33M for wearer-focused AI pendant
Nirva announced a $25 million pre-Series A round, bringing its total funding to $33 million ahead of a planned November launch. Its first device is a jewelry-like pendant that can also be worn as a bracelet, weighs about eight grams and is priced at $249; Nirva says it filters surrounding conversations to focus on the wearer’s speech and does not retain audio or transcripts by default. The company says the companion app produces personal insights, reminders and emotional and communication-related guidance.
The financing backs a wearable AI product planned for a November launch, while its wearer-focused listening model and privacy approach address central concerns in ambient AI wearables; however, the filtering, battery life and data-retention claims have not been independently verified.
Ambient AI is having a moment. Amazon launched a new wrist-worn device with Bee; a former Plaud exec launched ambient apps through a startup called Ambi, which aims to also build its own hardware; and Apple launched Voice Intelligence features during its iPhone launch in September. Now, a company called Nirva is betting on a jewelry-like pendant and its ability to listen only to the wearer.
The startup today announced a new $25 million pre-Series A round, adding to the $8 million it raised earlier in the year from investors like Lightspeed and South Park Commons, bringing its total raise to $33 million.
Nirva was founded in 2025 by two former Meta Reality Labs employees, Wei Lyu and Jason Chen, along with Hanying Hu, who founded a fashion and jewelry brand.
The company’s first device is a pendant, which can also be worn as a bracelet. The device weighs only around eight grams, making it easy to wear all day. Its battery lasts up to three days on a single charge.
Longer term, Nirva aims to release more devices.
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