Wispr, a San Francisco-based startup that makes AI dictation tools, said on Aug. 17 it raised US$280 million in a series B led by Menlo Ventures at a US$2 billion valuation.

The round brings Wispr’s total funding to US$361 million.

Existing investors Notable Capital, NEA, Neo Ventures, 8VC, and MVP Ventures also participated, alongside new investors Acrew, Forerunner, Goodwater, Peak XV, Together Fund, and PLUS Capital.

The raise came less than 10 months after Wispr’s last round, a series A extension, which valued the company at US$700 million.

Wispr also announced Canto, a preview of its speech model, which it said can cut word error rates in challenging conditions to about 5% to 10%, from more than 30%, as the company expands into meeting note-taking.

Separately, Wispr recently released a note-taker tool as it moves into meetings, where rivals include Granola, Fireflies, and Read AI.

🔗 Source: TechCrunch