Superwhisper and Cohere Launch Local Meeting Recorder to Target Enterprise Market
AI-generated image · Bay Street Wire
By leveraging small language models that run locally on devices, the Toronto-based partners aim to bypass the privacy and security risks associated with cloud-based meeting assistants.
Toronto-based Superwhisper is partnering with Cohere to launch a local meeting recorder designed to challenge enterprise competitors like Otter and Granola, BetaKit reports. The tool utilizes Cohere's small language models—specifically the Transcribe model for transcription and the Tiny Aya model for summaries and action items—to process data locally on a user's device.
According to BetaKit, this local execution ensures data is not stored with Superwhisper, addressing a critical security pain point. The company highlighted this as a competitive advantage over cloud-based services. BetaKit noted that Otter has faced legal action over alleged privacy breaches and was involved in a controversy involving the accidental sharing of sensitive patient data at an Ontario hospital.
Founded in 2023 by Neil Chudleigh, a co-founder of PartnerStack, Superwhisper aims to shift user workflows from keyboards to voice dictation. Brendan James, Superwhisper's head of growth, told BetaKit that the tool is a strategic move to attract more enterprise clients, noting that the company already has users at Shopify, Meta, and OpenAI.
Unlike many meeting assistants, the tool does not join calls as a participant, a "botless recording" approach similar to that of startup Fellow. James stated that the team avoided the participant-bot model because they find it "invasive."
While Superwhisper previously relied heavily on individual users, James told BetaKit that revenue has increasingly shifted toward enterprise plans. Currently, the company is not charging a premium for the meeting tool, though James indicated that enterprise pricing will likely be revisited in the future.