Superwhisper and Cohere Target Enterprise Market With Local AI Meeting Recorder

Toronto-based Superwhisper is partnering with Cohere to launch a local meeting recorder designed to attract enterprise clients by prioritizing data sovereignty, as BetaKit first reported. The tool allows users to record and transcribe meetings using Cohere’s smaller language models, which are trained with fewer parameters than large language models.

Under the new integration, Cohere’s Transcribe model handles the transcription of audio, while the Tiny Aya model generates action items and meeting summaries. A critical component of the offering is that the models run locally on the user's device. Superwhisper stated that this prevents data from being stored with the company, providing a distinct alternative to cloud-based services where data is stored on remote servers.

This shift toward local execution comes as competitors face scrutiny over data handling. BetaKit reports that Otter has been subject to legal action alleging privacy breaches, including a lawsuit claiming the company deceptively stored and recorded private conversations. Additionally, Otter was involved in a controversy at an Ontario hospital where sensitive patient data was accidentally shared with dozens of individuals.

Brendan James, head of growth at Superwhisper, told BetaKit that privacy has been a central pillar of the brand due to the sensitive nature of dictation. James noted that while the product previously had a meeting recording setting, it was primarily used by technically minded users. The company believes that offering locally run models provides a competitive edge over cloud-based transcription services.

Founded in 2023 by Neil Chudleigh, a co-founder of PartnerStack, Superwhisper aims to shift professional workflows from keyboard typing to voice dictation. The platform allows users to choose between various AI models for voice-to-text tasks and includes S1, a proprietary open-weight transcription cleanup model. To avoid being perceived as "invasive," the tool does not join meetings as an individual participant—a method BetaKit notes is similar to the "botless recording" approach used by Canadian startup Fellow.

Superwhisper is using this launch to pivot more aggressively toward enterprise clients. James claimed that professionals at Shopify, Meta, and OpenAI are already utilizing the company's transcription tools. While the company's revenue was previously driven by individual users, BetaKit reports that enterprise plans are increasingly contributing to growth. Currently, Superwhisper is not charging a premium for the meeting tool, though James indicated the company will likely revisit enterprise pricing in the future.