companies

Sandbar Inc.

New York startup founded by ex-Meta engineers building Stream, a private, off-by-default smart ring for touch-activated voice notes.

Sandbar was founded by CEO Mina Fahmi and CTO Kirak Hong, who previously worked together at CTRL-labs, the neural-interface startup Meta acquired in 2019. The company, headquartered in New York, raised a $13 million seed round in late 2025 followed by a $23 million Series A in March 2026 led by Adjacent and Kindred Ventures, bringing total funding to roughly $36 million. Its debut product, Stream, is a smart ring the company describes as 'a mouse for voice': the microphone stays off unless a wearer touches a sensor panel on top of the ring, a design choice Sandbar positions against always-listening pendants and wristbands on privacy grounds. Recordings are transcribed into searchable notes through a companion iOS app, and the ring can also control music playback. Stream opened for preorder in late 2025 at $249 for a silver finish and $299 for gold; the first preorder batch sold out, prompting a second batch to meet demand, with Sandbar targeting a summer 2026 ship date for the ring's first units.

Headquarters

New York, United States

Sector

hardware