AI Hardware Startups Raise Funds for Pendant, Coffee Device and Desktop CNC

Nirva says the device is designed to listen passively to the wearer’s own speech, not to serve as a voice recorder or meeting note-taker. During onboarding, users record snippets of their voice; the device then filters out conversations and data from people around them and by default does not retain audio or transcripts after processing, according to TechCrunch. Its app surfaces insights about emotions and communication style. “This is a piece of jewelry that only focuses on listening to your own speech,” Lyu told TechCrunch. The company will offer silver, brushed silver, black and gold versions and aims to ship to early users by the end of the year. Nirva enters a field that includes Taya, Friend and Bee, TechCrunch reported.

In China, Leiphone reported that Geometry Logic, a smart-hardware company founded by former Laifen vice president Shao Shili, has completed several financing rounds and plans to show a compact AI coffee device at CES in early 2027 and start crowdfunding presales at the same time. The company completed a business registration change in July and received angel investment from Yunhui Capital and Biyi Group; the amount was not disclosed, and Leiphone reported an expected valuation of several hundred million yuan. Biyi Group’s subsidiary is a listed company focused on coffee hardware and has supply-chain resources.

Shao, a Yale PhD, previously led product and market front-end work at Laifen, including overseas markets and new categories such as shavers, and was global marketing and strategy director at Cloud Whale, Leiphone reported. Its R&D head has worked on core product lines at Apple and Dyson, its supply-chain head built a multibillion-yuan business-unit supply chain at Philips, and its marketing team includes people from Heytea, Pop Mart and Nestle, according to the report. The first product is a highly integrated, miniaturized coffee hardware with AI functions, with a form different from existing products; it is planned for car, outdoor and small restaurant B-end scenarios. Leiphone reported that the global coffee-machine market is worth more than $10 billion, larger than the robot-vacuum market, and that nearly 80% of coffee machines are made in China, while overseas high-end sales are held by Delonghi, Philips and Breville.

Separately, Leiphone reported that desktop CNC startup Lingju Innovation, which uses the brand CubiFab, raised tens of millions of yuan in an angel round from Nanshan Zhanxintou and Longhua Capital, after a seed round from Qifu Capital. Its first product, CubiFab C1, is a personal CNC workstation with ±0.01 mm machining accuracy, AI process assistance and automated vision-based tool changes; it uses modular hardware for multiple materials and is aimed at home and small-batch manufacturing. The company will launch C1 on Kickstarter in November 2026 and use proceeds for initial capacity, global logistics and service, and product and process iteration, Leiphone reported. Its core team includes people from Intel, Apple, DJI, Anker and Bambu Lab.

Leiphone also published an interview with Rian, founder of Flowtica, whose AI pen Scribe raised $330,000 on Kickstarter and whose newer Verso is a magnetic e-ink card that acts as an agent-native hardware entry point. Rian said Flowtica, which has 50 employees, focuses on Memory rather than conversation, aiming to let AI understand a user over time and act more proactively. The Scribe weighs 34.5 grams, has a MEMS microphone and a 280mAh battery for up to 30 hours of recording, and is priced at $159 to $209 with a subscription; Verso is designed to be nearby but not always-on, according to the report.