Titan Note transcription gadget suspended from Indiegogo after raising $1.1 million (original) (raw)

The crowdfunding campaign for Titan Note — a transcription gadget that seemed too good to be true — has been suspended from Indiegogo after raising more than $1.1 million from backers. A spokesperson for Indiegogo told The Verge the campaign had been suspended due to “violations of our terms of use,” and that refunds had been issued to all backers. The company would not comment on any specifics.

The original Titan Note campaign promised a product with capabilities far beyond any gadget currently available. The creators of the puck-sized Titan Note said it would be able to seamlessly transcribe anything from conversations to college lectures, as well as functioning as a “crystal clear” speaker, and an emergency battery. An app paired the gadget to the user’s phone, letting them translate their transcribed notes, automatically summarize them, or share them over the web.

When we covered the Titan Note in March, we suggested the company was perhaps exaggerating the capabilities of its product. After all, we said, if Apple or Amazon can’t produce transcription software as accurate and speedy as this, what chance does a company with no commercial history have? We later received a DMCA takedown notice for using Titan Note’s product imagery to illustrate our story.

The company did later publish a video showing a prototype version of the Titan Note in action, but the transcription is slow, the UI is unpolished, and functionality touted in the Indiegogo campaign (such as distinguishing individual voices) is not shown at all.

We’ve reached out to Titan Note to find out more, and will update this story as and when we hear from them.

Update Friday May 12th, 11.00AM ET: Updated with comment from Indiegogo.