As a leading voice in enterprise SaaS and software architecture, Vijay Raina has a unique perspective on how hardware and software are converging to redefine productivity. With Plaud’s recent launch of the NotePin S and a new desktop app, the company is making a significant push into the world of AI-powered ambient computing. We sat down with Vijay to discuss the design philosophy behind these new products, the strategic shift from in-person to digital meeting capture, and how these tools are shaping a more integrated future for knowledge workers. The conversation explores the nuanced differences in their hardware, the practical application of their multimodal software, and what it all means for the future of wearable AI.
The new Plaud NotePin S introduces a physical button for recording and highlighting. Could you walk us through the design process for this feature and explain how adding Apple Find My support enhances the user experience for people who are constantly on the go?
The introduction of a physical button is a direct response to the need for immediacy and reducing friction. When you’re in a dynamic conversation or a fast-paced lecture, fumbling with an app on your phone is the last thing you want to do. The design philosophy here was to create a tactile, unambiguous interaction. One press to start, one to stop. That tap to highlight a key moment during a recording is incredibly powerful—it’s an intuitive, in-the-moment annotation that doesn’t break your focus. Then, integrating Apple Find My is just a brilliant and necessary evolution. We’re talking about a small, valuable device designed to be worn and carried everywhere. For the intended user—someone constantly moving between meetings, classes, or interviews—the peace of mind knowing you can locate it is not just a feature, it’s a core part of the ownership experience.
Plaud has sold over 1.5 million devices primarily focused on in-person meetings. What specific market insights prompted the expansion into digital meetings with the new desktop app, and how do you plan to differentiate it from established competitors like Fathom and Fireflies?
Selling over 1.5 million devices gives you an incredible amount of data and a loyal user base. The key insight was realizing our users don’t live in a purely physical world. Their workdays are a hybrid of in-person interactions and back-to-back video calls. They were capturing one half of their day beautifully, but the other half was a gap. Creating the desktop app wasn’t just an expansion; it was about closing that loop and owning the user’s entire meeting workflow. The differentiation from competitors comes from our hardware roots. While others are pure software plays, we offer an ecosystem. The new desktop app is a perfect example of this. It automatically detects active meetings and uses system audio, but the real magic is the multimodal input. Last year, we introduced the ability to add images and typed notes alongside audio. Bringing that to the desktop client means you’re not just getting a transcript; you’re building a rich, contextual document in real-time.
The NotePin S has a shorter recording range and lower battery life than the Note Pro. Can you describe the ideal customer for each device and explain how the versatile accessories—like the included clip and wristband—support the specific use cases you envision for the NotePin S?
The device segmentation is all about tailoring the tool to the task. The Note Pro is your workhorse for controlled environments—think long boardroom meetings, extensive lectures, or all-day conferences where longer battery life and a wider recording range are critical. The ideal NotePin S user, however, is all about agility and spontaneity. This is for the journalist grabbing a quick interview, the student capturing a breakout session, or the consultant moving from one client site to another. Its smaller size and 20-hour battery are more than sufficient for these shorter, more frequent bursts of use. The accessories are the key to unlocking this versatility. The magnetic pin is subtle for a lapel, the clip is perfect for a notebook, and the wristband transforms it into a truly wearable, hands-free device. It’s about adapting the hardware to the user’s context, not the other way around.
Your new desktop app uses AI to structure transcriptions and integrates multimodal inputs like images and typed notes. Could you provide a step-by-step example of how a user would combine these features during a typical meeting to create a comprehensive set of notes?
Absolutely. Imagine you’re a project manager in a virtual design review. The moment your meeting starts on your Mac, the Plaud app prompts you to begin capturing. As the designer shares a critical wireframe on their screen, you take a quick screenshot and simply drag that image file into the Plaud app’s window. A few minutes later, a key decision is made about the project timeline. You quickly type, “Final deadline confirmed for end of Q3,” directly into the app. When the meeting ends, you don’t just get a wall of text. The AI processes the system audio and provides a structured summary with action items and key topics. But more importantly, when you scroll through that transcription, you see your screenshot of the wireframe and your typed note embedded exactly at the point in the conversation where they were relevant. It transforms a simple transcript into a rich, living document.
What is your forecast for the future of wearable AI hardware and ambient computing?
My forecast is that we are on the cusp of hardware becoming increasingly invisible while the intelligence becomes more pervasive and predictive. The future isn’t about having more gadgets; it’s about embedding technology so seamlessly into our lives that it feels like a natural extension of our own memory and cognitive abilities. Devices like the NotePin S are early indicators—small, single-purpose tools that excel at one thing: capturing the world around us with minimal friction. The next phase will be about the intelligent synthesis of this data. Imagine a future where your wearable not only captures a meeting but cross-references a key point with a previous conversation you had last week and an email you received this morning, then proactively presents a synthesized insight. Ambient computing will triumph when the hardware fades into the background, and the AI-powered software works quietly to connect the dots of our lives, enhancing our awareness and productivity without ever demanding our direct attention.
