SAN FRANCISCO, March 12, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Taya today announced it has raised a $5 million seed round led by MaC Venture Capital and Female Founders Fund, with participation from a16z speedrun. Founded by Stanford-trained product designer and mechanical engineer Elena Wagenmans, previously at Apple, Taya is an AI necklace built to honor the social contract: intentional, single-player voice capture, not ambient recording of the room.
While many recent AI hardware products have leaned toward always-on environmental awareness, Taya is taking a different approach. Instead of continuous environmental recording, the device focuses on short, intentional captures, helping people preserve fleeting thoughts without turning everyday life into a stream of surveillance.
Taya's system is designed around directional microphones and voice-prioritization signal processing to focus on the wearer rather than the surrounding environment.
"People want intelligence, but they don't want to wear something that makes everyone around them uncomfortable," said Elena Wagenmans, Founder & CEO of Taya. "We're building jewelry-first AI for private reflection - something you choose to wear, and choose when to activate."
Following 3 million organic views across platforms and a sold-out initial pre-order batch, Taya has spent the past several months in direct conversation with early customers to refine both hardware and software around daily usability, privacy, and long-term retention.
Rather than positioning itself as a meeting notetaker or always-on recorder, Taya is focused on brief, frequent voice captures throughout the day: moments of insight, reminders, and creative thoughts that would otherwise disappear.
"Privacy isn't a feature, it's an architectural decision," Wagenmans added. "If this becomes part of your daily life, it has to align with how people actually want to live."
Taya is currently in active development and expects to begin fulfilling its initial pre-order batch later this year, with broader availability to follow.
To join the waitlist, visit tayanecklace.com.
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About Taya
Most wearable tech ends up in a drawer. Taya is changing that by designing AI-powered jewelry that people want to put on every day. Founded in San Francisco by Elena Wagenmans, a Stanford-trained engineer and former Apple hardware designer, Taya combines private, on-demand voice intelligence with jewelry-grade craft. Learn more at tayanecklace.com.
Media Contact:
Jim Redner for Taya
323.217.4314
410430@email4pr.com
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