Subvocal launched AI glasses last week that convert silently mouthed words into text. The San Francisco startup uses sensors to detect facial muscle movements. Founder Aarush Yadav said, “When you’re mouthing words, even if you’re really discreet with it, the muscles in your face and inside your mouth are moving.”

AI-powered glasses that can convert silently mouthed words into text at speeds of up to 200 words per minute could offer an alternative to conventional keyboard typing and voice-to-text software.

Developed by San Francisco-based technology startup Subvocal, the glasses, according to a report by the New York Post, use sensors and artificial intelligence (AI) to detect tiny facial muscle movements when a person mouths words without speaking aloud.

The company, which launched the product last week, as per the news outlet's report said the technology can translate these movements into text almost instantaneously, allowing users to compose emails, dictate messages and interact with AI tools without making a sound.

The news outlet quoting Aarush Yadav, who founded Subvocal in February 2026 with Georgia Tech student Arnav Kumar, said the glasses use low-power radio waves to detect movements in facial muscles.

“When you’re mouthing words, even if you’re really discreet with it, the muscles in your face and inside your mouth are moving right,” Yadav was quoted as saying. He explained that the glasses emit radio waves at frequencies similar to Bluetooth, but at significantly lower power.

As these waves interact with facial muscles, the resulting changes in signals are analysed by AI to decode the words being mouthed into text.

Subvocal glasses target office workers, AI users

The technology could offer an alternative to traditional typing and voice-based dictation, particularly in workplaces, libraries and other public spaces where speaking aloud may be inconvenient or disruptive.

“Voiceover typing is obvious,” Yadav said. “It’s extremely fast and makes you so much more productive. But when out in public in the office or in the library, we couldn’t use voice AI.”

He added that speaking into computers or dictating messages in front of other people could feel awkward.

According to Yadav, the glasses could be useful for programmers, journalists, office workers and commuters. The company is also targeting people who regularly use AI tools and need to enter lengthy prompts or instructions.

“A lot of AI native people type out very long prompts to AI very often,” he said. “If you have 10 agents running at the same time, you need to instruct the AI a lot. And that’s one of the main use cases for Voice AI right now.”

The glasses could also allow two people wearing the devices to communicate silently across a room. A demonstration video showing this capability reportedly attracted nearly 12 million views on X.

Subvocal raises $1.3 million, glasses priced at $699

The startup's technology was initially developed as a prototype for Stanford University's TreeHacks hackathon in February.

Yadav and Kumar have since raised $1.3 million in funding and taken leaves of absence from their respective academic programmes to focus on building the company full-time, the New York Post reported.

The glasses are currently available for preorder, with deliveries estimated to begin in March 2027.

Priced at $699, the device is being offered to early customers at a $200 discount, bringing the preorder price down to $499.