Li Zexiang-mentored team's AI e-ink screen raises $4.49M led by Vertex Ventures
What's the deal? FlowticaDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, an AI hardware startup founded by Hong Kong University of Science and Technology graduate Rian, has raised US$4.13M (around $4.49 million) in an early-stage round. Vertex Ventures led, with Source Code Capital, 5Y Capital, and Clear Water Bay Fund participating.
The company builds Verso, a 78g, 6.5mm magnetic e-ink screen that attaches to the back of a phone. It records and transcribes meetings in real time, generates to-dos, and lets users query their own context via an "Ask AI" button.
Why now? Flowtica's first product, the AI voice recorder Scribe, raised over US$137.5K in overseas crowdfunding and began shipping in early 2026. Since then, 42% of hardware users have converted to paying subscribers — enough to validate demand before this raise.
What's the endgame? Founder Rian frames Verso as a "personal context OS" built around memory, attention, and workflow. The goal is a multi-device office ecosystem spanning capture, organisation, and execution — not a single recording tool.
What could go wrong? The device launches into a crowded field. AI recording cards, translation earbuds, and AI glasses already compete for the same users, and incumbents including DingTalkDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and iFlytekDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → have pushed recording-card prices down. Verso, priced around $299, must prove users will carry extra weight and charging burden for a dedicated screen.
Flowtica is also betting against an industry default: it cut always-on listening. "It's not just a feature issue … there are also privacy and regulatory issues," Rian said, citing EU restrictions and high-value users' reluctance to let off-work context mix in.
The signal: AI wearables are shifting from pure transcription toward "see and act on results immediately," and the back of the phone is becoming a testing ground for new hardware forms. The round sits in the 62nd percentile for deal size — investor interest in the category is real, but a $4.49 million early round is a bet on a thesis, not proof the market is validated. First Verso units ship in December.
Read more: 36kr.com
Image credit: Flowtica
