PANews June 16 - According to Bloomberg, AI note-taking hardware startup Plaud is gearing up to launch a new AI agent-enabled wearable device later this year, targeting around $500 million in sales by 2026. Plaud's current lineup includes the Plaud Note, which sticks to the back of your phone, and the Plaud NotePin, which can be clipped to clothing or worn around the neck or wrist, starting at $159. With their mobile app, users can transcribe about 300 minutes of audio for free each month. The new device is expected to have a battery life of at least 8 to 12 hours and may include cellular connectivity for “always-on” voice interaction and AI features. Plaud claims over 2 million users, with 80% of their business coming from the U.S., Japan, and Europe. The company uses a model-agnostic strategy, employing an internal evaluation team to select the optimal transcription model for different languages.