After losing his voice to cancer, this founder is building “glasses for voice”

Konrad Zieliński, a laryngectomee, founded Uhura Bionics to create non-invasive wearable voice devices that add emotional nuance to speech. The startup offers a basic model and a high-end version called Whitney, priced at $500 and $1,500, and seeks Class I medical device status to enable insurance reimbursement. Zieliński estimates a $2 billion market for laryngectomee devices and plans to demonstrate Whitney at TechCrunch Disrupt and SF Tech Week.