Willow's Voice Keyboard for iOS: Type & Edit with Your Voice

The Rise of Voice-Powered Typing on iOS

Recent advancements in artificial intelligence have significantly improved the ability of models to interpret human speech. This progress has resulted in the development of increasingly accurate dictation tools. Willow, a new Mac application, is now extending its capabilities with the launch of an iOS app.

Willow's Core Functionality

Functioning similarly to Wispr Flow, Willow’s keyboard transcribes spoken words and intelligently formats the resulting text based on the specific context. The application boasts support for over 100 languages.

Users can also customize the app by defining specific vocabulary terms or establishing distinct writing styles for various application categories, such as professional correspondence, personal messaging, and email communication.

Key Advantages Over Competitors

A significant benefit of Willow’s iOS app is the inclusion of a complete on-screen keyboard. This allows for quick and easy modifications to transcribed text.

Unlike Wispr Flow, which offers only a numeric keyboard, Willow provides the flexibility to seamlessly switch between voice input and direct typing when needed.

The Founding Story of Willow

Willow was established by Allan Guo and Lawrence Liu, both former students of Stanford University who chose to pursue their entrepreneurial vision. The pair initially joined Y Combinator in the summer of 2024 with a different founding team.

Their initial focus was on developing software solutions for assisted living facilities. However, after determining that this concept lacked viability, the company spent a year exploring alternative ideas.

Inspiration from the Healthcare Sector

“During our work in healthcare, we observed doctors utilizing voice AI scribes to record patient interactions and generate documentation for follow-up care,” explained Guo in an interview with TechCrunch.

“These notetakers proved to be incredibly valuable to physicians, prompting us to create a voice AI tool tailored for knowledge workers and a broader user base.”

Focus on Dictation, Not Just Note-Taking

Guo clarified that the decision to concentrate on dictation stemmed from a perceived saturation in the AI notetaking market. He highlighted that a substantial amount of communication occurs outside of formal meetings.

The company’s technology leverages a series of models and prioritizes the refinement of its text-to-text pipeline, which is built upon Meta’s Llama models, to optimize formatting and personalization.

Growth and Enterprise Adoption

Following the product launch, Willow transitioned its YC participation to spring 2025. The company reports a 50% month-over-month growth in user acquisition since then.

Furthermore, Willow has secured enterprise clients including Uber, Heidi Health, and Zego, who are utilizing the tool for dictation purposes with features like custom team vocabulary.

Investment and Backing

Willow has successfully raised $4.5 million in funding from investors such as Box Group, Y Combinator, Burst Capital, and prominent angel investors.

These include Dharmesh Shah of HubSpot, Tomer London of Gusto, Alexis Ohanian, co-founder of Reddit, Kipp Bodnar, former COO of Yelp, Kaz Nejatian, CEO of Opendoor, Adam Guild, CEO of Owner, and Max Mullen, co-founder of Instacart.

The Future of User Interfaces

Mullen expressed his belief that future user interfaces will be predominantly voice-driven. He was particularly impressed by Guo’s long-term vision for creating an interface capable of controlling an entire computer.

“When I use Willow for writing, I find I need to make fewer corrections compared to using the built-in dictation system on my computer,” Mullen stated.

Desktop Integration and Workflow

Mullen also highlighted the convenience of the “Hey Willow” assistant on desktop, which allows users to instruct the app to compose email replies in their own unique voice.

Competitive Landscape

Willow operates in a competitive market alongside companies like Wispr Flow, which has raised over $56 million in funding, Monologue (part of Every’s subscription bundle), and other YC-backed startups including Aqua, Talktastic, Superwhisper, and Betterdictation.

Future Plans and Expansion

In the coming months, Willow intends to expand platform support to include Windows and Android. The company also plans to enhance personalization features to minimize the need for manual edits after dictation.