This was before AI went mainstream.
And naturally, I was curious.
So I met Dhananjay (DJ). An incredibly fit man with long flairy hair (if you know me, you know why this is important to capture), and he came wearing… a blinking pendant!
“What’s that?” I asked.
Turned out to be an early prototype of Neo, an AI-powered note-taking assistant you wear around your neck. And when DJ said it could not only transcribe but also detect emotion in conversation? I was hooked!
As someone who lives in public, values presence in meetings, and wants to be a superconnector, this felt like a godsend.
No more breaking eye contact.
No more scribbling notes.
Just talk, absorb, connect.
So, I got one!
And now that I’ve used it for some time, here's my review and some use cases.
📌 Use Case 1: Thinking on the Go
I use walking as a tool to think better.
In fact, I solve my toughest conundrums while I walk.
And when I walk, I want to save the ideas I get.
And I use Neo to capture those raw thoughts.
In all honesty, I often use my iPhone's voice memo tool also when I need a backup recording (Neo doesn't record audio - I wish it did)
📌 Use Case 2: IRL Meetings
In physical meetings, I introduce Neo as “my offline AI notetaker.”
It records, transcribes, and frees me to focus on the conversation, not the notebook.
Once done, I transfer those notes to Roam Research and add context. That’s where the magic happens (of connected notes and all that).
📌 Use Case 3: Writing First Drafts
Many of my blog posts start as rants out loud. I “talk” to Neo. What it captures becomes my rough first draft. In fact this post started as a note to Neo. See the screenshot.
✅ What Works?
- Battery life
Works for me for about 2 days on a charge
- Background noise tolerance
Works well. Even at Starbucks (where I literally live)!
- Summary quality
Surprisingly accurate and well-structured.
Again, see attached screenshot.
❌ What Could Be Better
- Form factor
I’m just not a pendant person.
- Haptic feedback
I want the activation tap to feel like something happened.
Right now, its way too silent for me.
- No access to raw audio
I wish it let me relisten like a dictaphone.
💭 Final Verdict
If you’re in meetings often, or just want a memory copilot, this is seriously worth a try.
PS: I paid ₹9,999 for it as an early backer (no freebies, no promo code).
They now offer it at some 12K.
PPS: I know how hard it is to build a hardware and consumer-tech business. And genuinely want DJ and Neo to succeed. And thus my post could be biased. Please do your own due diligence.
PPPS: Spot the self-portrait ;P
PPPPS: If you do get Neo, let’s talk use cases. I am a chaser of productivity-p0rn and I would love to jam with others.
This post was originally shared by on Linkedin.