Envisioning the Next Era of Smartphones and Human-Computer Interaction

The Decline of smartphones: A Decade away from Dominance?

Jon Callaghan, co-founder of True Ventures, envisions a profound conversion in how we engage with smartphones. He foresees that within five years, our interaction with these devices will undergo a radical change, potentially rendering traditional smartphones obsolete by 2034. This outlook is not mere conjecture but a guiding principle shaping True Ventures’ strategic investments.

True Ventures: Building Success Through Enduring Relationships

Over two decades, True Ventures has quietly amassed an impressive portfolio managing close to $6 billion across various seed and prospect funds. Unlike many venture capital firms that aggressively market themselves via social media or podcasts to attract startups,True prioritizes nurturing deep connections with repeat entrepreneurs. This approach has resulted in approximately 63 accomplished exits and seven IPOs from nearly 300 companies.

the Power of Returning Founders

In late 2025 alone, three out of four company exits involved founders who had previously partnered with True Ventures on earlier ventures. This trend underscores the firm’s dedication to fostering long-term collaborations rather than one-time transactions.

The Smartphone Interface: An inefficient Bridge Between Humans and Digital Intelligence

Callaghan critiques smartphones as clunky intermediaries for interacting with digital intelligence. “Texting or emailing on phones disrupts our natural workflow,” he explains. “They are prone to mistakes and frequently enough feel cumbersome.” With global smartphone sales growth plateauing at under 2% annually as of early 2024, it’s evident consumers are searching for more intuitive alternatives.

Pioneering New Modes of Technological Engagement

This belief has driven True Ventures’ early investments in groundbreaking technologies such as Fitbit before wearables became mainstream; Peloton when connected fitness was still emerging; and Ring despite initial skepticism from investors and industry experts alike. Each investment focused on enabling new human behaviors through technology rather than merely selling hardware products.

The Rise of Thought-Capturing Wearables: Sandbar’s Voice-Activated Ring

A recent manifestation of this vision is Sandbar-a sleek ring worn on the index finger designed specifically for instant voice note capture. Unlike passive devices that record ambient sounds like some health trackers or AI pins attempt, sandbar functions as an active “thought companion,” helping users organise ideas at their moment of inspiration through AI-powered software integration.

A Collaboration Rooted in Neural Interface Expertise

Mina Fahmi and Kirak Hong-former collaborators at CTRL-labs (acquired by Meta)-bring deep knowledge in neural interfaces that impressed True Ventures during their discussions. The focus extends beyond hardware innovation toward cultivating indispensable user behaviors-a concept reminiscent of how Peloton transformed community-driven fitness beyond just selling exercise equipment.

An Investment Beliefs Centered on behavior Over Hardware Hype

• Measured Capital Allocation: Despite soaring valuations among AI startups raising hundreds of millions upfront,True prefers seed-stage investments between $3 million to $6 million targeting meaningful equity stakes (15%-20%). This disciplined strategy avoids chasing hype while supporting foundational innovations early on.
• Cautious Viewpoint on Massive Fundraising: Callaghan questions the necessity for multi-billion-dollar war chests when impactful technology advancement today doesn’t require such enormous upfront capital.
• Skeptical Optimism Amidst AI Expansion: While recognizing OpenAI’s potential trillion-dollar valuation fueled by unprecedented compute power waves driving innovation forward, he warns about capital-intensive cycles linked to hyperscalers investing trillions into data centers-signaling possible overheating risks ahead in the market.
• The Real Value Lies Beyond Infrastructure: According to Callaghan true value creation will emerge from application layers where novel interfaces unlock entirely new user behaviors instead of simply expanding backend capabilities.

A Long-Term Vision Embracing Uncertainty and Patience

“Investing at an early stage should feel uncertain and isolating,” says Callaghan. “It must be ambiguous yet grounded firmly in belief about your team.” He stresses patience-only after five or ten years does it become clear whether you were onto something truly transformative.”

This philosophy aligns seamlessly with trends observed globally-from wearable fitness trackers growing over 15% annually worldwide last year according to market analysts-to smart home devices gaining momentum amid shifting consumer preferences away from traditional smartphones toward more seamless technological interactions.

The Transition From saturated Smartphone markets To Rapidly Growing Wearables Sector

The global wearable technology industry-including smartwatches, rings like sandbar’s Stream device, earbuds equipped with voice assistants-is experiencing robust double-digit growth exceeding 12% per year as users seek less intrusive ways to stay connected without constantly reaching for their phones.

This shift signals a broader evolution in human-computer interaction paradigms-and venture capitalists such as those at True Ventures are positioning themselves accordingly by investing early into technologies shaping tomorrow’s interface standards rather than yesterday’s hardware relics.

Pictured above is Sandbar’s Stream ring – an innovative device redefining thought capture through seamless voice command integration into daily life without disrupting workflow or social engagement patterns.