As before, the AI will be built into the earpieces themselves and thus won't depend on your phone or an internet connection to make sense of the world. And that's important -- the ultimate goal is to reduce the need for physical controls by having your earbuds automatically do the right thing, and that means ensuring that the AI responds quickly and consistently.

It's not clear when this feature might be available to the public. It could be key to Bragi's future, whenever it shows up. Other fledgling companies have struggled to survive, and heavyweights like Apple, Google and Samsung are closing in. Audio recognition could give Bragi an edge others can't currently match.