After losing his voice to cancer, this founder is building ‘glasses for voice’ — SkimNews
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- Konrad Zieliński lost his voice to cancer while a student at the University of Warsaw, then completed a PhD on bionic systems for laryngectomees before founding Uhura Bionics in 2023.
- Uhura Bionics sells two noninvasive wearable voice devices as wellness products requiring no surgery: a basic model for $500 and a high-end version called Whitney — named after Whitney Houston — for $1,500.
- Uhura was selected for TechCrunch Disrupt 2026's Startup Battlefield 200; Zieliński will demonstrate Whitney at the conference and at SF Tech Week in October, where he plans to sing onstage using the device.
- Uhura is pursuing Class I medical device classification in Europe and later the U.S., which would enable partial insurance reimbursement for devices currently paid entirely out of pocket.
- Zieliński estimates the laryngectomee device market at $2 billion and says it could expand further if Uhura serves people with other speech disorders; next product steps include higher-pitched female voice options and personalization so users don't all sound alike.
- Uhura competes with established player Atos Medical and startup Laronix, but frames Whitney's emotional expressiveness — not flat robotic output — as the key differentiator from existing handheld electrolarynxes and surgical voice prostheses.
Why it matters: For laryngectomees who've had to choose between robotic-sounding handheld devices and surgery-dependent voice prostheses requiring ongoing maintenance, Whitney offers a third path — noninvasive and emotionally expressive. Securing Class I medical device status in Europe would shift Uhura's $500–$1,500 devices from out-of-pocket wellness purchases to partially insurance-reimbursed treatments, directly addressing the access barrier for a market Zieliński sizes at $2 billion.
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