Katarzyna Petru
Co-founder of True Ventures Jon Callaghan believes that in five years we will no longer be using smartphones in their current form, and in ten they may completely disappear from our daily lives. This is not a provocative thesis for a podcast clip but a real investment direction that the fund is putting money into.
True Ventures is not one of the most media-friendly funds from Silicon Valley. However, over 20 years of operation, the company has built an impressive portfolio – from consumer brands like Fitbit, Ring, and Peloton, to enterprise companies like HashiCorp and Duo Security. In total, True currently manages about $6 billion across 12 seed funds and four select funds, earmarked for further financing of portfolio companies that are gaining momentum.
The effects of this strategy are tangible. According to Callaghan, True has recorded 63 successful exits and seven IPOs, while its portfolio encompasses around 300 companies. Importantly, the fund is increasingly collaborating with the same founders again. Three of True's four exits in the fourth quarter of 2025 concerned founders who returned after previous successes.
Smartphone as a Poor Interface
However, the most interesting aspect is not the numbers, but Callaghan's way of thinking about the future of human–technology relationships. In his view, the smartphone is a poor interface between people and intelligence. – The way we pull out our phone today to reply to a message, confirm a meeting, or write an email is incredibly inefficient. It’s an interface prone to errors and constantly disrupting the rhythm of life – he explains.
That’s why Callaghan doesn’t explicitly say that the iPhone will disappear in five years, but he is convinced that we will use it in a completely different way. And looking ahead a decade – perhaps not at all. This belief has led True to study alternative interfaces for years: hardware, software, and hybrid. Just like before with Fitbit, Peloton, or Ring, it’s not about the gadget itself, but about a new, more natural way of interacting with technology.
A Ring Instead of a Phone
The freshest example of this thesis is Sandbar – a device that Callaghan describes as a “thought companion.” In practice, it is a voice-controlled ring worn on the index finger. Its sole purpose is to quickly capture and organise thoughts in the form of voice notes. Sandbar does not attempt to be another AI Pin or compete with smart rings that monitor health. – This device does one thing really well. And that one thing addresses a fundamental need that technology today does not satisfy – says Callaghan.
It is not about passively recording the environment, but about the moment when an idea appears. The ring is meant to be always at hand, ready to “talk” to the user. The whole thing works in conjunction with an app and AI, but the key is the philosophy – interaction with intelligence is meant to be less invasive and more natural. Behind Sandbar are Mina Fahmi and Kirak Hong, previously associated with CTRL-Labs, a company developing neural interfaces, which Meta acquired in 2019. It was the coherence of the founders' vision with True’s long-term thinking that sealed the investment.
– This is not a story about a ring. It is a story about the behaviour that this ring enables and without which we soon will not want to live – emphasises Callaghan.
Not a gadget, but behaviour
This approach is reminiscent of the narrative that Callaghan built around Peloton years ago. “It’s not about the bike,” he used to say. The bike was merely a vehicle for a new model of training and community. The same is to be true for the next interfaces after the smartphone. This focus on behaviours, rather than on the devices themselves, allows True to maintain capital discipline. The fund continues to concentrate on seed rounds – typically from $3 million to $6 million for 15–20% equity – rather than chasing billion-dollar valuations for early-stage AI.
– Why raise billions when you don’t need to do so today to build something truly groundbreaking – says Callaghan.
Cautious Optimism Towards AI
Although Callaghan acknowledges that OpenAI may soon achieve a valuation of around one trillion dollars, he views the AI boom with some apprehension. He points to the enormous, reaching 5 trillion dollars investments made by hyperscalers in data centres and computing architectures. – We are in a very capital-intensive phase of the cycle and that is a cause for concern – he assesses. At the same time, he believes that the greatest value is yet to emerge – not in the infrastructure layer, but in applications and new interfaces that will enable entirely new ways of using technology.
Phone on the way out?
In the end, Callaghan returns to the investment philosophy that ChooseTV has been employing for years. – If you’re doing it right, it should be a bit scary, lonely and you should hear that you’re crazy. Everything is blurry and ambiguous, but you’re working with a team that you really believe in – he says. Five or ten years later, it will become clear whether that was a sound intuition.
Considering the history of True Ventures and their timing sense regarding hardware that changed everyday habits, it is worth taking these words seriously. Especially since market data seems to confirm them – the smartphone market has practically saturated and is growing at around 2 percent per year, while wearables – watches, rings and voice devices – are experiencing double-digit growth. Something is changing in the way we want to interact with technology. And True is already putting its money on that.
