Has the death knell sounded for the smartphone? Jon Callaghan, co-founder of True Ventures, predicts that within five years our interaction with these devices will have changed radically, and that in a decade they may be obsolete as we know them.
This vision is not mere speculation for Callaghan, but the core thesis on which his firm, with two decades of track record and successes like Fitbit, Ring, Peloton, HashiCorp, and Duo Security, is basing its future investments.
A Deliberately Low-Key Strategy
While many venture capital firms build prominent public profiles, True Ventures has operated more discreetly, cultivating a select network of repeat entrepreneurs. This approach, removed from market noise, has allowed it to accumulate around $4 billion in assets and a history that includes 63 successful exits and seven IPOs from a portfolio of approximately 300 companies.
The effectiveness of its method is reflected in recent data: three of its four exits in the last quarter of 2025 involved founders who had previously worked with the firm.
The Current Interface is Broken
The core of Callaghan’s argument is blunt: “We won’t be using iPhones in 10 years.” He considers the phone a deeply inefficient interface for human interaction with artificial intelligence. “Pulling it out to send a message or write an email is error-prone and interrupts the natural flow of our life,” he explains.
His conviction is such that True has spent years actively exploring alternative interfaces, both software and hardware. This instinct led them to invest in wearables before they were mainstream (Fitbit), in connected fitness when it was rejected (Peloton), and in home security when it seemed a risky bet (Ring). In each case, the bet was on a new human behavior mediated by technology, not just on a gadget.
Sandbar: The “Thinking Companion”
The latest manifestation of this philosophy is Sandbar, a ring-shaped device for the index finger, voice-activated. Its function is singular: to capture and organize thoughts through voice notes. It does not compete with generalist AI assistants or health trackers; its purpose is to solve a specific behavioral need unmet by current technology.
“It does one thing very well,” Callaghan states. The device does not passively record ambient audio but is designed to be activated the precise moment an idea, a piece of information, or a crucial reminder arises.
What attracted True to its founders, Mina Fahmi and Kirak Hong (experts in neural interfaces from CTRL-Labs, acquired by Meta), was the shared vision. “It’s about what the ring enables. It’s about the behavior it unlocks and that we will soon realize we can’t live without,” Callaghan notes, echoing his famous line about Peloton: “It’s not about the bike.”
Discipline in the Era of Megacapital
This philosophy of investing in emerging behaviors also explains True’s financial discipline. In an environment where AI startups raise hundreds of millions with exorbitant valuations from the outset, True maintains its model: initial checks of $3 to $6 million for 15% to 20% stakes, frequently in rounds they lead.
Callaghan acknowledges the transformative power of AI—and believes OpenAI could reach a trillion-dollar valuation—but views the intense capital demands in the infrastructure layer with caution. For him, the greatest value creation is yet to come in the application layer, where new interfaces will give way to completely new behaviors.
The Essence of Early-Stage Investment
Callaghan’s view of early-stage investing is almost poetic: “It should be frightening and lonely, and they should call you crazy. It should be ambiguous and fuzzy, but you must be with a team you truly believe in.” Validation, he says, comes five or ten years later.
Given True’s track record of identifying disruptive hardware—from activity trackers to smart doorbells and now thought-capturing rings—its forecast about the end of the phone era deserves attention. Market trends support it: smartphone market saturation contrasts with double-digit growth in wearables and voice-enabled devices.
Something fundamental is shifting in our relationship with technology. True Ventures has already placed its bets, convinced that the next revolution will not be in our hands, but in how we interact with the digital world in a more natural and intuitive way.
By: Nestor Castillo, ForAllTechNews Director