Built by the Community,
For the Community
Caption Glass isn't another Silicon Valley startup trying to "fix" disability. We're CODAs, interpreters, and deaf advocates who've lived these challenges. Now we're building the technology we've always needed—AR glasses that caption the world in real-time, with <200ms latency that actually works in noisy restaurants and crowded meetings.
Our Mission
We believe communication is a fundamental human right. Yet today, over 11 million deaf and hard-of-hearing Americans face daily barriers—from doctor visits without interpreters to workplace conversations they can't join. Caption Glass exists to tear down these walls.
Our mission is simple but profound: make every spoken word, every conversation, every announcement instantly accessible through revolutionary AR technology. We're not just building glasses that caption—we're creating a world where deaf individuals can participate fully in every aspect of life, from boardroom meetings to coffee shop conversations.
This isn't about fixing people who aren't broken. It's about fixing a world that wasn't built with everyone in mind.
Our Story
I'm Jacob Lopez, and I grew up in two worlds. As a CODA—Child of Deaf Adults—I watched my parents navigate a hearing world that rarely accommodated them. I saw my mother, a trilingual interpreter, bridge communication gaps daily. I watched my deaf brother Chris struggle to find accessible services, a struggle that ultimately cost him his life when he couldn't access proper addiction treatment with interpreters.
At 16, I built my first accessibility tool: District Menu, helping Gallaudet students order food more easily. At 21, I launched Interpreting.app, connecting deaf individuals with qualified interpreters on-demand. But I kept hitting the same wall: there are fewer than 10,000 active ASL interpreters for over 11 million deaf and hard-of-hearing Americans. The math doesn't work.
That's when I realized we needed a different solution. Caption Glass was born from a simple insight: what if instead of waiting for an interpreter, you could have instant captions for every conversation? What if my brother's wife Sophia didn't have to give birth without understanding her doctors? What if 4,000 medical visits per month didn't happen in silence?
Today, we're building that future. With <200ms latency—faster than any competitor—and partnerships from Gallaudet to government procurement channels, we're not just creating another tech product. We're fulfilling a promise I made to my brother: that no one should miss out on life because the world wasn't built for them.
Our Values
Accessibility First
We don't just build for accessibility—we live it. Every feature, every design decision, every line of code is tested by and with the deaf community. Our advisory board isn't a checkbox; they're our north star. When we say "nothing about us without us," we mean it.
Community-Driven
Our users aren't customers—they're family. From deaf TikTokers testing our beta units to university disability offices shaping our features, every improvement comes from real needs, not Silicon Valley assumptions. We measure success not in downloads, but in barriers broken.
Innovation with Purpose
We could build AR glasses that play games or show notifications. Instead, we obsess over milliseconds of latency and accuracy in noisy restaurants. Every technical decision—from on-device processing to our Interpretr™ Score—serves one goal: making communication seamless for everyone.
Our Vision for Tomorrow
We see a future where communication barriers are as outdated as dial-up internet. Where a deaf CEO can travel globally with real-time captions instead of coordinating interpreters. Where deaf interns from Gallaudet join any company, not just the ones with accessibility budgets.
Caption Glass is just the beginning. We're building an entire ecosystem: Caption OS for developers, Interpretr™ Score to revolutionize interpreter certification, and AI models trained on the world's largest corpus of ASL data. We're not competing with big VRS companies focused on billing—we're making them obsolete.
By 2030, we envision a world where every public space, every classroom, every hospital room is truly accessible. Not through expensive retrofitting or special accommodations, but through elegant technology that just works. The same way smartphones made computers accessible to billions, Caption Glass will make communication accessible to millions.
Why We're Different
Most accessibility startups are founded by well-meaning outsiders who "want to help." We're different. This isn't charity—it's personal. I've lived in both worlds my entire life. My aunt Winifred has spent 18+ years in deaf services. My mother interprets in hospitals daily. We know every pain point because we've felt them.
Our unfair advantages run deep: relationships with every major deaf organization, understanding of government procurement from the inside, and most importantly, trust from a community that's been burned by tech promises before. When we ship to 50 beta testers at Gallaudet, they're not guinea pigs—they're co-creators.
This is why Y Combinator should bet on us. Not because we identified a market opportunity, but because we've lived it. Not because we might succeed, but because we have to. For Chris. For Sophia. For the 4,000 medical appointments happening in silence this month. For every CODA who's ever had to interpret for their own parent at a doctor's appointment.
Join Our Revolution
We're not waiting for the future—we're building it now. Be part of the movement that makes communication truly universal.