Jacob's Story:
Growing Up Between Two Worlds

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 understood early on that communication barriers affect millions of people.

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 people didn't have to rely on others to access crucial information in medical appointments, work meetings, or daily interactions?

Today, we are building that future. With <150ms latency—faster than any competitor—and partnerships from Gallaudet to government procurement channels, we are not just creating another tech product. We are fulfilling a mission to ensure no one misses out on conversations because the world was not built with their needs in mind.