Glasses for Voice: Founder's Cancer Story

Founder's Cancer Journey

Konrad Zieliński lost his voice to cancer years ago while he was a student at the University of Warsaw. Despite that setback, he went on to complete his studies.

His experience living without a voice also shaped how he sees the technology available to people in his situation. As he told TechCrunch, people with his condition have traditionally relied on handheld speaking devices that sound flat and robotic. Others turn to surgically implanted voice prostheses, which require ongoing maintenance to prevent complications.

Those two options — one that sounds unnatural, and one that demands continual care — frame the problem Zieliński set out to solve. His own journey from cancer patient to founder is the origin story behind the company he now leads, and it explains why he is focused specifically on building “glasses for voice.”

The Problem with Current Voice Aids

For people who lose their voice to cancer, the available options have long been limited and imperfect. As Konrad Zieliński explained to TechCrunch, individuals with his condition have traditionally relied on handheld speaking devices that sound flat and robotic. These devices get the message across, but they strip away the natural qualities of human speech, making everyday conversation feel mechanical rather than personal.

The alternative has been surgically implanted voice prostheses. While these can restore a form of speech, they come with their own burden: they require ongoing maintenance to prevent complications. That means repeated care and vigilance, adding a medical routine on top of everything else a patient is already managing.

Zieliński knows this reality firsthand. He lost his voice to cancer years ago while he was a student at the University of Warsaw, and he went on to complete his studies despite the challenges his condition presented. His experience with the shortcomings of existing voice aids is what ultimately set him on a different path.

A New Solution: Glasses for Voice

Konrad Zieliński is not only a founder who lost his voice to cancer; he is also building a solution for people facing the same condition. His answer takes the form of what he describes as “glasses for voice.”

The concept is positioned as an alternative for people with his condition, who have traditionally relied on handheld speaking devices or surgically implanted voice prostheses. As Zieliński told TechCrunch, those existing options come with clear drawbacks: handheld devices sound flat and robotic, while implanted prostheses require ongoing maintenance to prevent complications.

Rather than accepting those trade-offs, Zieliński is developing a different kind of voice aid, one he frames through the familiar, wearable metaphor of glasses. The approach is rooted in his own experience. He lost his voice to cancer years ago while he was a student at the University of Warsaw, and he went on to complete his studies before turning to building technology for others in his situation.

For people with his condition, the promise of a wearable alternative could mean a less invasive, less cumbersome path to being heard.

About the Article

This article was written by Marina Temkin and published on TechCrunch on September 29, 2026, at 8:00 AM PDT. It appears in the Biotech & Health section of the publication.

The piece tells the story of Konrad Zieliński, a founder who lost his voice to cancer years ago while he was a student at the University of Warsaw. It explores the limitations of traditional voice aids, including handheld speaking devices that sound flat and robotic, as well as surgically implanted voice prostheses that require ongoing maintenance to prevent complications. It then describes his work on a new kind of solution: glasses for voice.

The featured image is credited to Andriy Onufriyenko / Getty Images. The visual is a digital generated image of an abstract multicolored curve chart on a grey background, used to represent sound waves.