aVenture · Jul 2026
Recent research page describes Draft The Record as an AI transcription platform for court reporters, with integrations, offline capture, export formats, competitor set, and a B2B sales motion.
Currently in stealth - previously FocusBuddy
Public company, workplace, funding, and market signals
Updated Jul 29, 2026
Sterling Labs, Inc appears to have pivoted from Focus Buddy, an AI productivity coach for ADHD and knowledge work, to DraftTheRecord AI, a YC-backed legaltech product for court reporting and litigation transcription. Public sources disagree on funding totals and founding year, so I used the strongest public evidence and left unsupported items null.
Primary product
DraftTheRecord AI — AI-powered court reporting and transcription for legal proceedings
Founded
2024
Headquarters
128 King St, FL 2, San Francisco, CA 94107
Team size
1-10
Work style
Flexible
Industry
LegalTech
Sub-industry
AI court reporting and legal transcription
2 jobs at Sterling Labs, Inc
Offices
Business model
Stage
seed
Total raised
$625K
Latest round
Pre Seed Round · Sep 2024
Latest amount
$500K
Sep 2024 · Y Combinator
Aug 2024
Investors
Small founder-led YC-backed team with direct founder access, fast execution, and a customer-ownership culture; job copy emphasizes end-to-end responsibility, support, documentation, and iterative product feedback loops.
Work style
Flexible
Visa sponsorship
Limited
Compensation
YC job posting lists $80K-$120K salary plus 0.05%-0.10% equity for customer-success roles, with visa sponsorship mentioned on the posting.
Pricing
Not publicly listed; demo-led, sales-led B2B pricing with custom enterprise contracts
Differentiators
Technology
Customers
Competitors
aVenture · Jul 2026
Recent research page describes Draft The Record as an AI transcription platform for court reporters, with integrations, offline capture, export formats, competitor set, and a B2B sales motion.
Society for the Technological Advancement of Reporting (LinkedIn) · Apr 2026
Industry post shows the current Draft The Record branding in court-reporting/legal-tech circles and indicates active sponsorship/participation in 2026.
Y Combinator (LinkedIn) · Sep 2024
YC’s LinkedIn post highlighted the launch, founder backgrounds at Google, and the product’s multimodal voice/text coaching for ADHD and productivity.
Y Combinator · Sep 2024
YC launch page describing the original Focus Buddy product as an AI productivity coach that stayed on multi-hour voice calls to help users focus and avoid procrastination.
Startup Intros · Sep 2024
Reports a Sep. 1, 2024 $500K seed round for Sterling Labs / Focus Buddy and lists Countdown Capital, Y Combinator, David Lieb, and Julia DeWahl among the investors.