Building a Private AI Notetaker and Workflow Assistant.
Pioneering private AI assistant for financial advisors
Founded in 2023 by blockchain and fintech veterans, Knapsack set out to tackle a persistent pain point in the financial industry: how to use AI-powered transcription in a privacy-sensitive environment.
Facing ever-increasing workloads and fee compression, financial advisors need efficient meeting transcription tools to replace slow and inaccurate manual workflows. But they’re restricted from using mainstream AI platforms that don’t meet data protection regulations.
To close the gap, Knapsack built secure AI-powered audio-to-text tools designed to support meeting transcription and summarization without risking third-party data exposure.
Local AI hits its limits
Knapsack’s first prototype ran entirely locally to remove external data-sharing risks. But deploying large AI models on individual machines strained performance and limited usability.
While secure, this solution couldn’t handle complex tasks, like multi-speaker meeting transcriptions, at user speed. Performance constraints also made it hard to scale across users and devices, slowing adoption.
It became clear that this early model needed refinement. Users expected the speed and ease of mainstream AI without putting client data at risk, and if it couldn’t keep up, Knapsack could lose momentum.
The company decided to pivot from a fully local AI solution to a hybrid model to address mounting usability issues. This would allow tight control over sensitive data while improving speed and feature delivery. But being a startup, Knapsack’s team was lean and needed reinforcement. That’s why they turned to Cheesecake Labs.
Re-architecting for speed and trust
We embedded developers directly into Knapsack’s internal team to expand their technical capacity and accelerate product development. The goal: Build something secure enough for a compliance officer to trust — and fast enough for an advisor to actually use.
We supported engineering efforts to re-architect the platform while helping the company meet SOC 2, HIPAA, proposed Self-Custody Controls (SCC), and other rigorous compliance standards.
Upgrades tailored for finance
Cheesecake Labs helped Knapsack offload compute-heavy tasks like vector embeddings and semantic search to the cloud, all secured with advanced encryption to maintain strict privacy compliance.
Together, our teams built tools to support the daily needs of financial advisors, expanding the platform's feature set to include:
Context-aware meeting prep
AI-generated summaries and follow-up emails
Automated compliance checks
A centralized automation studio to reduce repetitive tasks
We also introduced Knaps — modular workflows that connect to email, calendars, CRMs, and planning tools to turn raw data into insights. These automations help advisors reduce admin overhead and improve client responsiveness.
To protect sensitive information, we helped Knapsack develop transcription technology that accurately captures multi-speaker meetings across Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams without sending any data to the cloud. The system identifies key points, decisions, and action items automatically while staying fully compliant with HIPAA and GDPR.
Baking compliance into every layer
Cheesecake Labs also assisted Knapsack in embedding best-in-class privacy and governance practices into the platform’s DNA. Key compliance features include:
- Full HIPAA compliance for handling sensitive client health data
- SOC 2 Type 1 certification with active efforts toward Type 2
These compliance foundations made it possible for Knapsack to offer self-hosted AI environments to clients, providing enhanced semantic search, full control over sensitive data, and protection from third-party service disruptions.
Core improvements at a glance
To balance high performance with airtight privacy, Cheesecake Labs helped Knapsack implement:
01
Hybrid AI architecture
Local-first with secure cloud-based vector databases.
02
Advanced encryption
Applied across all layers to meet SOC 2, HIPAA, GDPR, and SCC standards.
03
Local transcription engine
Multi-speaker capture integrated with Zoom, Meet, and Teams.
04
Modular automations (Knaps)
Custom workflows powered by calendar, CRM, and email data.
05
Real-time productivity tools
AI note-taking, semantic search, context generation, and compliance monitoring.
Seamless collaboration, stronger outcomes.
Our developers worked side-by-side with Knapsack’s leadership and product teams, bringing hands-on technical support to redesign the platform’s AI architecture and implement advanced privacy safeguards.
Shared time zones made real-time sync effortless — daily collaboration, quick feedback loops, and joint ownership of outcomes kept the project moving at full speed.
Productivity, compliance, and scale — delivered
Knapsack now combines the cloud’s speed and flexibility with strict data protections that meet the highest compliance standards.
The improved UX and expanded feature set improved the platform’s day-to-day usability, giving financial advisors tools tailored to their exact workflows — from meeting prep to follow-ups — with none of the privacy trade-offs that come with mainstream tools.
Knapsack now combines the cloud’s speed and flexibility with strict data protections that meet the highest compliance standards.
The improved UX and expanded feature set improved the platform’s day-to-day usability, giving financial advisors tools tailored to their exact workflows — from meeting prep to follow-ups — with none of the privacy trade-offs that come with mainstream tools.
Here’s what Knapsack have to say about working with us.
Knap’s leadership immediately noticed how much simpler and more effective their operations became. Here’s what they think of our partnership:
"We couldn’t have solved some of the complex problems to deliver this product without the support of Cheesecake Labs' team."
Mark Heynen
Co-Founder & Chief Product Officer @ Knap
Cheesecake Labs can help you bring your app ideas to life, just like Knapsack.
