San Francisco, CA – OpenAI’s venture fund has taken the lead in a $60 million Series B funding round for hardware startup Opal, formerly known as Opal Camera. The investment, reported by The Information, marks a significant move for the AI research company as it continues to explore the intersection of artificial intelligence and physical devices.
Background and Investment Details
According to the report, the funding round is being spearheaded by OpenAI’s venture fund, with contributions from notable influencers such as YouTuber Casey Neistat and TikTok stars Charli and Dixie D’Amelio. Existing investors, including Founders Fund and Kindred Ventures, are also participating in this round.
The surprise element of this investment lies in Opal’s previous focus on producing and selling webcams priced at $300, which doesn’t align directly with OpenAI’s core AI initiatives. However, sources close to the deal revealed that Opal plans to continue selling webcams while developing other types of hardware devices powered by OpenAI’s AI models.
Company Profile and Vision
Opal, founded in 2020 and headquartered in California, USA, is dedicated to developing professional webcams with the quality of digital SLR cameras. The company has re-written camera firmware and released a new software application called Opal Composer. The team behind Opal is impressive, with co-founders Veeraj Chugh and Stefan Sohlstrom coming from tech giants like Uber and Google. Kenny Sweet, responsible for design, has worked on products such as Beats Pro, Google Pixel Buds, and Dell laptops.
The vision of Opal is to develop devices that individuals can use as creative tools, rather than AI-driven friends or companions. This aligns with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s long-standing interest in creating an AI hardware device for consumers, reminiscent of the device featured in Spike Jonze’s movie Her.
OpenAI’s Interest in AI Hardware
The investment highlights OpenAI’s growing interest in how AI technology can power physical devices. Altman has shown a keen interest in AI hardware, including restarting OpenAI’s robotics team earlier this year and collaborating with startups like Figure and 1X Technologies that are developing humanoid robots. Altman has also personally invested in Humane and Ive devices, which resemble camera-equipped headphones.
Sources familiar with the deal indicated that the Opal-OpenAI transaction is unrelated to Altman’s involvement with Humane and Ive devices. Additionally, Altman plans to collaborate with former Apple designer Jony Ive on developing personal AI devices.
Challenges and Potential
Despite the high-profile support, success is not guaranteed for Opal. Other startups have faced challenges in developing AI devices. For instance, Humane considered selling itself after receiving negative reviews and poor sales figures, hiring former Cisco CEO John Chambers last month. Another AI personal device developer, Rabbit, has struggled due to the large size of most existing large-scale models, which cannot run entirely on devices, leading to slow performance, short battery life, and the need for constant internet connectivity.
Despite these challenges, Altman and OpenAI are determined to make a mark in the AI hardware market. This investment increases their chances of success, with sources close to the deal expressing excitement about the opportunity to use OpenAI’s voice AI models in Opal’s devices.
Conclusion
OpenAI’s investment in Opal signifies a bold step into the realm of AI-powered hardware. With a strong team and a clear vision, Opal aims to create devices that can serve as creative tools for individuals. While challenges remain, the backing of OpenAI and the potential for innovation make Opal a company to watch in the AI hardware space.
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