Sesame, the conversational AI startup founded by Oculus veterans, has secured $250 million in a Series B funding round. Alongside the capital injection, the company officially launched a private beta for its iOS application, marking a significant milestone in its mission to integrate personal AI agents into everyday wearable technology.
Led by former Oculus co-founder and CEO Brendan Iribe and former Ubiquity6 CTO Ankit Kumar, the startup is developing lightweight smart glasses designed for all-day wear. The core objective is to provide users with a persistent AI companion capable of natural, human-like voice interaction.
From Stealth to Viral AI Voice Tech
Since emerging from stealth in February, Sesame has prioritized the development of its conversational layer. The company initially showcased two AI voices, “Maya” and “Miles,” which generated over 5 million minutes of conversation from more than a million users in just a few weeks. According to investor Sequoia, the technology distinguishes itself by generating speech directly, capturing the emotional nuance and rhythm of real-time dialogue rather than merely translating LLM text into audio.
Early industry feedback, including reports from The Verge, highlights the platform’s natural-sounding output, labeling the current iteration as “genuinely fun” to interact with.
Hardware Ambitions and Expert Leadership
While the company is currently focused on the software layer, its long-term roadmap centers on “fashion-forward” smart glasses. The vision is to create a device that users would choose for its style even in the absence of AI features. While a specific release date for the hardware remains unannounced, Sesame is leveraging a deep bench of industry veterans to overcome the complexities of hardware development.
The leadership team includes:
- Nate Mitchell (Oculus co-founder) as Chief Product Officer
- Hans Hartmann (former Oculus COO and Fitbit executive) as COO
- Ryan Brown (former Reality Labs engineering director)
- Angela Gayles (longtime Meta executive)
Beta Access and Future Outlook
The newly released iOS beta allows a select group of testers to experience the AI’s ability to “search, text, and think.” Brendan Iribe confirmed the launch on X, noting that participants are currently bound by confidentiality agreements to protect the development process.
Supported by investors including Sequoia and Spark, Sesame is positioning itself to lead the next generation of wearable AI. As the company continues to refine its conversational engine, the industry remains focused on how effectively it can bridge the gap between high-performance LLMs and seamless, daily hardware integration.