Era, a software infrastructure startup building a platform for AI-enabled hardware devices, has raised $11 million in total funding.
The round includes a $9 million Seed led by Abstract Ventures and BoxGroup, with participation from Collaborative Fund and Mozilla Ventures, alongside an earlier $2 million Pre-Seed backed by Topology Ventures and Betaworks. The company is developing an intelligence layer that enables hardware makers to build and orchestrate AI-powered devices without relying on traditional app-based systems.
What The Company Does
Era is building a software platform designed to power a new generation of AI devices by acting as an orchestration layer between hardware and large language models. Rather than manufacturing devices itself, the company focuses on enabling third-party hardware creators to embed intelligence into physical products such as wearables, audio devices, and experimental consumer gadgets.
The platform allows developers to build AI agents that can interpret multimodal inputs and execute tasks across different hardware environments. These include capabilities such as custom voice generation, contextual reasoning, and real-time data interpretation embedded directly into physical devices.
Era currently integrates more than 130 large language models from over 14 providers, allowing developers to select models based on specific device requirements and use cases. This flexibility is designed to support a wide range of experimental hardware formats, from glasses and jewelry to home speakers and other emerging form factors.
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Market Context / Industry Background
The AI hardware sector is still in an early and unstable phase, with few clear commercial winners. While some products like meeting-focused devices have gained traction, many early consumer AI hardware startups have struggled to scale or maintain momentum.
At the same time, the broader industry is moving toward increased experimentation in form factors as model capabilities improve and hardware becomes cheaper to produce. This shift has led to what many describe as a “Cambrian explosion” of device concepts, where intelligence is increasingly decoupled from traditional app ecosystems.
Era’s approach aligns with this shift by focusing on the infrastructure layer rather than individual devices. The company is positioning itself as a foundation for hardware developers who need scalable orchestration across models, devices, and real-world constraints such as connectivity and latency.
Investor Casey Caruso of Topology Ventures noted that the platform differentiates itself through its ability to dynamically route across models while managing real-world deployment limitations, which are critical in physical AI systems.
Founder Commentary
Era CEO Liz Dorman described the company’s mission as a shift away from app-centric computing toward embedded intelligence in physical objects. She said: “One of the incredible things we can do with these AI models today is that you can replace that app layer. What we’re building is the intelligence layer to allow anyone to create intelligent objects and intelligent devices.”
She also emphasised the company’s broader philosophy around decentralising device creation, adding that future technology should not be designed exclusively by a small group of companies or individuals in concentrated tech hubs, but should instead be more open and user-driven.
Dorman also highlighted the company’s long-term vision for user control over AI systems, particularly around privacy and model selection as AI devices become more widespread.
Growth Plans / Use Of Funds
With its new funding, Era plans to expand its orchestration platform and deepen its support for hardware developers building experimental AI devices. The company is focused on scaling its infrastructure to support millions of devices across different categories and use cases.
A key priority is improving support for multimodal AI workflows and enabling seamless deployment across emerging hardware categories. This includes expanding integrations with additional model providers and strengthening real-time inference capabilities for constrained environments.
Era is also working toward making its platform more accessible to independent creators and the open-source community. The company has already engaged with artists and early developers through its kit programs and plans to expand these initiatives to encourage experimentation in AI hardware design.
The long-term goal is to support a decentralised ecosystem where users and developers can choose their preferred AI models and memory systems in a privacy-preserving environment, while enabling a broader diversity of device formats.
About Era
Era is a New York-based software company founded in 2025 that builds an orchestration platform for AI-powered hardware devices. The company provides infrastructure that enables developers and hardware makers to integrate large language models into physical products such as wearables, audio devices, and experimental consumer electronics. Era focuses on replacing traditional app-based systems with an intelligence layer that supports multimodal AI agents, flexible model selection, and scalable deployment across diverse device ecosystems.
