OpenAI Sam Altman, CEO of Apple, has long been interested in building a consumer-grade artificial intelligence device, similar to the one shown in Spike Jonze's film "Her." He has personally invested in wearable AI startup Humane and is working with former Apple designer Jony Ive on a personal AI DevicesNow, OpenAI’s venture fund is continuing on this path and has decided to invest in another hardware development company. Opal.
Note: The picture is a screenshot from the Opal official page
FinancingWho is the protagonist Opal?
OpenAI is leading a $60 million Series B round for webcam startup Opal (formerly known as Opal Camera), according to two sources involved in the deal. The startup is focused on developing high-end webcams with the goal of providing consumers with a better photography experience.
Opal's flagship product is the Tadpole, a $149 webcam that's tiny at 1.25 inches and can be easily clipped onto a laptop monitor. The Tadpole's image quality is excellent, with support for up to 3840x2160 pixel video recording, which Opal says is usually only available in more expensive webcams.
Consumers can use Opal's companion app Composer to customize Tadpole's settings and adjust parameters such as lighting to achieve the best shooting effect. With the completion of OpenAI's investment, Opal will not only continue to launch more webcam products, but will also shift some resources to developing AI-based devices. These new products will be called "creative tools" and are designed to help users realize more potential in their creations.
Note: The picture is a screenshot from the Opal official page
In Opal's new devices, OpenAI's technology may be integrated, especially functions related to image and video generation models. In fact, this is not the first time Opal has applied artificial intelligence technology in consumer electronics. Long before the launch of Tadpole, they released a webcam called C1, which uses machine learning to optimize video quality while supporting effects such as background blur.
It is worth mentioning that Opal is backed by YouTube creator Casey Neistat and TikTok star sisters Charlie and Dixie D'Amelio. Opal's most well-known product is a $300 professional-grade webcam, which does not seem to be an obvious investment choice for a large language model development company.
OpenAI's ambitions for hardware
OpenAI's interests are not limited to the field of consumer electronics. Recently, they have also been discussing the development of customized AI chips with Broadcom, which further demonstrates their ambitions in hardware.
OpenAI's investment in Opal has attracted a lot of attention. Opal has always focused on the field of webcams and has a certain reputation in the video creation community. OpenAI is constantly exploring the field of artificial intelligence and trying to find more innovative application scenarios. The background of this investment may be that OpenAI hopes to further promote the practical application of its AI technology through hardware cooperation.
We see that OpenAI is continuously expanding its investment portfolio to support startups that can create synergies with its AI technology.