Era is building a software platform to power the next generation of AI devices by acting as an orchestration layer between hardware and large language models. Rather than manufacturing devices itself, Era enables third-party hardware creators to embed intelligence into physical products such as wearables, audio devices, and experimental consumer gadgets—handling the AI orchestration that makes smart gadgets actually work. The team brings deep device pedigree: CEO Liz Dorman worked on AI orchestration at Humane before joining HP via acquisition, CTO Alex Ollman built agentic frameworks at HP, and CPO Megan Gole worked at Sutter Hill Ventures on the Jony Ive and Sam Altman 'io' project. Era has raised $11M to date, including a $9M seed led by Abstract Ventures and BoxGroup (announced April 2026) with Collaborative Fund and Mozilla Ventures participating, plus a $2M pre-seed from Topology Ventures and Betaworks. Angels include Flickr co-founder Caterina Fake and iPhone keyboard creator Ken Kocienda.
Era
ActiveSoftware platform powering a new generation of AI gadgets and devices
Total raised
$11M
2 rounds
Stage
Seed
Team
1-10
since 2024
Pricing
Freemium
free plan
Founded
2024
San Francisco, United States
Agent-ready
API
Score 55/100
AI orchestration layer between hardware and LLMs
Embeddable intelligence for third-party devices
Wearable and audio device support
Software platform for AI gadgets
Device-to-model coordination
Hardware-agnostic integration
Experimental consumer gadget enablement
Agentic frameworks for physical products
55/100
Developing
MCP server
Public API
Webhooks
OAuth 2.0
SDKs
— Seed $9M Undisclosed
— Pre-Seed $2M Undisclosed
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- What does Era do?
- It provides a software orchestration layer that lets hardware makers embed AI intelligence into devices like wearables and audio gadgets.
- Does Era make hardware?
- No, it builds the software platform for third-party hardware creators.
- How much has Era raised?
- $11M total, including a $9M seed led by Abstract Ventures and BoxGroup in 2026.
- Who founded Era?
- Liz Dorman, Alex Ollman, and Megan Gole, with backgrounds at Humane, HP, and the io project.
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