Opal Uses OpenAI Cash to Build AI Audio Gadget
▼ Summary
– Opal Camera is rebranding to Opal Electronics and expanding beyond webcams into a wider range of consumer devices, including AI-focused products, aiming to become a broad consumer gadget brand like Sony.
– The company raised a $40 million Series B funding round from OpenAI, closed in early 2025, with other investors including Samsung, Peter Thiel, and MKBHD, valuing Opal at around $275 million.
– OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, an early fan of Opal’s webcam, showed the Opal team a preview of ChatGPT in 2022, which inspired the company to pivot into an AI-focused research lab.
– Opal has been developing an AI-powered audio product for years, which convinced Altman to invest; it will launch in three to four months and is being tested by executives at OpenAI, xAI, and Anthropic.
– The audio product will launch in partnership with an AI lab, and Opal plans to release two more products within the next 12 months.
A small San Francisco startup, previously celebrated for its sleek and well-designed webcams, is making a bold pivot to become a major player in the AI hardware space. Opal Camera is rebranding as Opal Electronics and expanding beyond webcams into a lineup of consumer devices, many of which will be AI-driven. The company’s ambition is to mirror Sony Electronics as a versatile gadget brand that prioritizes design and culture over raw technical specs.
This transformation was fueled by a $40 million Series B funding round led by OpenAI. While some details of the investment surfaced in 2024, the deal closed in the first quarter of 2025. Other backers include Samsung, Peter Thiel, Seven Seven Six (Alexis Ohanian’s venture capital firm), and tech YouTuber Marques Brownlee (MKBHD), according to a source familiar with the matter. Opal is now valued at roughly $275 million. Opal Electronics declined to comment, and OpenAI did not respond to WIRED’s request for comment.
The connection between Opal and OpenAI traces back to Sam Altman, who was an early customer and fan of Opal’s original C1 webcam. In 2022, Altman’s team visited Opal’s offices to discuss whether OpenAI’s Whisper voice transcription model could run locally on Opal cameras for live Zoom subtitles. At the end of that meeting, the source says, OpenAI previewed ChatGPT for the Opal team. The demonstration was so impactful that Opal decided to transform itself into a research lab.
Since then, Opal has spent years developing an AI-powered audio product, which ultimately convinced Altman to invest. The device is expected to launch in the next three to four months and is currently being tested by Altman, researchers at OpenAI, and executives at xAI, Thinking Machines, and Anthropic. While it is unclear if the product is a wearable, the source describes it as a familiar category and emphasizes it is not designed to compete with the iPhone.
OpenAI has its own hardware ambitions. The company famously teamed up with ex-iPhone designer Jony Ive and his firm LoveFrom to explore personal devices running ChatGPT and other OpenAI software. The first product is rumored to resemble a smart speaker, with a potential launch in early 2027.
Opal’s audio gadget will launch in partnership with a specific AI lab, though the source could not disclose which. However, Opal is in talks with OpenAI, Anthropic, and xAI, allowing users to switch between models based on preference. Opal Electronics also plans to release two additional products over the next 12 months.
(Source: Wired)
