Thursday · October 29, 2026

 ·  Daily  ·  Newsletters

Resonance network: Quantum InsiderSpace Insider

Business & Markets · Startups

Sesame Raises $250M Series B to Launch AI-Powered Smart Glasses and Open Beta

Sesame, the conversational AI and smart glasses startup led by Brendan Iribe, co-founder and former CEO of Oculus, and Ankit Kumar, former CTO of Ubiquity6, has secured $250 million in Series B funding. The round included Sequoia, Spark, and other investors.

The company is developing a personal AI agent capable of natural, emotionally expressive dialogue, powered by speech generation technology that creates humanlike rhythm and tone. This AI will be integrated into lightweight, fashion-forward eyewear designed for all-day use, offering voice interaction and “high-quality audio” that allows the companion to “observe the world alongside you.”

Sesame first drew attention in February when its AI voices “Maya” and “Miles” reached over a million users and generated more than 5 million minutes of conversation.

Alongside the funding, Iribe announced an early beta of the Sesame iOS app, inviting select testers to try the platform’s AI capabilities for “search, text, and think” functions ahead of the smart glasses launch.

The company’s leadership also includes Nate Mitchell, Hans Hartmann, Ryan Brown, and Angela Gayles, all veterans of Oculus, Fitbit, and Meta.

Featured image: Credit: Sesame

James Dargan
About the author
James Dargan

James Dargan is a writer and researcher at The AI Insider. His focus is on the AI startup ecosystem and he writes articles on the space that have a tone accessible to the average reader.

The AI economy, every weekday morning

The daily briefing plus the weekly Scale-ups to watch edition. Free, no spam, unsubscribe any time.