With Financial Backing from OpenAI, Opal Is Developing an AI-Driven Audio Device

A small San Francisco startup recognized for its elegantly designed, high-quality webcams is now aiming to establish itself as the leading AI hardware company of the moment.

Opal Camera is rebranding itself as Opal Electronics and plans to diversify its product range beyond webcams to include a variety of consumer devices, many with a focus on AI. The company aspires to mirror Sony Electronics as a diverse consumer gadget brand by emphasizing design and culture, rather than merely technology.

This shift was made possible by a $40 million Series B funding round led by OpenAI. Initial details about this investment surfaced in 2024, but the agreement was finalized in early 2025. Other investors involved with Opal include Samsung, Peter Thiel, Seven Seven Six (the venture capital firm founded by Alexis Ohanian), and prominent tech YouTuber Marques Brownlee (MKBHD), among others, according to a source familiar with the deal. Opal is currently valued at approximately $275 million.

Opal Electronics has chosen not to comment on this matter. OpenAI did not respond to WIRED’s inquiry for comment.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was an early admirer and customer of Opal’s C1 webcam, so much so that his team visited Opal’s headquarters in 2022 to explore the possibility of running OpenAI’s Whisper voice transcription model on Opal cameras for live Zoom subtitles. According to an anonymous source, it was during this meeting that OpenAI revealed a preview of ChatGPT to the Opal team. The presentation left such a strong impression that it led the company to pivot into a research lab.

Since then, Opal has been developing an AI-driven audio product over the past few years. This product is reportedly what persuaded Altman to invest in Opal. It is scheduled for launch within the next three to four months and is currently being tested by Altman, researchers at OpenAI, as well as executives from xAI, Thinking Machines, and Anthropic. While it’s uncertain whether it is a wearable, the source indicated it belongs to a well-known product category and it is not intended to compete with the iPhone.

OpenAI has notably collaborated with ex-iPhone designer Jony Ive and his firm, LoveFrom, to consider personal hardware devices that would support ChatGPT and other OpenAI applications. The specific hardware strategy for OpenAI remains unclear, but the first product is rumored to resemble a smart speaker, with an anticipated launch in early 2027.

Opal’s audio product will be launched in collaboration with a particular AI lab—the source was unable to specify which—but Opal is in discussions with OpenAI, Anthropic, and xAI, enabling users to choose their preferred models. Opal Electronics intends to unveil two additional products in the coming year.

Courtesy of Opal Electronics