Era raises $11M to build AI software platform for gadgets
In 2023, Liz Dorman, Alex Ollman, and Megan Gole launched Era, a company focused on building a platform for AI-driven devices. Recently, Era secured $11 million in funding, which comprises a $9 million seed round spearheaded by Abstract Ventures and BoxGroup, along with a $2 million pre-seed investment from Topology Ventures and Betaworks. Prominent angel investors include Caterina Fake and Ken Kocienda. Era showcased its advancements at a New York artist event in April 2026, revealing an air quality monitor and a France-inspired souvenir. Their platform integrates over 130 language models, aiming to enhance device capabilities and user interactions.
Key facts
- Era raised $11 million total, including a $9 million seed round led by Abstract Ventures and BoxGroup.
- The startup held an artist showcase in New York in April 2026.
- Era's platform provides over 130 LLMs from more than 14 providers.
- Founded in 2023 by CEO Liz Dorman, CTO Alex Ollman, and CPO Megan Gole.
- Angel investors include Caterina Fake, Ken Kocienda, Tony Wang, Daniel Kuntz, Mina Fahmi, ShaoBo Z, and Kelin Zhang.
- Dorman previously worked at Humane and HP; Ollman at HP; Gole at Sutter Hill Ventures.
- Era aims to replace the app model with an intelligence layer for devices.
- The platform is designed to scale across millions of devices and support custom experiments.
Entities
Artists
- Caterina Fake
- Ken Kocienda
- Tony Wang
- Daniel Kuntz
- Mina Fahmi
- ShaoBo Z
- Kelin Zhang
Institutions
- Era
- Abstract Ventures
- BoxGroup
- Collaborative Fund
- Mozilla Ventures
- Topology Ventures
- Betaworks
- Humane
- HP
- Sutter Hill Ventures
- Rabbit
- Plaud
- Sandbar
- Taya
- OAS
- Little Guy
- Poetry Camera
Locations
- New York
- United States
- San Francisco