Onwards Aira
At Aira, we are on a mission to positively impact the world. We’re a team of technologists dedicated to developing smart products and services for blind and low vision (BVI) people to lead happier and healthier lives. Today, we announced an exciting milestone as we closed our Series B financing round. It’s a big day for our company, our customers and the blind and low vision community that we serve.
“Many of the activities we do with Aira we could have accomplished through other means. With Aira, our time becomes our own. We can operate on our schedule. It’s freedom at a new level.” — Bob Sellars, Aira Explorer.
Many people are often surprised to learn that there are 300 million blind and visually impaired people around the world. An aging population only adds to this ever expanding market that is challenged by a lack of immediate access to key information that often comes visually. For example, traveling to a new city for the first time, getting to the flight, finding luggage, getting transportation from the airport, etc. .
At Aira, we solve this information access problem by leveraging a confluence of technology trends such as IoT, smart glasses, widespread bandwidth and human-assisted AI to make information that is now inaccessible for the blind and visually impaired instantly accessible.
Our technology works by connecting a blind person, at the tap of a button on their Aira app, to a network of trained, professional remote agents who access video, data and sensor streams from the smart glasses worn by blind users. This allows agents to truly immerse in the user’s environment as they provide information access and assistance to the blind in virtually any activity — ranging from simple things such as reading and cooking at home, to complex activities such as navigating busy streets and traveling the world.
Note: Mark Riccobono is the President of National Federation of the Blind (NFB), the nation’s largest organization of blind people. NFB was a strategic investor in Aira’s recent financing.
This financing was led by JAZZ Ventures and Arboretum Venture Partners and includes existing investors Lux Capital, ARCH and Felicis. Our focus will be on expansion of our service, technology development and hiring great people. We also want Aira to be a service to enhance employment opportunities for the blind and see more companies leverage Aira to increase efficiency among the blind in the workplace. It’s just the beginning. Onwards Aira!
If you know someone who would like to learn more about Aira, please have them visit aira.io/careers.
