Lyte Launches With $107 Million To Build Perception Layer For Physical AI

Lyte, a Mountain View startup, officially exited stealth mode this week with an aggregate of $107 million in funding. The company is developing an integrated perception platform intended to serve as the visual foundation for physical AI and robotics. This launch marks a significant step toward giving autonomous machines the ability to see and operate safely in complex human environments.

The founding team consists of the technical leaders who pioneered modern 3D sensing at Apple and Microsoft. CEO Alexander Shpunt was the CTO of PrimeSense, the company acquired by Apple to form the basis of Face ID and the original Microsoft Kinect. He is joined by fellow Apple veterans Arman Hajati and Yuval Gerson, bringing decades of experience in scaling perception technologies to billions of users.

Their primary technology, LyteVision, combines 4D sensing, high-resolution imaging, and motion awareness into a single hardware and software stack. This approach solves a major structural bottleneck in robotics where teams currently spend months manually integrating and calibrating sensors from different suppliers. The system provides a coherent stream of spatial data that allows robots to understand depth and movement in real time.

Legendary semiconductor entrepreneur Avigdor Willenz led the funding round and serves as the Chairman of the Board. Institutional support came from major firms including Fidelity Management and Research Company, Atreides Management, and Exor Ventures. Willenz noted that the startup is building at the right layer and moment to unlock the next wave of industrial automation.

Lyte recently received the Best of Innovation Award in Robotics at CES 2026, highlighting the industry's interest in its unified approach. Research from All About AI suggests the robotics market will hit $125 billion by 2030. However, many companies currently lack the internal capabilities to implement these systems, a problem Lyte hopes to solve with its integrated platform.