Company · Voice, image & video
Sesame revenue, valuation & funding
Sesame, a private startup building voice agents and smart glasses, raised a $250M Series B in October 2025, led by Sequoia Capital and Spark Capital. It has no stock ticker and, according to Forge, hasn't filed for an IPO.
At a glance
- Funding: a $250M Series B in October 2025, led by Sequoia Capital and Spark Capital. Road to VR puts total funding at $307.6M, citing Crunchbase.
- Revenue: not reported. Sesame hasn't published revenue figures.
- Status: private. No stock ticker. Forge says it hasn't filed for an IPO.
- Founded: June 2023, by Brendan Iribe, Ankit Kumar and Ryan Brown.
- CEO: Brendan Iribe, who co-founded Oculus.
- Investors: a16z, Sequoia, Spark, Matrix and a group of founders and investors.
- Products: voice agents named Maya, Miles, Simone and Charlie, on iOS and Android. Its team expects to launch smart glasses in 2027.
- Headquarters: San Francisco, with offices in Bellevue and New York.
Is Sesame public? Can you buy its stock?
No. Sesame is a private company, so its shares don't trade on any stock exchange and it has no ticker symbol.
Forge says Sesame has not filed for an IPO. Its executives haven't said in public when it might list.
Its shares are held by its founders, staff and investors, including a16z, Sequoia, Spark and Matrix. Forge says buying shares before an IPO is open only to accredited investors. This page reports facts and gives no investment advice.
Valuation, round by round
Sesame hasn't announced a valuation for any of its rounds.
| Date | Valued at | Raised | Led by | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 2025 | — | $250M | Sequoia Capital and Spark Capital | Road to VR |
| Feb 2025 | — | Unconfirmed | Andreessen Horowitz | Sacra |
The Series A figure comes from Sacra and isn't confirmed by a primary report, nor is the $887.65M Series B valuation shown by Forge and Sacra. Bloomberg reported talks in March 2025 to raise more than $200M at over $1B, also unconfirmed.
How Sesame makes money
Sesame hasn't announced paid plans. When its iOS app launched in May 2026, the full experience was free for the time being, TechCrunch reported.
Sacra describes a consumer model built on its AI companions. It says Sesame is also building business revenue from enterprise licensing and developer APIs.
Products
Sesame builds voice agents meant to talk things through with people. Its site says they are available on iOS and Android and are coming soon to eyewear.
- Voice demo (February 27, 2025). Sesame released its Maya and Miles voice demo to the public. Contrary Research
- iOS beta (October 21, 2025). An invite-only beta of its conversational AI, opened alongside its Series B. TechCrunch
- iOS app (May 28, 2026). A public preview in 39 countries with four agents, Maya, Miles, Simone and Charlie. TechCrunch
- Android. Sesame's site lists its agents on Android as well as iOS. Sesame
- Smart glasses. TechCrunch reported in May 2026 that the team expects to launch intelligent eyewear in 2027. TechCrunch
Leadership
Sesame was founded in June 2023 by Brendan Iribe as CEO, Ankit Kumar as CTO and Ryan Brown as founding engineer, according to Contrary Research. Contrary Research lists 61 employees as of October 2026.
- Brendan Iribe, co-founder and CEO. He co-founded Oculus and was its CEO. Road to VR
- Ankit Kumar, co-founder and CTO. Contrary Research
- Ryan Brown, co-founder and founding engineer. Contrary Research
- Nate Mitchell, Chief Product Officer. An Oculus co-founder, he announced in June 2025 that he was joining. Road to VR
- Angela Gayles is named among Sesame's leaders on its team page, which gives no titles. Sesame's team page
Who owns Sesame?
Its founders, staff and investors. As a private company it doesn't publish who holds what, and no stake has been disclosed.
Road to VR puts its total funding at $307.6M, citing Crunchbase.
- Sequoia Capital and Spark Capital led the $250M Series B in October 2025. Road to VR
- Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) led a $47.5M Series A in February 2025, according to Sacra, though this is unconfirmed by any primary report. Sacra
- Matrix is named as a backer on Sesame's team page, along with a group of founders and investors. Sesame's team page
Competitors
Sesame competes on two fronts. Its glasses would face big companies chasing smart glasses, Road to VR wrote. Its voice agents face large tech firms and voice startups.
- Meta, in the race for smart glasses. Road to VR
- Google, Samsung and Apple, also named by Road to VR as glasses rivals. Apple's plans there are unconfirmed. Road to VR
- OpenAI, Google, Amazon and Apple, which Sacra says are building conversational AI into their own products. Sacra
- ElevenLabs and PlayAI, named by Sacra among voice infrastructure rivals. Sacra
- Character.AI and Replika, named by Sacra among AI companion apps. Sacra
Timeline and latest news
From its founding to the latest reports, newest first.
- Oct 21, 2026Latest
Contrary Research listed Sesame with 61 employees. Contrary Research - Oct 2026Latest
Its site listed its agents on iOS and Android, with eyewear coming soon. Sesame - May 28, 2026Latest
Launched its iOS app as a public preview in 39 countries, with four voice agents. TechCrunch - Oct 21, 2025
Opened an invite-only iOS beta of its conversational AI. TechCrunch - Oct 21, 2025
Announced a $250M Series B, led by Sequoia Capital and Spark Capital. Road to VR - Oct 3, 2025
A domain panel denied its claim to sesame-ai.pro. National Arbitration Forum - Jun 2025
Oculus co-founder Nate Mitchell said he was joining as Chief Product Officer. Road to VR - Feb 27, 2025
Released its Maya and Miles voice demo to the public. Contrary Research - Jun 2023
Founded by Brendan Iribe, Ankit Kumar and Ryan Brown. Contrary Research
Legal matters
- Domain dispute (filed September 19, 2025). Sesame AI, Inc. sought the domain sesame-ai.pro. The panel denied relief on October 3, 2025, and the domain stayed with its holder. National Arbitration Forum
Questions people ask
Is Sesame a public company? Can I buy Sesame stock?
No. Sesame is private and has no ticker, so its shares aren't sold on any exchange. Forge says it hasn't filed for an IPO.
Who owns Sesame?
Its founders, staff and investors, including a16z, Sequoia, Spark and Matrix. Stakes haven't been disclosed.
Who is the CEO of Sesame?
Brendan Iribe, who co-founded Oculus and was its CEO.
Who founded Sesame?
Brendan Iribe, Ankit Kumar and Ryan Brown, in June 2023.
How much is Sesame worth?
Sesame hasn't announced a valuation. It raised $250M in October 2025, Road to VR reported. Forge shows $887.65M for that round, a figure not confirmed by the company or news reports.
How does Sesame make money?
It hasn't announced paid plans, and its app was free at its May 2026 launch. Sacra says it is building enterprise licensing and developer API revenue.
Where is Sesame headquartered?
San Francisco. It also has offices in Bellevue and New York.
Who are Sesame's competitors?
Meta, Google, Samsung and Apple in smart glasses, and OpenAI, Amazon, ElevenLabs and Character.AI in voice and companion AI.
People on Real Alpha
- Brendan Iribe, Co-founder, Sesame; co-founder, Oculus
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How this page is sourced
Each figure links to the filing, company statement or news report it came from, with its date. Run rates are what reporters were told, not audited results; estimates and unconfirmed reports are marked. Quotes are what each person said on the record, with the minute they said it. Spotted something that's off? .
Last checked Nov 8, 2026