From AI-powered scent tech to brain-to-speech translation, the latest Betaworks Camp cohort reimagines how humans interact with technology.
A New Wave of Interface Innovation
Betaworks, the venture studio behind early bets on Hugging Face and Giphy, has just unveiled 10 startups from its 13th Camp residency.
- Held twice a year, Camp is a 13-week accelerator focused on early-stage innovation.
- The theme this cycle: Interfaces—startups rethinking how humans experience and control AI.
- Applications opened in June, the program kicked off in August, and culminated in Demo Day on November 4.
Here’s a look at the latest batch of startups emerging from the forefront of interface-driven technology.
1. Nora — Rethinking Shopping Behavior
Founder: Sid Banothu
Product: A browser extension that passively tracks online shopping habits.
- Nora helps users understand how they shop, what they search, and where they spend.
- It could offer insights into consumer psychology and improve personalized recommendations.
2. Primitive — Voice-Powered Productivity
Founder: Kasey Klimes
Product: A voice-based idea capture tool that turns spoken thoughts into organized tasks and to-do lists.
- Integrates with Notion and calendar apps.
- Ideal for brainstorming, rapid planning, and reducing friction in digital productivity.
3. Patina — The Smell of Memory
Founders: Sean Raspet & Laura Sisson
Product: A pioneering olfactory interface that generates “scent photographs.”
- Combines protein folding, scent receptors, and graph neural networks.
- Aims to encode and recreate memories through smell, making scent a new layer of digital experience.
4. My Place, by Orange — Simulated Life Gaming
Founder: Helen Huang
Product: A real-life simulation game platform.
- Lets users play and experience everyday human life through rich, realistic scenarios.
- Could merge gaming with behavioral simulation and AI-based storytelling.
5. Putty — Ambient, Memory-Centric Tech (Stealth)
Founder: Kevin Chang
Product: Still under wraps, but inspired by ambient interfaces, memory systems, and the rhythms of human attention.
- Putty is designed for non-linear thinking and sporadic engagement, possibly challenging conventional UX patterns.
6. Telepath — An App-Free AI Computer
Founders: Stephen Hood, Josh Whiting & Rupert Manfredi
Product: A computer built entirely around AI, without traditional apps.
- Reimagines computing through AI-first interactions, blurring lines between tool and assistant.
- Could represent the post-app era of computing.
7. Feather — Automating Tedious Life Tasks
Founders: ShaoBo Zhang & Marco Yu
Product: A digital assistant that builds custom workflows for everyday friction points.
- Use case: apartment hunting, by automating listings, comparisons, and communication.
- Makes task automation personal and dynamic.
8. Nubrain — Thought-to-Text and Image Translation
Founders: Priyanka Jain & Ingo Marquardt
Product: Uses EEG data to turn human thoughts into speech, text, and images.
- Bridges brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) with generative AI.
- Could revolutionize accessibility and creative expression for users with physical limitations.
9. Presq — Creator-Driven Product Design
Founders: Adam Saleh, Steve Burstyn & Mikey Robins
Product: A platform for influencers to create manufacturable fashion items using AI prompts.
- Starting with footwear, expanding to eyewear and home goods.
- Gives creators design control, turning influence into tangible product lines.
10. Intension — Distraction-Free Workflows
Founders: Conor Sanchez O’Shea & Gabriel Duemichen
Product: A focus-enhancing desktop tool that hides digital distractions.
- Tracks attention patterns and adapts the interface to support flow.
- Aims to map digital behaviors to optimize work focus in real time.
Why It Matters
This year’s Camp shows how startups are moving beyond AI functionality to focus on how humans interact with machines—emotionally, cognitively, and even sensorially.
- From smell interfaces to brainwave-controlled content, the cohort reflects a new wave of interface experimentation.
- Betaworks is betting that the next tech giants will be those who rethink how we touch, hear, speak, and feel with machines—not just what they can do.
Betaworks Camp 13 showcases 10 startups reimagining human-AI interaction through bold interfaces—from voice-controlled productivity apps and scent photography to brainwave translation and distraction-free computing. The cohort reveals the next frontier in how we engage with technology.
