Emerge
Emerge is a Los Angeles-based private consumer technology company that builds a tabletop haptic device using ultrasonic forcefield technology and Emotion AI to let consumers physically feel shared on-screen content across VR, AR, and smart TVs, targeting individual consumers seeking more immersive long-distance communication.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2019
- HeadquartersLos Angeles, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Emerge does
Emerge is a Los Angeles-based private consumer technology company founded in 2015 that builds a multi-sensory communication platform integrating touch, sight, sound, and brain activity, powered by what the company terms "Emotion AI." The flagship offering is a tabletop hardware device that generates a precise ultrasonic forcefield, allowing users to physically feel on-screen content with their bare hands — no controllers, gloves, or wearable accessories required. The platform is designed to integrate with VR, AR, and smart TV ecosystems, positioning Emerge at the intersection of consumer haptics, neurotechnology, and affective computing. The company has publicly cited a 2019 technical milestone — enabling the first long-distance hi-five — as the foundation of its product roadmap.
The company operates a direct-to-consumer go-to-market motion, selling its tabletop haptic device to individual consumers for at-home use, and is building a partner ecosystem with "premier consumer display brands" (OEM/embedded distribution) and "beloved content partners" to create shared tactile experiences such as virtual high-fives and superpower-casting on fan-favorite entertainment properties. Pricing is not publicly disclosed, and no customer logos, installed base, or unit-shipment data are available, indicating the device is in an early commercialization or pre-launch phase. To date, Emerge has raised approximately $37.5M across six funding rounds between 2016 and 2024, with M13, Vulcan Capital, Alumni Ventures, Alma Mundi Ventures, and Afore Capital among the disclosed investors.
Operationally, Emerge is a small organization (11-50 employees) led by co-CEOs Isaac Castro and Sly Spencer-Lee, CTO James Hamilton, and Co-Founder/VP of Marketing Mauricio Teran, with director Rajeev Singh-Molares on the board. In 2026 the company began participating as a corporate investor in early-stage AI startups (Kinfolk, Chamelio, Modern Relay), signaling a small but active ecosystem-buildout posture. The company emphasizes a privacy-first architecture, with personal data stored locally on devices and users retaining complete view and control of their information.
Emerge firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Emerge
- Legal name
- Emerge
- Website
- https://emerge.io
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2019
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Emerge is a Los Angeles-based private consumer technology company that builds a tabletop haptic device using ultrasonic forcefield technology and Emotion AI to let consumers physically feel shared on-screen content across VR, AR, and smart TVs, targeting individual consumers seeking more immersive long-distance communication.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Emerge industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Haptic Communication Devices
- NAICS
- Small Electrical Appliance Manufacturing (335210)
- SIC
- Household Audio & Video Equipment (3651)
- akta.pro primary industry
- VR/AR Gaming Hardware (Headsets & Controllers) (HDACANAD)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Immersive/Interactive Animation (AR/VR/Real-Time) (MPAHACAN)
Keywords
Where Emerge is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Los Angeles
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
Emerge business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels2 records
Emerge product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Emerge is building a multi-sensory communication platform that combines touch, sight, sound, and brain activity, powered by Emotion AI. The company produces a tabletop device that creates a precise ultrasonic forcefield, allowing users to feel on-screen content with their bare hands without controllers or gloves. The platform supports integration with VR, AR, and smart TVs to deliver shared tactile experiences for at-home consumer use.
Product overview
Emerge is building a unified multi-sensory communication platform that enables people to connect across distance through touch, sight, sound, and brain activity, powered by Emotion AI. The core offering is a tabletop device that creates a precise ultrasonic forcefield, allowing users to feel on-screen content with bare hands—no controllers or gloves needed. The platform integrates with VR, AR, and smart TVs to deliver shared tactile experiences. The company achieved the first long-distance hi-five in 2019 and continues developing Emotion AI capabilities to digitize and share emotions in real-time.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Emerge Multi-Sensory Communication Platform
- Emerge Tabletop Haptic Device
Companies that use Emerge
Customer profileSegments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Emerge technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability2 records
Feature4 records
Emerge partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- Consumer Display BrandscoreEmerge partners with premier consumer display brands to integrate its multi-sensory communication platform, setting the stage for new at-home experiences supporting tactile calls and shared experiences through TVs and future displays.
- Content PartnerscoreEmerge collaborates with beloved content partners to create shared tactile experiences based on fan-favorite stories, enabling users to bond over content through touch interactions like virtual high-fives and casting superpowers.
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Emerge competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Ultraleap: Ultraleap builds mid-air ultrasonic haptic technology for touchless interaction across XR, automotive, and consumer digital signage. It is the closest direct comparable to Emerge's ultrasonic forcefield approach and target use cases of bare-hand tactile feedback.
- HaptX: HaptX develops advanced haptic gloves and skin-displacement actuators for VR/AR and robotics. It is directly comparable to Emerge as a haptic technology vendor serving immersive and XR experiences, though it uses wearable gloves rather than mid-air ultrasonics.
- Tanvas: Tanvas creates surface haptics and programmable friction displays that enable tactile feedback on touchscreens. It overlaps with Emerge's goal of bringing touch into digital experiences, though its mechanism (electrostatic surface haptics) differs from ultrasonic mid-air forcefields.
Emerging players
- Lofelt: Lofelt develops high-definition haptic components and software for consumer electronics and gaming peripherals. It is comparable to Emerge's haptic technology stack targeting richer touch feedback in consumer devices, with a more component-level focus.
Broad incumbents
- Meta (Reality Labs / Quest): Meta's Reality Labs ships Quest VR headsets and develops haptic controllers and hand-tracking for consumer XR. It is a broad incumbent in the consumer VR/AR space that Emerge's multi-sensory platform targets, and represents the dominant distribution risk for any independent haptic layer.
- Apple (Vision Pro): Apple's Vision Pro headset and visionOS establish a premium AR/VR platform with integrated hand and eye tracking. Apple is a broad incumbent shaping consumer expectations for immersive, controller-less interaction that Emerge's bare-hand haptic vision aspires to complement or extend.
- Sony (PlayStation VR): Sony's PlayStation VR2 brings haptic feedback (headset vibration, adaptive triggers) into mainstream consumer VR gaming. As a broad incumbent with integrated haptic IP, it represents both a competitive threat and a validation point for tactile immersion in consumer XR.
- Microsoft (HoloLens): Microsoft's HoloLens and mixed reality efforts target AR experiences with hand and eye tracking. As a broad incumbent in enterprise and consumer-adjacent AR, it overlaps with Emerge's AR support claim and represents a platform-level competitor.
- Synaptics: Synaptics supplies haptics, touch, and sensing semiconductors used across consumer electronics. It is a broad incumbent providing the underlying components and IP for tactile feedback, comparable to Emerge's haptic ambitions at a hardware-supply level.
Others
- Disney Research (Haptic / XR projects): Disney Research has published and prototyped haptic, mid-air, and immersive experience technologies across theme-park and content applications. It is thematically adjacent to Emerge's content-partner-driven tactile experiences, though it operates as a research arm rather than a commercial product vendor.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Emerge social profiles
Digital presenceEmerge financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Emerge leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
Emerge funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds6 records
Investors25 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Emerge M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Emerge
What does Emerge do?
Emerge is building a multi-sensory communication platform that combines touch, sight, sound, and brain activity, powered by Emotion AI. The company produces a tabletop device that creates a precise ultrasonic forcefield, allowing users to feel on-screen content with their bare hands without controllers or gloves. The platform supports integration with VR, AR, and smart TVs to deliver shared tactile experiences for at-home consumer use.
Is Emerge a public or private company?
Emerge is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Emerge founded?
Emerge was founded in 2019. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Emerge based?
Emerge is headquartered in Los Angeles, United States, in the North America region.
Who are Emerge's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Ultraleap, HaptX and Tanvas. Lofelt is listed as an emerging player. Broad incumbents are Meta (Reality Labs / Quest), Apple (Vision Pro), Sony (PlayStation VR), Microsoft (HoloLens) and Synaptics. Disney Research (Haptic / XR projects) is listed as an others.
Does Emerge have an API?
No public API is recorded for Emerge.
What industry is Emerge in?
Emerge's product category is Haptic Communication Devices. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDACANAD, VR/AR Gaming Hardware (Headsets & Controllers), with a secondary code of MPAHACAN, Immersive/Interactive Animation (AR/VR/Real-Time). Its NAICS code is 335210 and its SIC code is 3651.