What Aura Frames does

Aura Frames, operating as Aura Home, Inc., is a privately held consumer electronics company headquartered at 148 Lafayette Street, New York. Founded in 2012, the company designs, manufactures, and sells a family of WiFi-connected smart digital picture frames — Carver ($149), Carver Mat ($143), Aspen ($229), Walden ($299), and the premium Aura Ink ($499) — alongside a mobile app (iOS and Android) and free, unlimited cloud photo and video storage with no subscription fee. Core technology centers on WiFi-connected displays, mobile app integration with Google Photos and iCloud, cloud-based photo and video management, on-device facial geometry analysis for Smart Suggestions, and a 13.3-inch color e-paper display module in the Aura Ink with up to three months of battery life.

The business runs a direct-to-consumer e-commerce model (auraframes.com) as the primary channel, supplemented by Best Buy in-store pickup, Sam's Club, and Amazon marketplace, serving consumers in six markets (US, UK, Canada, Germany, France, Mexico). The company monetizes through one-time hardware sales rather than recurring subscriptions; integrations with Alexa, Google Home, and Klarna/PayPal extend the platform into smart-home and flexible-payment ecosystems. The product has been ranked Wirecutter's #1 digital frame since 2020, and the company has raised approximately $40.9M across rounds from investors including Lago Innovation Fund, Spark Capital, DCVC, Betaworks, and SV Angel, with the most recent round a $26M Series 2 in November 2022.

Name

Aura Frames

Legal name

Aura Home, Inc.

Website

https://auraframes.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Aura Frames (Aura Home, Inc.) designs and sells WiFi-connected smart digital picture frames for consumers and gift-givers, offering a multi-tier product line ($143–$499) with free unlimited cloud storage, a mobile app, and on-device facial recognition for personalized photo recommendations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Personnel, Operations

Revenue model

1. Hardware Sales: Primary revenue from selling digital photo frames at various price points ($143-$499). One-time hardware purchase with no subscription required. Includes free unlimited cloud photo storage with purchase.
2. Cloud Storage (Included): Unlimited photo and video storage included with frame purchase at no additional cost. No subscription fees required to use the frame or access cloud features.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Aura Frames designs, manufactures, and sells WiFi-connected smart digital picture frames (Carver, Carver Mat, Aspen, Walden, and Aura Ink e-paper models) priced from $143 to $499. Each frame pairs with the Aura mobile app and Aura Cloud Storage, which together enable unlimited photo and video uploads, family member contributions, captions, auto brightness, and proprietary features such as Smart Suggestions facial recognition and Text-to-Frame SMS delivery. Cloud storage is included free with purchase, with no subscription fees.

Product overview

Aura Frames offers a family of smart digital picture frames designed for photo and video sharing within households and across distance. The product lineup consists of five distinct frames: Carver (10-inch, $149), Carver Mat (10-inch with paper mat border, $143), Aspen (12-inch, $229), Walden (15-inch, $299), and Aura Ink (13-inch e-paper, $499). All frames connect via WiFi and work with the Aura app for setup, photo management, and inviting family members to contribute. The platform includes cloud storage with unlimited uploads at no subscription cost, supporting photos, videos up to 30 seconds, and iOS Live Photos. Key differentiators include automatic brightness adjustment, caption features, and a text-to-frame capability for easy photo sharing without the app.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Aura Frames: Primary brand for smart digital photo frames and the associated mobile application.

Products and services

• Aura Carver 10" HD Frame 10-inch HD WiFi-connected digital picture frame with landscape orientation, touch bar, built-in speaker, auto on/off, portrait pairing capability, and support for videos up to 30 seconds. Positioned as Aura's most popular base model frame for consumers.
• Aura Carver Mat 10" HD Frame 10.1-inch HD landscape digital picture frame with a paper-like matted border, anti-glare coating, portrait pairing, auto shut-off, support for live photos and videos up to 30 seconds, and unlimited cloud photo/video storage via the Aura app with no subscription fees. Sold as Aura's bestselling frame.
• Aura Aspen 12" HD Frame 12-inch HD WiFi-connected digital picture frame with portrait or landscape orientation, anti-glare display, paper-like matting, and a slim 1.1-inch profile. Supports smartphone aspect ratio photos and is positioned as Aura's most versatile HD frame for consumers.
• Aura Walden 15" HD Frame 15-inch HD WiFi-connected digital picture frame — Aura's largest display — designed for tabletop or wall-mounted placement. Offers the same smart features as other Aura models including WiFi connectivity and app-based photo sharing.
• Aura Ink 13" E-Paper Frame Premium 13.3-inch cordless e-paper digital photo frame with six-color display support, smart automatic brightness, and up to three months of battery life on a single charge. Designed for wireless, gallery-worthy display of unlimited photos with a slim 0.6-inch profile; positioned as Aura's high-end frame at $499.

Quantifiable outcome

• Three months battery life on Aura Ink model
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration7 records

AI capability6 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Best BuycoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorRetail partnership for in-store pickup availability. Carver Mat Gravel, Aspen Ink, and Walden Ink frames available for same-day pickup at Best Buy locations. Frames are prominently featured in Best Buy stores with product displays.
• Sam's ClubminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorWarehouse club retail partnership for physical in-store product distribution alongside traditional retailer presence.
• AmazonminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMarketplace distribution channel allowing third-party retail sales alongside direct website purchases.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Nixplay: Nixplay is a direct competitor in the WiFi-connected smart digital photo frame category, offering a similar lineup of cloud-connected frames with companion apps. Like Aura, it targets gifting and family photo sharing, making it the closest head-to-head competitor.
• Pix-Star: Pix-Star is a direct competitor offering WiFi-enabled digital photo frames with cloud storage and multi-frame management. It is one of the three players commonly identified as leaders in the digital photo frame market alongside Aura and Nixplay.
• Skylight Frame: Skylight Frame is a direct competitor selling WiFi digital photo frames targeted at families and gift-givers with a similar premium, app-based UX. Its product positioning and channel strategy closely overlap Aura's core frame offering.
• Netgear Meural: Meural by Netgear offers smart digital frames and art-display canvases with curated photo/art libraries, directly competing with Aura's Walden and new Aura Ink gallery-style products. It overlaps on premium WiFi frames with software-managed content.

Broad incumbents

• Google Nest Hub: Google Nest Hub is a broad-incumbent smart display with deep Google Photos integration, allowing ambient display of family photos - directly substitutable for many Aura use cases. It benefits from Google's ecosystem and aggressive pricing, threatening Aura's standalone-frame value proposition.
• Amazon Echo Show: Amazon Echo Show is a broad-incumbent smart display that doubles as a digital photo frame via Amazon Photos. It is an indirect substitute that competes for the same household 'always-on photo display' use case Aura targets, often at lower price points.

Emerging players

• Dragon Touch: Dragon Touch is an emerging player offering lower-priced WiFi digital photo frames primarily through Amazon. It represents the value-tier competition that pressures Aura's premium pricing and could erode the mid-market if it improves software quality.
• PhotoSpring: PhotoSpring sells WiFi digital photo frames aimed at families and seniors with a subscription-inclusive model. It is an emerging direct competitor with overlapping features (app, cloud, photo sharing) that competes for the same gifting and family-segment customer.
• Atatat: Atatat offers budget WiFi digital photo frames with touchscreen and app-based sharing, primarily sold through Amazon. It competes in the entry-level segment and could pressure Aura's Carver/Aspen price points as it adds smart features.

Others

• Loop by Social Mobile: Loop by Social Mobile is a smart-display hardware partner that white-labels Android-based photo and communication devices for telecom and retail channels. It is an ecosystem enabler rather than a direct competitor, but represents adjacent business models for digital photo display hardware.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/aura_frames
• Facebookfacebook.com/auraframes
• Instagraminstagram.com/auraframes
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/pushd

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds7 records

Investors5 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Aura Frames