What AYES does

AYES is an Antwerp, Belgium-based startup founded in 2021 that develops AI-powered software to help visually impaired users cross streets safely. The company's single core product combines artificial intelligence with what appears to be real-time environmental analysis to provide crossing guidance, positioning AYES in the niche but socially significant accessibility AI segment. The stated target customer is visually impaired individuals (a segment that includes roughly 1 in 4 Americans with a disability per the short-description claim), and the company frames its value proposition around safety and independent urban mobility.

The product is described as AI-powered software with domain specialization in street crossing; specific technical components such as model type, sensor stack, or on-device architecture are not disclosed in available sources. The company identifies a subscription/recurring revenue model, but pricing is not publicly disclosed and no paying customers or distribution partners are named. GTM is characterized as product-led growth, with a stated objective to significantly expand the user base following the November 2022 pre-seed round.

AYES is at the pre-seed stage, having raised €1 million led by id4 Ventures with participation from Angel Invest and Tiny Supercomputer Investment Company. The team comprises 1-10 employees and is led by co-founders Vincent Janssen and Willem Van de Mierop. Current operating geography is Benelux, and there is no public evidence of follow-on funding, partnerships with blindness associations, or municipal deployments. AYES remains an early-stage, single-product company with a clearly defined mission but limited disclosed commercial traction.

Name

AYES

Legal name

AYES

Website

https://ayes.ai

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

AYES is an Antwerp-based AI startup that develops software to help visually impaired users cross streets safely. Founded in 2021, the company raised €1M in pre-seed funding in 2022 and targets accessibility AI consumers in the Benelux region.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Assistive Technology Software

NAICS

Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities (62412)

SIC

Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373)

akta.pro primary industry

Assistive Vision & Screen Access (Screen Readers, Magnification, Braille Displays/Notetakers) (EDAFAKAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Consumer Navigation & Turn-by-Turn Apps (BPAMANAA), Autonomous Driving & ADAS Perception (HDAAAEAI)

Keywords

• Assistive AI software
• Accessibility technology
• Visual impairment aids
• AI navigation assistance
• Mobility safety tools

Headquarters

HQ city

New City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. AI Software for Accessibility: Software solution for visually impaired users to assist with street crossing. Revenue model details not yet disclosed.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Core offering

AYES develops AI-powered software that assists visually impaired users in crossing streets safely. The product leverages artificial intelligence to provide real-time guidance and safety support for pedestrians with visual impairments navigating urban environments.

Product overview

AYES offers a single AI-powered software product designed to assist visually impaired users in crossing streets safely. The company is a startup based in Antwerp that raised €1 million in pre-seed funding to develop and expand this assistive technology.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Aira: Aira provides on-demand, agent-assisted visual interpretation for blind users via smart glasses and smartphone cameras, including help crossing streets — a subscription-based commercial model directly comparable to AYES' positioning.
• OrCam Technologies: OrCam builds wearable AI devices (MyEye, OrCam Read) that read text, recognize faces, and identify products for blind and visually impaired users — a hardware-led competitor addressing similar accessibility use cases with a premium commercial offering.
• Be My Eyes: Be My Eyes connects blind and low-vision users with sighted volunteers (and AI) via live video for visual assistance tasks including navigation and obstacle identification — a direct competitor in AI-augmented visual assistance for the blind.

Emerging players

• Wayfindr: Wayfindr develops open standards and audio-based wayfinding technology for blind users in transit and indoor environments, overlapping with AYES on the navigation-for-the-blind theme with a focus on transit and venue deployments.
• GoodMaps: GoodMaps provides indoor and outdoor accessible maps and turn-by-turn navigation for people with disabilities, including blind users — a peer in the accessible navigation space with similar AI and mapping technology.
• NaviLens: NaviLens uses computer-vision-readable codes and a smartphone app to provide wayfinding and contextual information for blind users in transit stations, museums, and urban environments — an adjacent AI-accessibility solution focused on infrastructure integration.

Regional players

• Lazarillo: Lazarillo is a GPS-based accessible navigation app for blind and visually impaired users, with strong presence in Latin America and Spain — a comparable subscription navigation app for the visually impaired in a different geographic market.

Broad incumbents

• Seeing AI (Microsoft): Microsoft's Seeing AI app narrates the visual world for blind users through a smartphone camera, including scene description and people/object recognition — a comparable AI-vision accessibility product from a large platform player.
• Google Lookout: Google's Lookout app uses computer vision to describe surroundings for blind users, including identifying objects, text, and obstacles — a free, OS-adjacent competitor that overlaps with AYES' AI-assistive vision value proposition.
• Microsoft Soundscape: Microsoft's Soundscape project provides 3D audio-based navigation for blind and low-vision users, including street crossing and exploration cues — the most direct large-platform parallel to AYES' crossing-assistance use case.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ayes_ai
• Facebookfacebook.com/artificialeyesai
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ayes-ai

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors3 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 AYES