Asteroid Technologies
Asteroid Technologies builds Asteroid, a Mac-based no-code augmented reality development tool that lets developers create ARKit apps for iPhone by visually connecting CoreML models and 3D assets, targeting AR app developers and iOS creators without deep ML or ARKit expertise.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2018
- HeadquartersSan Francisco, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Asteroid Technologies does
Asteroid Technologies is a seed-stage, privately held software company founded in 2018 and operating with 1-10 employees across San Francisco and London. The company builds Asteroid, a Mac-based augmented reality development tool that enables creators to build ARKit applications for iPhone through a visual, graph-based interface (the "Switchboard Interface") without writing code. The core technical stack combines a lightweight game engine (supporting GameObject, Mesh, Light, Text Sprite, and Camera components) with plug-and-play machine learning integration via Apple's CoreML framework and custom TensorFlow/Python scripts, plus AR-specific primitives for camera input, face/plane tracking, and microphone input. A key architectural element is the "Reactions" system — reusable bundles of CoreML models, scripts, and 3D functionality that can be imported or shared, enabling developers to compose environment-reactive AR applications. Scenes export as ARKit-based Xcode projects ready to run on iOS devices, and the platform also provides a Python API for programmatic control.
The company's go-to-market is primarily product-led and community-led: the Mac app is distributed as a free download directly from the company's website, supported by a Slack community, Medium walkthroughs, and a GitHub-hosted Python module. The revenue model appears to be freemium, but no paid pricing tiers, subscription plans, or enterprise licensing terms are publicly disclosed. The primary customer segment is AR app developers and iOS developers seeking to prototype AR experiences without deep ARKit or ML expertise, with use cases spanning productivity overlays, social media filters, AI-guided task assistance, and interactive AR experiences. In 2025, the company won Vueling's NextGen Aviation Challenge with its Hearlo communication app — an AR-based customer communication solution for aviation — marking its first notable enterprise proof-of-concept beyond the developer-tool core. No funding amounts, investors, or revenue figures have been disclosed in the available sources.
Asteroid Technologies firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Asteroid Technologies
- Legal name
- Asteroid
- Website
- https://asteroid.zone
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2018
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Asteroid Technologies builds Asteroid, a Mac-based no-code augmented reality development tool that lets developers create ARKit apps for iPhone by visually connecting CoreML models and 3D assets, targeting AR app developers and iOS creators without deep ML or ARKit expertise.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Asteroid Technologies industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Augmented Reality Development Software
- akta.pro primary industry
- Creator Tools & Content Pipelines for Immersive Learning (VR lesson builders, 3D asset workflows) (EDAFAJAL)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- XR/AR/VR/MR Development Frameworks & Toolchains (MPAFAFAF)
Keywords
Where Asteroid Technologies is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Francisco
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Asteroid Technologies business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Software Tool (Freemium/Download): Asteroid distributes its Mac application development tool for free download. Revenue model appears to be freemium or free-to-use initial product with potential premium features or enterprise licensing.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Free Download |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels4 records
Asteroid Technologies product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Asteroid is a Mac-based augmented reality development tool that lets creators build ARKit apps for iPhone through a graphical interface with no scripting required. It combines a lightweight game engine with plug-and-play CoreML and TensorFlow machine learning integration, letting developers wire ML model outputs to 3D animations and AR scenes via a visual Switchboard Interface. Finished scenes export directly as ARKit-based Xcode projects ready to run on iOS devices.
Product overview
Asteroid Technologies offers Asteroid, a unified AR development platform consisting of a Mac desktop application for visual AR app creation, a Python scripting module for programmatic control, an API for developers, and documentation resources. The core Asteroid Mac app provides a graphical interface for building AR scenes using reactions (pre-packaged bundles of CoreML models, scripts, and 3D functionality), with export capability to ARKit-based Xcode projects for iOS deployment. Supporting components include the Asteroid Python module for scripting, full API reference documentation, and walkthrough guides. The platform targets AR developers seeking to create apps that react to environmental input without writing code.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Asteroid Mac-based augmented reality development tool that lets developers and creators build ARKit apps for iPhone through a graphical Switchboard Interface, with plug-and-play CoreML/TensorFlow integration and direct export to ARKit-based Xcode projects. Targeted at AR app developers and iOS developers.
- Hearlo AR-based customer communication application built on the Asteroid platform, deployed with Vueling airline to improve passenger communication and customer experience. Targeted at airline customer operations.
Companies that use Asteroid Technologies
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Asteroid Technologies technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability6 records
Feature7 records
Asteroid Technologies partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- VuelingcoreAsteroid won the Vueling NextGen Aviation Challenge with their Hearlo communication app. Vueling subsequently integrated Hearlo for customer use, demonstrating a successful proof-of-concept deployment. The partnership provided opportunity to develop the solution with airline support and access to IAGi's Accelerator programme.
Scale indicators2 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Asteroid Technologies competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Apple Reality Composer: Apple's first-party no-code AR authoring tool that ships free with the Apple developer ecosystem. It is the most direct substitute for Asteroid's visual AR creation workflow and benefits from being bundled with Xcode and ARKit.
- Unity: Dominant cross-platform game engine with broad AR/VR authoring support including ARKit integration, visual scripting, and an asset store. Competes with Asteroid for AR developers who want richer engine features and cross-platform export.
- Lens Studio (Snap): Snap's no-code/low-code AR authoring tool for creating AR Lenses with visual scripting, ML integration, and asset imports. Comparable to Asteroid in workflow but distribution is locked to the Snapchat platform.
- Spark AR (Meta): Meta's no-code AR effect authoring platform used to build Instagram/Facebook AR filters. Similar visual AR creation paradigm with bundled ML effects, though distributed through Meta's social channels rather than ARKit.
Direct peers
- Adobe Aero: Adobe's no-code AR authoring app for designers and creators to build interactive AR experiences on iOS. Targets the same non-programmer AR creator audience as Asteroid and competes on visual ease-of-use.
- 8th Wall: WebAR development platform with visual authoring and ARKit-compatible runtime. Closely comparable to Asteroid as an AR creator/developer tool, but with stronger web-based deployment and enterprise traction.
- Zappar: AR creation platform (ZapWorks) offering visual authoring tools for building AR experiences without code. Direct overlap with Asteroid's no-code ARKit/Rich-Media positioning for creators and developers.
- Blippar: AR content creation platform offering no-code AR authoring and ARKit-compatible publishing for marketing and enterprise. Direct overlap with Asteroid's creator-led AR tooling positioning.
Emerging players
- Niantic Studio: Niantic's AR development environment (formerly Lightship) provides visual tooling and ARKit-compatible runtime for building location-based and marker-based AR experiences. Comparable AR authoring scope targeting similar iOS/Android developers.
- Onirix: Onirix Studio provides a no-code AR authoring environment with ARKit-compatible scene export. Targets the same iOS AR creator segment as Asteroid with a similar visual workflow.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Asteroid Technologies social profiles
Digital presenceAsteroid Technologies financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Asteroid Technologies leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Asteroid Technologies funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Asteroid Technologies 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 Asteroid Technologies
What does Asteroid Technologies do?
Asteroid is a Mac-based augmented reality development tool that lets creators build ARKit apps for iPhone through a graphical interface with no scripting required. It combines a lightweight game engine with plug-and-play CoreML and TensorFlow machine learning integration, letting developers wire ML model outputs to 3D animations and AR scenes via a visual Switchboard Interface. Finished scenes export directly as ARKit-based Xcode projects ready to run on iOS devices.
Is Asteroid Technologies a public or private company?
Asteroid Technologies is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Asteroid Technologies founded?
Asteroid Technologies was founded in 2018. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Asteroid Technologies based?
Asteroid Technologies is headquartered in San Francisco, United States, in the North America region.
How does Asteroid Technologies make money?
One revenue line is on record: software Tool (Freemium/Download).
Who are Asteroid Technologies's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Apple Reality Composer, Unity, Lens Studio (Snap) and Spark AR (Meta). Direct peers are Adobe Aero, 8th Wall, Zappar and Blippar. Emerging players are Niantic Studio and Onirix.
Does Asteroid Technologies have an API?
Yes. Python module API providing programmatic control over Asteroid scenes and objects. The API consists of modules for AR (camera input, tracking, microphone), core objects (scene graph, game objects), ML (CoreML model integration and predictions), render objects (graphics, lighting, camera), and variables (scene/game object properties). Developers can write Python scripts to manipulate game objects, control ML models, manage AR tracking, and handle rendering. The API is available via pip installation and is used within Asteroid's built-in scripting shell. Developer documentation is at asteroid.zone/API.
What industry is Asteroid Technologies in?
Asteroid Technologies's product category is Augmented Reality Development Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAFAJAL, Creator Tools & Content Pipelines for Immersive Learning (VR lesson builders, 3D asset workflows), with a secondary code of MPAFAFAF, XR/AR/VR/MR Development Frameworks & Toolchains.