What Seleste does

Seleste Innovations Inc. is a Western Canada-based, privately held assistive-technology startup founded in 2022 by Shubh Mittal (CEO) and Sunwoo Choi (CTO). The company developed the Seleste Smart Glasses, a consumer wearable for blind and visually impaired users built around a centered 8MP autofocus camera, a Bluetooth-paired iOS companion app, and an AI software layer called ELA — a voice-driven smart assistant that delivers scene descriptions, text reading, and object/environment Q&A. The AI software stack runs on OpenAI's models for image understanding and natural-language generation, with the glasses designed as an affordable, low-bulk, unisex form factor alternative to bulkier existing assistive wearables.

The commercial product was priced at US$149 for the hardware plus US$50 per month for the AI subscription (with a free first month on receipt and a 30-day fit refund window), marketed and distributed through a direct-to-consumer e-commerce storefront at seleste.co with international shipping to Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Prior to general availability, Seleste ran a non-refundable deposit waitlist that functioned as both a reservation queue and a working-capital mechanism to fund product development. Seleste is a listed collaborator with the CNIB Foundation, was selected in 2024 for the inaugural Mobility Unlimited Hub cohort (a MaRS Discovery District / Toyota Mobility Foundation program), and operates from Vancouver, British Columbia.

As of the most recent disclosures, Seleste has ceased selling the Seleste Smart Glasses and is operating as an early-stage company with stated intent to develop and release new products. The firm has 11–50 employees, no disclosed venture capital funding, no parent company, and no patents or trademarks on record. Revenue mechanics previously combined one-time hardware sales with recurring AI subscription revenue, but both streams are effectively paused on the discontinued line.

Name

Seleste

Legal name

Seleste Innovations Inc.

Website

https://seleste.co

Company type

Private

Founded year

2022

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Seleste Innovations Inc. is a Vancouver-based assistive-technology startup that built the Seleste Smart Glasses — an AI-powered, iPhone-paired wearable with a centered 8MP camera, ELA voice assistant, and OpenAI-enabled scene description — sold direct-to-consumer to blind and visually impaired individuals. The company has discontinued its flagship product and has stated intent to develop new ones.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Assistive Wearables

NAICS

Ophthalmic Goods Manufacturing (339115), Optical Goods Retailers (45613)

SIC

Ophthalmic Goods (3851)

akta.pro primary industry

AR Smart Glasses (CRACAIAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Wearable Computers (Industrial Smart Glasses/Wrist/Arm-Mount) (HDACALAH)

Keywords

• Assistive smart glasses
• Wearable accessibility devices
• AI vision assistance
• Text reading glasses
• Visually impaired wearables

Headquarters

HQ city

Toronto

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Hardware Sales: One-time purchase of Seleste smart glasses at US$149.00. The glasses are available for purchase through the company's website with international shipping to Canada, America, UK, and Australia.
2. Monthly Subscription: Continuous monthly subscription at $50 USD per month following a free first month after receiving the glasses. The subscription includes free software upgrades and provides ongoing access to AI features including ELA smart assistant and scene description capabilities.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Seleste designs and sells smart glasses for blind and visually impaired users, integrating a centered 8-megapixel autofocus camera, an AI voice assistant (ELA), OpenAI-powered scene description, and text reading capabilities. The glasses pair with an iPhone via Bluetooth through a companion app and are sold at US$149 hardware plus a US$50/month software subscription (first month free).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Seleste Smart Glasses Smart glasses for blind and visually impaired users featuring a centered 8 MP autofocus camera, OpenAI-powered scene description, text reading for everything from envelope-sized text to billboards, and a voice-controlled ELA smart assistant. The glasses connect via Bluetooth to the user's iPhone and the Seleste companion app.
• Seleste App iPhone companion application that pairs with the Seleste Smart Glasses via Bluetooth, provides guided setup, and enables voice commands while the user's phone remains in their pocket.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

AI capability7 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• CNIB FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCNIB is listed as a collaborator on Seleste's website under a 'We are collaborators' section. The partnership appears to be focused on serving the blind and visually impaired community, with CNIB being a prominent Canadian organization dedicated to supporting people with vision loss.

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• OrCam Technologies: Makes the OrCam MyEye, a wearable AI device that reads text and recognizes faces/objects for blind and low-vision users, directly competing with Seleste's assistive smart glasses.
• Envision: Offers Envision Glasses and app using AI to describe scenes and read text for the visually impaired, the closest direct analog to Seleste's ELA-powered glasses.
• eSight: Produces electronic eyewear that enhances vision for people with low vision, targeting the same vision-loss customer base through a wearable device.
• IrisVision: Provides a wearable low-vision assistive headset with digital magnification and AI features, serving the same visually impaired segment as Seleste.

Others

• Be My Eyes: App connecting blind users to AI (via GPT-4) and volunteers for visual assistance; overlaps on AI scene description use case but is app/service based rather than proprietary hardware.
• Aira: Visual interpreting service using agents and smart glasses to assist blind users; addresses the same independence pain point through a service model.

Broad incumbents

• Meta Platforms (Ray-Ban Meta): Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses offer AI scene description and integration with Be My Eyes, a mass-market incumbent whose accessibility features overlap Seleste's core value proposition.
• Vuzix: Established smart glasses hardware maker whose wearable computing platforms overlap Seleste's form factor, though focused broadly on enterprise/AR rather than accessibility.

Emerging players

• Biel Glasses: Early-stage smart glasses startup for low-vision navigation using computer vision, a niche peer targeting the same visually impaired users.
• .Lumen: Develops AI-powered guidance glasses for blind navigation, an emerging player intersecting Seleste's assistive-wearable category.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/seleste-inc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors2 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 Seleste