Core Viewpoint - Looki, a Chinese AI hardware startup, has successfully completed a $20 million Series A funding round, led by Ant Group, with participation from Meituan's industrial fund, Zhongguancun Capital, and existing investors [1] Company Overview - Looki was founded in May 2024 by co-founders Sun Yang and Liu Bo Cong, both graduates of Carnegie Mellon University [1] - Sun Yang has previously worked at Google, Amazon, Momenta, and Meituan, while Liu Bo Cong has experience at Meituan and is a founding member of Pony.ai [1] Funding Details - The $20 million funding round saw significant participation from existing shareholders, including BAI Capital, which made additional investments in two consecutive rounds [1] - Other investors such as Alpha Community and Tongge Venture Capital also increased their stakes in the company [1] Product Launch - Looki is set to unveil its new feature, Proactive AI, at the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas [1] - The product, Looki L1, focuses on daily recording and companionship through video, images, and audio formats [1]

Core Insights - Looki, an AI hardware startup, has completed over $20 million in Series A funding led by Ant Group, with participation from Meituan Longzhu, Huaden, Zhongguancun Capital, and existing investor BAI Capital [1][11] - The funding will enable Looki to enhance talent development, model iteration, product R&D, and supply chain integration, accelerating its technological accumulation in the AI-native hardware sector [1][11] - Looki aims to create a new hardware category focused on daily life documentation and companionship, distinguishing itself from traditional action cameras [3][12] Company Overview - Looki was founded in May 2024 by two Carnegie Mellon University alumni, with CEO Sun Yang having a background in smart hardware at Meituan and as a founding member of Google Assistant [2][11] - The team includes members from prestigious universities and companies like Google, Amazon, and ByteDance, specializing in AI algorithms, products, and hardware engineering [2][11] - The first product, Looki L1, a wearable multimodal AI hardware, was launched internationally in August 2025 and quickly gained popularity, selling out thousands of units [2][12] Product Features - Looki L1 is designed to document daily life through video, images, and audio, providing users with insights and emotional value, and is referred to as a "life review device" by its community [3][12] - The product has unique features such as generating daily summary vlogs and creative content like serialized comics, which have become popular among users [3][12] - User engagement has increased, with average usage time rising from 6.2 hours to 7.9 hours, indicating strong user interest and interaction with the device [4][12] New Developments - Looki is set to unveil a new feature called Proactive AI at CES, which will allow the device to provide information and reminders based on real-time understanding of user activities [5][13] - This feature, termed Scene-Adaptive Intelligence, will enable Looki to proactively assist users, such as reminding them about coffee intake or encouraging them to take breaks [8][14] - The proactive capabilities aim to transition Looki from passive recording to actively identifying key moments and offering relevant services [10][14] Future Outlook - Looki plans to continue focusing on a human-centered product philosophy as multimodal AI technology matures and user needs evolve [15]