Omek Interactive

About Omek Interactive

Omek Interactive, an Israeli firm established in 2006, specialized in the development of advanced motion-sensing and gesture recognition software for human-computer interaction. The company was co-founded by the husband-and-wife team of Janine Kutliroff, who served as CEO, and Dr. Gershom Kutliroff, the CTO, along with Shai Yagur. Dr. Kutliroff's extensive background in computer vision, holding a Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics from Brown University, was foundational to the company's technological pursuits. After its founding, he led the R&D efforts, building on his experience in the field.

The firm's business model centered on providing middleware—software development suites—to hardware manufacturers and software developers. This enabled clients to integrate gesture-based interfaces into a wide array of products, including consumer electronics, automobiles, video games, digital signage, and healthcare devices. Omek's core value proposition was its sensor-agnostic platform, a write-once solution compatible with all major 3D depth cameras, which offered significant flexibility to developers.

Omek Interactive developed two primary product suites. The 'Beckon Development Suite' was the flagship product, designed for full-body tracking and gesture recognition at a longer range, suitable for applications like gaming consoles and smart TVs. This suite could convert raw data from 3D cameras into detailed intelligence, identifying skeletons and tracking joints to understand human movement. The second product, the 'Grasp Development Suite,' focused on close-range, high-precision hand and finger tracking at distances of a meter or less, targeting devices like PCs, laptops, and smartphones.

Throughout its operation, Omek Interactive secured significant venture backing, raising approximately $16.3 million over several funding rounds from investors including ff Venture Capital and SeventySix Capital. A pivotal moment occurred in July 2011 when Intel Capital led a $7 million Series C financing round, signaling strong interest from the chip manufacturer. This relationship culminated in July 2013, when Intel acquired Omek Interactive for an estimated $40 million. The acquisition was a strategic move for Intel to bolster its capabilities in what it termed "perceptual computing," integrating Omek's technology to create more immersive user experiences combining gesture, voice, and facial tracking.