Pebbles Interfaces

About Pebbles Interfaces

Pebbles Interfaces, an Israeli startup founded in 2010 by CEO Emil Alon and CTO Nadav Grossinger, specialized in gesture control technology. The company operated from Kfar Saba, Israel, and prior to its acquisition, had approximately 50 employees.

The firm developed a unique technology for human-computer interaction, focusing on gesture and finger movement recognition. This technology utilized custom optics, advanced sensor systems, and proprietary algorithms to detect and track hand movements with high fidelity, creating a 3D model of the user's hands that could interact with virtual objects. The system was designed to function across various platforms, including PCs, smartphones, and smart TVs, with the goal of creating a unified and intuitive user interface. A key feature of their technology was its claim of having no latency, which was a significant factor for immersive virtual reality experiences.

Pebbles Interfaces secured a total of $11.4 million in funding over two rounds. A seed round in 2011 brought in $450,000, followed by a Series A round in 2013 that raised $11 million. The company attracted investments from notable institutional investors such as Giza Venture Capital, Xiaomi, SanDisk Corporation, and iNetworks.

In July 2015, Pebbles Interfaces was acquired by Oculus VR, a subsidiary of Facebook (now Meta), for an estimated $60 million. This acquisition was a strategic move by Oculus to enhance its virtual reality capabilities by integrating sophisticated hand-tracking technology, aiming to move beyond traditional controllers. Following the acquisition, the Pebbles Interfaces team was integrated into Oculus's hardware engineering and computer vision departments to contribute to the advancement of VR tracking and human-computer interaction.