Ultrahuman’s Former VP Raises $5.5M for Devices That Control AI Agents (Not Just Record You)
TL;DR: Ultrahuman’s former VP of Hardware, Apoorv Shankar, raised $5.5M for Aina, a startup building devices that control AI agents. Their first product, the Dune AI macro keyboard, lets you control your AI agents with a physical button. It’s not just a recorder — it’s a controller for the age of AI agents.
Control AI agents without touching your keyboard. That’s the promise from Aina, the startup behind the Dune AI macro keyboard. Ultrahuman’s former VP of Hardware, Apoorv Shankar, just raised $5.5M to build devices that control AI agents, not just record you.
The round was led by Redstart Labs and 360 ONE, with participation from a star-studded cast of individual investors, including newly appointed WhatsApp head Kunal Shah and Razorpay co-founders Harshil Mathur and Shashank Kumar.
Shankar isn’t new to hardware. He ran LazyCo, where he built a ring to control phones, before Ultrahuman acquired the company. Now he’s back with a vision for AI interfaces that don’t just passively listen, but actively execute.
Three Devices to Control AI Agents — One Big Idea
Aina originally developed three different devices to test the waters:
- Dune: A three-key, context-aware macro keyboard designed for professionals who want instant control over meetings, shortcuts, and AI tasks.
- Radiance: A tabletop remote for video calls with a dial and buttons for mic, camera, and AI notetaker.
- Shift: A single-tap “agentic” button that triggers an AI agent on your phone to carry out complex tasks.
Early signals from users showed Dune was the clear winner. It could easily absorb the best features of Radiance and Shift. So Aina is shipping Dune first to learn exactly what kind of tasks real users want to automate in the wild.
“I left Ultrahuman last year because I was just super curious about the space of AI interfaces.”
— Apoorv Shankar, Founder of Aina
Why Control AI Agents Matters for Malaysian SMEs
Most AI tools today are passive. They record meetings, take notes, and summarise chats. The Dune flips that script. It gives you a physical button to command AI agents to take action.
For a Malaysian SME owner, this is huge. Imagine hitting a Dune key to:
- Generate a full invoice from an email in seconds.
- Trigger a stock check across your ERP system.
- Launch a customer support workflow with a single press.
The table below compares Aina’s devices to the current market standard:
| Feature | Standard AI Wearables | Aina Dune |
|---|---|---|
| Primary Input | Voice, Touch | Physical Button Tap |
| AI Role | Passive Recorder | Active Executor |
| Privacy | Always-Listening | Deterministic Trigger |
| Reliability | High Latency, Hallucinations | Instant, Contextual Action |
| Cost Efficiency | Subscription Heavy | One-Time Productivity Gain |
The Bottom Line
Passive wearables just watch. The Aina Dune acts. It turns complex, multi-step workflows into a single, reliable tap. For Malaysian SMEs, this means less time wrestling with software and more time executing.
Want to learn how to integrate physical automation like the Aina Dune into your business? Visit Autorun Biz to get started building your own automated workflows today.