Brynn Putnam’s ‘Together Tech’ Play: Board Secures $20M Series A to Scale Tactile Gaming
Table of Contents
Betting on the Physical Room
For the last decade, the prevailing trend in consumer technology has been a relentless push toward the virtual—replacing physical interactions with screens and social proximity with algorithmic feeds. Brynn Putnam is betting $20 million that the market is finally ready for a correction.
Board, the New York-based startup founded by Putnam, has closed a Series A funding round led by Union Square Ventures (USV). The investment marks a significant pivot in consumer hardware strategy, focusing on what Putnam calls “together tech”—hardware specifically engineered to pull people out of their individual devices and into the same physical room. Michael Mignano, a General Partner at USV, will join the company’s board of directors, marking his first investment since joining the firm.
The funding round also drew a high-profile roster of angel investors, including Biz Stone, Tim Ferriss, and Scott Belsky, signaling a broad interest in the intersection of gaming and social wellness.
The Hardware: Bridging the Tactile Gap
The flagship product is a $399 device: a 24-inch touchscreen encased in a wood-finish frame. While it may look like a high-end digital tabletop, the core innovation lies in its proprietary sensor technology. Unlike traditional tablets or consoles, Board is designed to recognize and track physical game pieces. This creates a hybrid experience where the tactile satisfaction of moving a piece on a board is augmented by the dynamic interactivity of a video game.
The traction numbers suggest a hungry market for non-isolating tech. Board reports that the device has already entered tens of thousands of environments, ranging from residential homes to hospitals, schools, and restaurants across all 50 states. More telling is the retention data: 85% of users are averaging 30 or more play sessions per month, suggesting the device is becoming a habitual part of social gatherings rather than a novelty gadget.
From Mirror to Board: A Shift in Philosophy
To understand Board, one has to look at Putnam’s history with Mirror. After selling the connected fitness startup to Lululemon for $500 million in 2020, Putnam spent years perfecting the art of the home-integrated screen. However, the philosophical goal of Board is almost the inverse of Mirror.
While Mirror was designed for the individual—a reflective surface for personal performance and self-improvement—Board is designed for the collective. Putnam has previously noted that while her first venture was about the self, her current focus is on relationships, family, and the friction of face-to-face interaction. This transition mirrors a broader industry sentiment: a growing fatigue with “digital-only” connectivity.
AI as a Creative Engine
While the hardware focuses on the physical, the software is leaning heavily into the current AI wave. Alongside the funding announcement, the company revealed “Board Studio,” an AI-powered creation platform slated for launch later this year.
The goal of Board Studio is to democratize game design. Using natural language prompts, users will be able to conceptualize and build original games, moving from a text-based idea to a playable prototype in under an hour. By lowering the barrier to entry for game creation, Board is attempting to build a community-driven ecosystem of content that keeps the hardware relevant long after the initial purchase.
The Consumer Hardware Comeback
Board’s success comes at a precarious but opportunistic time for consumer electronics. For several years, venture capital shifted away from hardware due to the high overhead and risk of “dead-on-arrival” gadgets. However, the integration of generative AI is making new hardware configurations viable again.
Ben Lerer of Lerer Hippeau, who previously led Mirror’s seed round and Board’s initial $15 million funding, suggests that the current slope of innovation is steeper than it has been in years. The ability to pair sophisticated AI software with intuitive hardware is creating a new window for founders to enter the “pool” and disrupt how we interact with our living spaces.
