Mirror’s founder is back with a new ‘connected screen’ startup: a gaming device called ‘Board’

Brian Putnam, Founder The connected fitness startup is behind the mirrorA new startup is back: a technology-driven gaming console that combines the best of board games and video games, called Board.

After selling the mirror Lululemon for $500 million In 2020, Putnam returned as an entrepreneur to create an entirely new product, which he unveiled for the first time on Tuesday. TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 Conference in San Francisco.

Like the mirror, the board taps the real world elements and the digital one.

The device offers a gaming platform, designed for friends and family members to gather around, much like a board game. However, the game board itself is a screen that can recognize touch, gestures as well as physical objects.

This 24-inch screen is housed in a wood finish frame. That size allows four to six people to sit around playing games, the founder said.

At launch, the $500 product comes with 12 launch games and 50 game pieces.

Over time, Putnam said AI will be used to customize the device to the user.

“We’re really excited about the long-term power of AI to personalize experiences on devices. So you can imagine vision and voice input, storylines that are adaptive, dynamic environments, accessibility features — like translation and voice-to-text,” he said. “Over time, AI really makes it possible for anyone to create on a board. So the board becomes more than a game console. It becomes a place for creative self-expression.”

To create the first games, the startup’s in-house game studio partnered with external developers But the long-term plan is for more developers to build the platform in the future. The company plans to offer an app store where others will be able to bring their own experiences on board.

The board is backed by Lerer Hippeau, the VC firm that led Mirror’s $3 million seed round, as well as earlier rounds and Box Group. So far, it has raised $15 million and is raising a Series A.

When asked how she got into gaming for her next idea, Putnam replied, “I think that sport is just universal… with fitness, not everyone likes to work out, and not everyone likes to work out at home, but games really bring us together. It’s this kind of universal language that connects us and brings us together,” she said.

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