In 2021, Intel announced it would wind down RealSense, its 3D vision division. Four years later, that division has not only survived but re-emerged as a standalone company, securing $50 million in Series A funding and claiming its technology powers 60% of the world’s autonomous mobile robots and humanoids. Now operating independently under CEO Nadav Orbach, RealSense aims to scale in step with the global rise of robotics and AI-powered physical systems.
RealSense builds stereoscopic depth cameras that allow machines (robots, drones, autonomous vehicles) to perceive and interpret the 3D world in real time. The company’s cameras, including its latest D555 model, use stereo vision, structured light, and time-of-flight technology to generate dense, millimeter-accurate depth maps. This data underpins critical decisions in autonomous navigation, object avoidance, and interaction with physical environments.
Founded more than a decade ago inside Intel as “Perceptual Computing,” RealSense initially explored diverse applications from gesture recognition to facial authentication. But over time, it zeroed in on robotics, where demand for reliable spatial perception has surged alongside developments in AI and machine learning. “We knew and understood that 3D perception was going to be big,” Orbach told TechCrunch. “We tried across different market segments… until we really found our sweet spot over the years, mostly in robotics.”
Surviving Intel and Standing Alone
The spinout from Intel was neither inevitable nor straightforward. In 2021, then-CEO Pat Gelsinger announced broad cost-cutting measures, and RealSense was among the groups marked for shutdown. Some product lines: LiDAR and facial recognition, among others, were shuttered. But the core stereo vision technology remained. “The reason that Pat kept it at the end is he believed that it’s an asset that will help him play in some areas like AI,” Orbach said in an interview with CRN.
Over the next few years, RealSense invested in its own ASIC and advanced SoC hardware, integrating AI processing directly into the cameras. The cameras continued to see adoption in industrial and consumer robotics, securing design wins in machines from companies like Unitree Robotics, Fit:Match.ai, and ANYbotics.
The decision to spin out came in early 2024, and the formal separation was completed in July 2025. Intel retains a minority stake. The $50 million raise was led by an unnamed semiconductor private equity firm, with participation from Intel Capital and MediaTek Innovation Fund. The company has about 130 employees across the U.S., Israel, and China.
Enabling the Physical AI Wave
The market conditions RealSense now faces are more favorable than when Intel first considered shutting it down. Morgan Stanley projects the humanoid robotics market could grow to $5 trillion by 2050. More immediately, the broader robotics sector is expected to quadruple in size to over $200 billion within six years.
RealSense is positioning itself as a supplier of the visual perception layer for that expansion. According to Orbach, the company already works with over 3,000 customers and holds more than 80 patents. Applications now extend beyond robotics into biometric authentication, industrial automation, and healthcare. One customer, Eyesynth, uses RealSense’s cameras to enable audio-based spatial awareness for the visually impaired.
The company’s business model rests on selling its depth cameras and custom modules, as well as embedded chips and vision processors. With its modular approach and AI-enhanced cameras, RealSense targets both enterprise-grade deployments and OEMs seeking tighter hardware-software integration.
The $50 million in funding will support hiring across AI, robotics, and software engineering, as well as expanding go-to-market efforts globally. Orbach, a 19-year Intel veteran and first-time CEO, called the spinout a “humbling” experience. “There is a learning curve of stepping out,” he told TechCrunch, “but I feel that… we have the right mix for success.”
RealSense will continue to face competition from vertically integrated robotics firms and chipmakers embedding perception into broader platforms. But its neutrality and ecosystem approach, serving thousands of customers with off-the-shelf and customizable modules, could be a strength in a market still spread across industries and use cases.
“We understood that we have to invest in a few areas in order to continue to be relevant and to be an essential ingredient in robotics,” Orbach said.
