Aina, a startup founded by Apoorv Shankar—a former Ultrahuman hardware VP—has raised $5.5 million in funding led by Redstart Labs and 360 ONE.The investment comes as the company aims to create hardware interfaces that actively control AI agents rather than passively recording user interactions.

Aina’s first product, Dune, is a context-aware keyboard that manages meeting tools like microphones and cameras while executing app-specific shortcuts.

Other devices include Radiance, a video call remote with AI notetaking features, and Shift, an 'agentic' button that triggers automated tasks via connected phones.The startup prioritized Dune due to its popularity in early testing, planning to integrate lessons from all three products into future developments.

Shankar emphasized building action-oriented tools that leverage existing device context to streamline workflows, contrasting with current passive 'context capture' gadgets.

With growing demand for AI agent control hardware—such as OpenAI’s Codex keypad and Rabbit R1—the market remains competitive, though no clear form factor has emerged yet.