The ‘together tech’ wave might be the most intriguing startup bet of 2026

June 5, 2026 · DigitalEdu

While AI funding dominates headlines, a counter-movement is emerging: startups like Board and cyberdeck creators are building tech that drives in-person connection, not screen time. This "together tech" wave represents a deliberate pivot toward shared physical experiences, offering business owners a fresh lens on where consumer attention and investment may shift next.

The Counter-Narrative to AI Maximalism

The dominant headline in venture capital remains the staggering scale of AI infrastructure spending. Mega-rounds for foundation model companies and data center buildouts consume the oxygen in the room. Yet, operating in the shadow of that hype cycle, a distinct category of "together tech" is emerging. These founders are not necessarily anti-AI; rather, they are betting that the scarcest resource in an algorithmically mediated world will be unmediated human presence. The investment in Board signals that sophisticated capital sees a viable commercial future in facilitating offline connection, treating physical proximity as a premium feature rather than a legacy constraint.

Brynn Putnam and the Board Thesis

Brynn Putnam carries significant founder credibility into this space. As the founder of Mirror, the connected fitness startup acquired by Lululemon in 2020 for a reported $500 million, she has already proven an ability to blend hardware, software, and community dynamics at scale. Mirror succeeded by making solitary exercise feel communal; Board appears to apply that same logic to play. By raising capital for a platform centered on in-person games and social experiences, Putnam is wagering that the "social infrastructure" of cities—bars, parks, living rooms—is underserved by current discovery and coordination tools. For small businesses in the hospitality or events sector, a platform that reliably drives foot traffic through organized play represents a potential customer acquisition channel that doesn't rely on ad auctions or algorithmic feed placement.

The Cyberdeck Movement: Hardware as Philosophy

Running parallel to the venture-backed track is a grassroots hardware renaissance. Cyberdeck creators are going viral crafting whimsical DIY computers that literally encourage users to touch grass. These devices—often built around Raspberry Pi or Framework mainboards, housed in custom 3D-printed or laser-cut enclosures—reject the sleek, sealed, attention-harvesting design language of modern consumer electronics. They are deliberately idiosyncratic, repair-friendly, and frequently optimized for outdoor or mobile use. The movement shares DNA with the right-to-repair ethos and the mechanical keyboard community, but its explicit "touch grass" framing positions it as a wellness intervention. For independent hardware makers and small-scale manufacturers, the cyberdeck trend demonstrates that niche, opinionated hardware can find passionate audiences without requiring the unit economics of mass-market consumer electronics.

Beyond Backlash: Designing for Scarcity

The article draws a crucial distinction: unlike the AI-free browser crowd, this doesn't just feel like backlash. Browser forks that strip AI features are reactive; they define themselves by what they remove. Board and the cyberdeck movement are generative; they define themselves by what they enable—spontaneous play, tactile computing, eye contact. This distinction matters for product strategy. Reactive products ride a sentiment wave that may crest and recede. Generative products build new behavioral loops. If the core thesis holds—that digital saturation creates a premium for analog presence—then "together tech" becomes a durable category, not a fleeting trend. Small businesses should note: the most resilient opportunities may lie in hybrid models that use digital efficiency (scheduling, matching, payment) to unlock analog value (conversation, shared meals, collaborative making).

Implications for the Small Business Stack

For operators outside the venture ecosystem, the signal is practical. The tools that win the next five years may not be the ones with the most aggressive AI feature lists, but the ones that best respect human attention and facilitate real-world coordination. A booking system that gets a group of six onto a patio for a board game night creates more tangible value than a chatbot that optimizes support ticket deflection. The cyberdeck community proves that customers will pay for opinionated, constraint-embracing hardware. Board's funding proves that investors will back platforms that treat offline connection as a first-class product metric. The common thread: technology that gets out of the way once the humans arrive.

The "together tech" wave is still early, fragmented, and unevenly funded. But it articulates a clear alternative to the default roadmap of more screens, more agents, more mediation. For founders and small businesses watching the AI arms race from the sidelines, it offers a viable vector: build the digital scaffolding that makes physical gathering effortless, then step aside.

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