New startup trend: technology that takes you away from screens

While AI funding breaks records, some startups are moving in the opposite direction. Some founders are creating solutions that lure people away from screens and back into real life.

Artificial intelligence startups are pulling in record-breaking investments, but some founders are moving in the opposite direction — they're building technology that helps people disconnect from screens.

Mirror founder Brynn Putnam recently raised funding for a new startup called Board, which aims to bring people together through real-life games and social experiences. Putnam believes that people crave genuine human connection that screens simply cannot provide.

Meanwhile, so-called Cyberdeck creators are going viral online — enthusiasts who hand-craft quirky DIY computers. These machines encourage users to literally engage with the real world instead of sitting behind a screen.

Unlike those using AI-free browsers simply as a form of protest, this trend appears to be something more than just a backlash. It's a positive movement seeking alternative ways to connect people with each other.

This trend is emerging at a time when AI company funding continues to break new records. It seems that some innovators have concluded that the best answer to an oversaturated digital world is not more software, but rather less.