Startup profile for Flutter: latest funding, latest known valuation, total disclosed funding, investors, status, sources, and why the company is interesting. Part of the Venture Capital Tracker startup directory.
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Flutter funding, valuation and investors

Flutter (YC W12) brought Kinect-style webcam gesture control to desktop media apps before Google acquired it in 2013.

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Funding, valuation & investors

Answer-first snapshot

Latest funding

Seed

$1.4M · June 2012

Latest known valuation

Not publicly disclosed

Total disclosed equity funding

$1.4M

Excludes debt, grants, acquisitions, secondaries, and IPO proceeds.

Current status

acquired

acquired

Investors in latest funding

Other: Andreessen Horowitz , New Enterprise Associates

Sources: latest funding Last verified: 2026-07-25

Overview

Flutter (YC W12) built gesture-recognition software that let users control desktop media apps (Spotify, iTunes, VLC) via webcam hand gestures. Google acquired the company in October 2013 for approximately $40M.

Why Flutter is interesting

Pre-touch-bar Mac users could pause Spotify with a hand wave — Google bought the computer-vision team to bolster Chrome and hardware UX.

Product & use cases

Kinect-style webcam gesture control for desktop media apps — acquired by Google (~$40M) in 2013.

  • Gesture control for media playback on desktop
  • Webcam-based motion tracking for apps
  • Touch-free computer interaction

Key facts

  • Seed (Jun 2012): $1.4M from a16z (/fund/andreessen-horowitz) and NEA (/fund/new-enterprise-associates) (Y Combinator, TechCrunch)
  • Exit (Oct 2013): Acquired by Google for ~$40M (TechCrunch)
  • Product: webcam gesture control for desktop media apps (Spotify, iTunes, VLC)

Funding history (newest first)

Seed

2012-06 $1.4M

Source: https://techcrunch.com/2012/06/14/flutter-raises-1-4m/

Investors in our directory

Funds linked from Flutter's profile — open a fund page for stage focus and related deal articles.

Andreessen Horowitz New Enterprise Associates (NEA)

Competitive landscape

Edge: Early gesture-control UX for desktop — YC W12 graduate acquired by Google before consumer gesture interfaces matured.

Gesture control for desktop never achieved mass adoption. Flutter's Google acquisition (~$40M, 2013) was an acqui-hire for the team and technology.

  • Leap Motion (Ultraleap) direct

    Hand tracking hardware; Flutter used webcam only.

  • Microsoft Kinect incumbent

    Dedicated hardware sensor; Flutter was software-only.

  • Touch/mouse incumbent

    Default input methods.

Notable stories

  • Flutter was a Y Combinator W12 company that brought Kinect-style gestures to any webcam (TechCrunch, 2012).
  • Google acquired Flutter for approximately $40M in October 2013 (TechCrunch).

Industries

Consumer AI & Machine Learning

Related funding articles

Venture Capital Tracker pieces that cover Flutter's financing or category context.

FAQs about Flutter

Practical answers founders, operators, and investors typically search for.

Flutter built gesture-recognition software that let users control desktop media apps like Spotify and iTunes via webcam hand gestures — pause, play, skip with a wave.
Flutter's seed round included Andreessen Horowitz (/fund/andreessen-horowitz) and NEA (/fund/new-enterprise-associates). It was a Y Combinator W12 company.
Google acquired Flutter in October 2013 for approximately $40M, integrating the computer-vision team into Chrome and hardware UX efforts.
It brought Kinect-style gesture control to everyday desktop apps before touch bars or voice assistants were mainstream — an early consumer computer-vision bet.
Flutter was acquired by Google in 2013. The standalone product is discontinued; the team was absorbed into Google.
Kinect-style webcam gesture control for desktop media apps — acquired by Google (~$40M) in 2013.
Stage: acquired
Yes — Flutter was acquired.
Google acquired Flutter in October 2013 for approximately $40M.
Webcam-based gesture control for desktop media apps.
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