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OBSBOT co-founder: Imaging automation is the endgame as company leads high-end webcams

OBSBOT, a Shenzhen AI camera maker, has become the global leader in high-end webcams with over 50% market share, according to co-founder Li Liang. The company sustained 50% annual growth and recently completed a Series D round.

AI News Feed · 2026-08-27 00:54

Li said the company's belief in "imaging automation" - cameras that operate without manual control - remains the absolute endgame. Founded in 2016 by Zhejiang University graduate Liu Bo and a few schoolmates, OBSBOT initially aimed to build fully automatic cameras for yoga and dance bloggers. Li, then a DJI camera software engineer, joined early after concluding no one else was pursuing the concept.

The first product, the Tail, was launched in 2019 after two years of technical exploration when no suitable on-device chips were available. It failed in the market and was discontinued after six months due to poor sales and a chip shortage, forcing the company to lay off nearly half its staff. Li recalled that the team reflected on their direction and unanimously agreed that imaging automation was still the right path. They then identified long-duration shooting and productivity tools as the most willing-to-pay users, which led to the Tiny series for conferencing scenarios in 2020. The product line quickly turned the company around.

Li emphasized the complexity of imaging technology, spanning optics, image algorithms, motion control and deep learning. He said the team was among the first to apply neural networks to tracking, which outperformed traditional control methods even on a crude prototype. While chip suppliers later opened up high-performance platforms, the company also developed a low-power deployment capability that became the technical foundation for the Tiny series.

Looking ahead, Li said the real competition lies in scenarios, not cameras. "There are too many things to do and to do," he said. OBSBOT now treats the Tail series as its core product line again, exploring professional imaging and other verticals. Li acknowledged that the early investors, including professors Gao Bingqiang and Li Zexiang, helped shield the team from external pressure and provided crucial support during difficult times.