Afference
Virtual & Augmented Reality
$19.8Mtotal raised · 4 rounds on record
5open roles
$160kmedian advertised pay
$15.3Mlatest round · Venture round · Dec 2025 · 10 mo ago
Overview
Afference's technology powers haptics in AR, VR, XR, and with traditional 2D digital screens through advanced neural stimulation.
How Afference hires
Truth index
B 75/100
Ghost roles
0%
Stale roles
100%
Reposted roles
0%
Afference scores B on the Alion truth index (A is best, E worst), measured over 3 open roles re-checked against its own hiring board: 0% look like ghost listings, 100% have gone stale and 0% are the same role posted again. It measures how much of what this employer publishes turns into a real, finite search - not the employer as a workplace. How the index is computed
Funding and backers
Total raised
$19.8M
4 rounds on record
Latest round
$15.3M
Venture round · Dec 2025 · 10 mo ago
Team
11
US Form 5500 (plan participants) · Dec 2025 · +83% in a year
Hiring now
5
open roles
Grants
$305k
1 grant · CORDIS
Backers
4
Samsung Next, Konvoy Ventures
The money's age
Fresh money
10 months since the last round · hiring slowed
Momentum
20/100
fresh money
Last sign of life
1 mo ago
a posting or a news item
The story so fareach stage dated by its source: the company's releases, the press, registers, filings
2025
Team of 11 was 6 · US Form 5500 (plan participants)
Dec 10, 2025
Raised a round Venture round $15.3M · SEC Form D
Jul 15, 2025
Won a grant $305k · CORDIS
May 21, 2024
Raised a round Venture round $3M · SEC Form D
Dec 8, 2023
Recognition Afference wins CES 2024 Innovation Award Product Human Fusions · case.edu
Oct 27, 2022
Raised a round Venture round $1.5M · SEC Form D
2022
Founded
Tractionpublic signals, read monthly
Web presence
top 6%
of 133.2M domains by links, Common Crawl
Hacker News stories
1
best: 1 points
Funding rounds
| Round | Date | Amount | Investors | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venture round | Dec 2025 | $15.3M | — | SEC Form D |
| Grant | Jul 2025 | $305k | — | CORDIS |
| Venture round | May 2024 | $3M | — | SEC Form D |
| Venture round | Oct 2022 | $1.5M | — | SEC Form D |
Registers and programsofficial lists and records that name the company
| Legal entity | AFFERENCE INC. | SEC Form D |
Founders and leadersfrom filings, registers and the company's site
Jacob SegilExecutive Officer, DirectorSEC Form D
Dustin TylerExecutive Officer, DirectorSEC Form D
Backed byfrom the funds' portfolios and accelerator catalogs
Investors in similar startupsfunds that back the companies most like this one
backs Kivisense
backs Beyond 2023
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Jobs
$147k – $165k per year · Equity · Hybrid · Full-Time · 3+ years exp · Bachelor's Degree · Cleveland
Python
Java
C++
Physical AI
Apply
$147k – $165k per year · Equity · Hybrid · Full-Time · 3+ years exp · Bachelor's Degree · Cleveland
Python
Go
JavaScript
TypeScript
C#
C++
Physical AI
DevOps
GCP
Azure
AWS
Apply
$100k – $110k per year · Equity · Hybrid · Full-Time · 2+ years exp · Bachelor's Degree · Cleveland
Physical AI
MedTech
Verification & Validation
Apply
$110k – $125k per year · Equity · Hybrid · Full-Time · 5+ years exp · Master's Degree · Cleveland
Physical AI
Apply
$140k – $160k per year · Equity · Hybrid · Full-Time · 3+ years exp · Bachelor's Degree · Cleveland
Physical AI
Apply
Salary insights
Compensation ranges based on this company's open jobs
Median
$160k
Typical range
$110k – $165k
Open positions
5
5
Jobs
Junior
20%
Middle
60%
Senior
20%
| Level | Jobs | Median | Typical range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Junior | 1 | $110k | $110k |
| Middle | 3 | $165k | $160k – $165k |
| Senior | 1 | $125k | $125k |
Highest paying role
Cloud/Backend Engineer
$165k
Normalized to USD per year
All salaries at Afference
By role, level and city, against the market · 5 jobs with pay
Growth
Hiring Momentum
53/100
Stable
Open positions
5
0 opened / 2 closed in 30 days
Median time-to-fill
67 days
faster than 18% of the market
ATS activity
Every ~4 hours
Today
Hiring Dynamics
+100%
Hiring Focus
The percentage next to each role is its share of the company's job openings over the last 90 days; the arrow shows the shift versus the previous period.
Backend
33% ▼
DevOps
33% ▼
Science & Research
33% ▼
Activity Timeline
Added Verification & Validation to stack
Oct 2026
Added TypeScript to stack
Sep 2026
Added JavaScript to stack
Sep 2026
Added Go to stack
Sep 2026
Added GCP to stack
Sep 2026
Added C# to stack
Sep 2026
Added Azure to stack
Sep 2026
Added AWS to stack
Sep 2026
Added Java to stack
Sep 2026
People
Jacob Segil
Executive Officer, Director
Dustin Tyler
Executive Officer, Director
Taylor Hurst
Director
Trevor Zimmerman
Director
Names and roles come from public filings, company registers and the company's own site. Is this you? Correct or remove · How we handle this data
Tech stack
Technologies named in job postings at Afference over the last 12 months, by layer, with the share of postings for each.
Technologies in use
15
Postings analysed
8
Stack modernity
68/100
Languages
C++
Python
C#
Go
Cloud & platforms
AWS
Azure
GCP
RTOS
Sign in to see how your skills match this stack
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Full Afference tech stack
15 technologies · by team · pay by technology · changes · similar stacks
Connections
List
Graph
Found in company registers, site code, DNS and hiring. Each connection shows how sure we are and the evidence, with its source and date.
Shared investors
Ohio Innovation FundVia a fund
Konvoy VenturesVia a fund
Space CapitalVia a fund
Samsung NextVia a fund
Click a company to open it. Dashed lines are likely connections. The second step of the network is part of the Pro plan.
Owner
Same company
Same group
Likely
News
Segil, Afference appears on Freethink
Watch Jacob Segil, CEO of Afference and research professor in the Paul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering, showcase a new piece of haptic technology in an episode of Freethink
Read more
Report
This Smart Ring Wants to Help You Feel What You See Through Smart Glasses
Afference's ring creates haptic sensations for touchless interfaces like those used with smart glasses.
Read more
Report
Offices
Where the company hires and what each office is for
Cities
2
Hiring now
1
Countries
1
Busiest office
Cleveland
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Headquarters
Builds here
Office with open vacancies
No open vacancies right now Tap a pin for the office
Boulder
United States
HQ
Cleveland
United States
Engineering / R&D
5 open roles 3 posted in 90 days 100% engineering 50-200 est. staff $145k Avg Salary
hires for Hardware, Backend, DevOps