VLC Founder Introduces Kyber Project to Transform the World of Robotics

Jean-Baptiste Kempf, the founder and lead developer of the world-famous VLC Media Player, is launching a new revolution in the tech world. The creator of the video player, downloaded over 6 billion times, is now focusing his attention on robotics and remote control systems. His new startup, Kyber, aims to become the core infrastructure for the millions of robots and drones that will appear on our streets in the coming years. This was reported by Techcrunch.com news reports.

Kyber is a software layer that enables the real-time control of remote devices. Its foundation is an SDK that synchronizes video, audio, sensor data, and control commands with minimal latency. According to TechCrunch, this project is expected to play a decisive role in the integration of AI into the physical world.

The Fight for Milliseconds and Star Wars Inspiration

The startup's name was not chosen by chance — it is a reference to the crystals that power the lightsabers in Star Wars. Kempf emphasizes that every millisecond is of huge importance when remotely controlling objects in the real world. The Kyber system relies on Kempf's years of experience in streaming technologies to eliminate lag or stutters.

Currently, many companies have their own remote control systems, but they are usually limited to a few thousand devices. Kyber, however, allows for the simultaneous management of millions of robots and the delivery of software updates to them. This is a vital necessity, especially for autonomous vehicles and delivery drones.

Investments and Future Plans

The Paris-based startup recently raised $5 million in investment led by the Lightspeed venture fund. Notably, this fund has previously supported giants such as Anthropic and Mistral AI. According to Lightspeed representatives, no matter how smart physical AI is, it will not deliver the expected results if the infrastructure it runs on is poor.

Kyber is expanding its activities in the following directions:

• Defense and security systems;
• Telecommunications and communication networks;
• Industrial robotics;
• Autonomous logistics and drone fleets.

Staying true to his open source traditions, Kempf is offering the core part of the Kyber project for free. Revenue is generated through specialized service offerings and complex engineering solutions tailored for large corporations. The company currently has offices in Paris, San Francisco, and Singapore, working with clients on a global scale.