Braintrance: The $5M Bet on a 3D Social Future

Photos and videos capture moments. But can a platform built to turn memories into immersive 3D experiences convince investors it belongs in the future of social media? In this episode of Capital Calling, William Yeh, Founder and CEO of Braintrance, pitches a spatial social platform built around sharing and experiencing 3D memories across devices. Braintrance enables users to capture their lives in three dimensions using point clouds, with or without LiDAR, and share those memories across mobile, desktop, VR headsets, and AR glasses. The company is building at the intersection of consumer social, spatial computing, and creator tools, with a product designed to make immersive content easier to create, easier to share, and more native to the next generation of devices. Through the American Frontier Fund accelerator and the viral Founders, Inc. studio cohort, Will has built Braintrance in public, gaining attention for technology that feels reminiscent of the immersive world imagined in Steven Spielberg’s Ready Player One. What makes Braintrance different is its bet that 3D media can become a new social format, not just a niche capture tool. The app lets users create and upload spatial photos, generate point clouds with Depth AI even without LiDAR-enabled phones, and view content in the app, on the web, in VR headsets, in AR glasses, and on desktop. The product also leans into viral internet behavior, positioning point cloud capture as a way to create “interdimensional videos” that can be shared with friends or used to build a following through the Braintrance community. Across the table, investors Michelle Kwok of Draper Associates, Michael Nogen of Overton Venture Capital, and Vansh Langer of Pioneer Fund engage with the pitch as it unfolds. They assess whether 3D memories can become a mainstream consumer behavior, how Braintrance differentiates itself in the spatial computing and social media landscape, what distribution could look like for a new content format, and whether an early product with cross-device utility and viral potential can scale into a venture-backed platform. 0:00 Introduction 0:46 Investor Introductions 1:08 Founder Pitch 2:54 Live Demo 5:33 Investor Q&A 16:08 Investor Debrief 22:46 On-Call Room 37:18 Investor Verdict 43:15 Closing / End Capital Calling provides a behind-the-scenes look at a real pitch from both sides of the table. Each episode begins with a live founder pitch and product demo, followed by direct investor questioning. After the pitch, investors enter into a private debrief conversation where they debate the opportunity openly: without the founder present. The founder, on the other hand, enters the On-Call Room to discuss the pitch one-on-one from their perspective. Then, the investors give their verdicts, where feedback is delivered candidly and decisions are made. Produced by Coeus Collective in partnership with the NYU Stern Berkeley Center for Entrepreneurship, Capital Calling offers founders, operators, students, and investors an unfiltered look at how early-stage investment decisions actually happen, and what separates compelling ideas from fundable companies. Founders pitch live. Investors decide.