Mirror founder Brynn Putnam to unveil her gaming hardware startup at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025

Seven years after unveiling Mirror at TechCrunch Disrupt 2018, Brynn Putnam is returning to the stage where it all began. The serial entrepreneur who turned a fitness concept into a $500 million acquisition by Lululemon will debut her latest venture at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 [https://techcrunch.com/events/tc-disrupt-2025/?utm_source=tc&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=disrupt2025&utm_content=speaker&promo=post_brynnputnam_08272025&display=] at San Francisco’s Moscone West in October. TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 Brynn Putnam [https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/TC25_-Brynn-Putnam-Speaker-16x9-Dark.png?w=680]https://techcrunch.com/events/tc-disrupt-2025/?utm_source=tc&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=disrupt2025&utm_content=speaker&promo=post_brynnputnam_08272025&display= Putnam’s path from that breakthrough Disrupt moment to today is a story of very smart timing. Mirror, the connected fitness device that brought boutique workout classes into homes, launched just as the pandemic created unprecedented demand for home fitness solutions. The timing proved so prescient that Lululemon acquired the company for $500 million just two years after its Disrupt debut. Now Putnam is betting on another cultural shift — the growing desire to disconnect from screens and reconnect with family and friends in person. Her new company, still operating in stealth mode, is developing consumer gaming hardware designed to bring people face-to-face rather than isolate them behind individual devices. “We’re about to enter a golden age of hardware,” Putnam recently told TechCrunch [https://techcrunch.com/2024/11/16/consumer-tech-is-bouncing-back-and-consumer-founders-like-brynn-putnam-are-bouncing-back-with-it/] at one of its investor-focused StrictlyVC evenings [https://www.flickr.com/photos/techcrunch/albums/72177720321931752/], pointing to the convergence of mature display technologies, affordable components, and AI capabilities that make new types of interactive devices possible. [https://techcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Screenshot-2025-08-26-at-1.09.07PM.png?w=680]https://techcrunch.com/events/tc-disrupt-2025/?utm_source=tc&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=disrupt2025&utm_content=speaker&promo=post_brynnputnam_08272025&display=Image Credits:TechCrunch The new venture represents a shift in priorities for Putnam. Where Mirror was about individual performance and self-improvement, her latest project focuses on shared experiences and strengthening relationships. She describes it as using technology not as the primary experience but as an enabler for better human connections. Drawing inspiration from Nintendo’s philosophy of using “withered technology with lateral thinking” — mature, affordable components combined with innovative experiences — Putnam is following the playbook that made Mirror successful. Rather than pushing technological boundaries, though, she’s focusing on creating compelling user experiences with proven hardware. The gaming space represents a natur