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Indistinguishable From Magic
Techstars '22New York City, US · 4 employees on LinkedIn · 1 known investors
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ifMagic provides a modular hardware platform with no-code embedded programming that allows users to snap together physical components and control them wirelessly without compilation. The platform serves makers, professionals, and enterprises building adaptable physical systems with local processing and API interoperability.
Also known as IF Magic · ifMagic · Indistinguishable From Magic Inc.
Investors · 1
How we know: the Techstars portfolio · open dataset · Top 3000 Accelerator Startups (no YC) 2026-08 · Not right? Tell us
Company profile
researched Sep 2026Indistinguishable From Magic (IF Magic) develops a hardware-software platform intended to make designing and creating interactive hardware possible without conventional embedded programming or engineering work. The platform combines snap-together modular hardware, a no-code embedded layer in which logic is sent to devices wirelessly and runs immediately without compilation, and API interoperability for connecting devices to larger systems and across protocols.
The product set spans inputs and outputs (for example distance, environment/temperature sensing, LED/"glow" output and servo "move" control), a JavaScript library published as @indistinguishable-from-magic/magic-js, and platform capabilities the company describes as stream (live data and swappable inputs/outputs), automate (programmatic logic linking inputs to outputs), run (casting logic to hardware for local on-board execution), mesh (networking multiple devices across interchangeable topologies), scale (moving from prototype to full installation without rebuilding software), and connect (building on its data layer). Logic can run locally on the hardware without a server or separate computer.
A dedicated experiential solutions line targets interactive props, dynamic lighting, show control, immersive multi-room spaces, game-engine-driven controllers, puzzles, equipment monitoring and actor-driven scenes, with named application environments including escape rooms, challenge arcades, mini golf, competitive social play venues, stadiums, themed environments, museums, retail, projection mapping, immersive theatre, fashion, art exhibits and entertainment centers. The company also lists personal and academic solution categories.
Founding story
Co-founders Lance Chantiles-Wertz and Isaac Shelanski met at Yale. Chantiles-Wertz, a 2015 Laurel Springs School alum who grew up in New York performing in ballet, Broadway, film and television, graduated from Yale in 2019 with a double major in Mechanical Engineering and Film & Media Studies before co-founding the company.
Business model
The company sells hardware devices and modules together with software tiers. Published hardware pricing lists The Device Bare2 at $35 and The Device Bare Edition at $200, with a Rugged version marked coming soon, and input/output modules priced from $5 to $45. Software is offered on subscription, including a free tier called Doodle for experimentation; the company states its subscriptions do not brick hardware. The site's primary conversion action is scheduling a demo.
Hardware sales (devices and input/output modules) plus software subscriptions, including a free entry tier.
Traction
Deployments cited include an interactive LED tunnel at the 2025 World Experience Summit in London, where interactions and props were changed daily; a permanent experiential exhibit at the Museum of Ice Cream in Chicago; an NYCxDesign award-winning architectural installation at Flatiron Plaza in New York City; a guest-lectured class at Yale; and an early project developing a museum navigation controller for the Smithsonian.
Latest developments
The company markets an experiential solutions line and lists a Rugged version of its device as coming soon. Its site carries a 2026 copyright for Indistinguishable From Magic Inc.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history
Market position
Early-stage company listed on the Techstars job board at pre-seed stage with 1-10 employees, categorized under augmented reality, consumer electronics, hardware, internet of things, robotics and virtual reality.
Positions hardware development as being as fast and flexible as software: any input can pair with any output by swapping modules, logic updates in real time without recompiling or rebuilding, deployments can drop into existing setups without removing installed infrastructure, and the same system is used from design through fabrication, installation and live operation.
Technology
Modular snap-together hardware with interchangeable input and output modules; a no-code embedded programming layer that pushes logic to devices wirelessly and executes without compilation; on-device local execution of logic without a server; mesh networking across selectable topologies; live data streaming; and API/SDK access, including a JavaScript package (@indistinguishable-from-magic/magic-js) exposing module inputs and outputs, with cross-protocol and game-engine integrations.
Go-to-market
Beginners and professionals working with interactive hardware, including designers, technologists, fabricators, operators and clients across experiential projects; application segments named include escape rooms, museums, retail, stadiums, themed environments, immersive theatre, art installations, games and events, alongside personal and academic users.
Geography
Headquartered in New York, NY (Union Square listed on the Techstars profile), with project deployments in New York City, Chicago and London.
History
The Techstars profile lists the company as founded in 2020. It was selected for the Techstars Anywhere Accelerator cohort. Early work included a museum navigation controller project for the Smithsonian, followed by experiential deployments such as the Museum of Ice Cream Chicago exhibit, a Flatiron Plaza installation in New York, and a 2025 interactive LED tunnel at the World Experience Summit in London.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Related companies · 3
Companies working in the same space as Indistinguishable From Magic.
Timeline · 3
launches, deals, and filingsAn interactive LED tunnel experience built on the IF Magic platform welcomed attendees to the 2025 World Experience Summit in London, with the interaction and props changed each day of the event.
IF Magic was used in a permanent experiential exhibit at the Museum of Ice Cream in Chicago and in an NYCxDesign award-winning architectural installation at Flatiron Plaza in New York City.
Coverage of co-founder Lance Chantiles-Wertz reports that Indistinguishable From Magic was selected for the Techstars Anywhere Accelerator cohort.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
- Indistinguishable From Magicifmagic.io · web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Indistinguishable From Magic do?
- Modular hardware platform with no-code embedded programming for building interactive physical installations and products.
- Who are Indistinguishable From Magic's investors?
- Indistinguishable From Magic's investors include Techstars.
- Where is Indistinguishable From Magic headquartered?
- Indistinguishable From Magic is headquartered in New York City, US.