Syncere, a Palo Alto startup, has raised $11 million in pre-seed funding to deliver more of its Lume floor lamps. Lume is for households that want help with a short list of chores from an object that also works as a lamp. Folded, it measures about 11 by 15 by 45 inches, close to a standard floor lamp, and is made from anodized aluminum with a high-gloss finish. Through an app it can make the bed, fold laundry, reset pillows, and tidy around the home, and it can move through the house on its own. One unit starts at $2,699 and a pair starts at $5,199. TIME, which named Lume one of its Best Inventions of 2026, says a pair works better for folding clothes, making the bed, or picking up clutter. The round is led by a16z Speedrun, with Draper Associates, Physical World, SeaX Ventures, Sequel, and others. Syncere says the capital will go to manufacturing, more deliveries, and improvements to the software that adds tasks over time. A Personalization Band included with each lamp lets an owner demonstrate how they want a job done. Lifetime access to later autonomy features is $679, or $79 a month starting in the second quarter of 2027. The company also says pre-order demand already amounts to millions of dollars. Co-founders Aaron Tan, the CEO, and Angus Fung are robotics researchers who started Syncere less than a year ago. Their approach is to sell a lamp people can use as a light immediately, get units into real homes, and widen what those units can do from that use.