On his first day at the Iovine and Young Academy in 2021, senior Henry Warren told a friend about his idea for an app that would help the low-vision community see when the friend stopped him and said, “I swear I’ve heard this pitch before.”
Henry assured him it was the first time he had told it to anyone, and that’s when he realized there was another student named Henry – Henry Fox – who had a remarkably similar idea. Their partnership led to the creation of the startup Seeing Is Everyone’s Right, or SIER, and its flagship product, the Sidekick: a clip-on AI camera assistant that breaks any task down into steps, guiding someone from beginning to end. The device processes information from the camera with a proprietary AI guidance engine and the frontier LLMs to guide the user through each step of a task.
Originally imagined as an accessibility device for people with low vision, Sidekick has since evolved to have many more applications.
“It turns out the AI guidance engine that helps low-vision users complete tasks is also helpful for workers entering the workforce who don’t yet have the skill,” 23-year-old Chief Executive Officer Fox said. “We’re helping new workers upskill to the level of someone who’s been on the site for years.”
Fox, a USC alumnus who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Arts, Technology, and the Business of Innovation in 2025, wears a Sidekick himself, using it to understand parking signs and do everyday tasks, which led to a moment that illuminated the potential of the product. Struggling with an electrical wiring issue in the garage with his dad, Fox remembered he had one of the early prototypes in his bag, booted it up, and finished the job with the guidance of the Sidekick.
“That was the first time I realized — wow, this is going to be transformative for the workforce,” he said.
Both Henries had a background with accessibility devices when they entered IYA. Warren grew up using a device to help with an auditory processing disorder, which he said helped him understand how poorly designed products can cause more issues than they solve.
The founders believe that “simplicity is king,” in Fox’s words. In its many interactions with solving cost and manufacturing constraints, the most recent SIER product (of their three patents) is a lightweight clip that can attach to any pair of glasses.
“It’s exciting because we get to work at the intersection of the latest innovative technology and accessibility,” Warren, the chief technology officer, said. “It feels really, really impactful.”
Staying grounded in the needs of the sight-impaired community during their research and development stages in IYA, Fox said the startup has built a model that conquers the “last meter problem,” an issue that describes a tool’s inability to guide a user through the very last action. The last meter problem is especially evident in assisting blind people, who might receive directions to an address, but can’t find the door, for example, Fox said.
Fox said that designing Sidekick for low-vision users made the user experience seamless enough to allow skilled laborers to do something without extensive training.
Since day one, when Fox and Warren pitched the same idea to get into the program, they said IYA has incubated them to success.
“We were able to tailor classes toward building our product. We printed prototypes there, learned 3D modeling, and got so much mentorship,” Warren said. “IYA really gives you the tools to build a real company.”
Tina Sharkey, who teaches at the Academy and co-leads its program for student-led ventures, said she has watched and helped SIER evolve from a class project to a fully funded, venture capitalist-backed startup.
“At IYA, we supported them through R&D, pitch development, and access to mentors, investors, and industry leaders,” Sharkey said. “They are already a powerful example of purposeful innovation at IYA in action. I’ll be following and supporting their journey for years to come.”
Developing their pitch with mentors and professors in IYA, SIER won over $100k in non-dilutive prize funding while Fox attended USC. In 2023, they won the Min Family Challenge grand prize of $50,000, and during the IYA Innovation Quest Venture Showcase, the CEO of Google Ventures, David Krane, created a spontaneous challenge grant on the spot after watching their pitch. Fox and Warren then funneled all of that money into research and development for the Sidekick.
Soon after graduating, companies approached Fox and SIER to apply Sidekick to vocational training and other customized contexts. Their first industrial launch equipped workers at an electronic recycling center with AI on the front lines of the workforce.
“We raised money to take what we had created and apply it to the workforce,” Fox said.
He said he credits the success to good timing, a skilled labor shortage, and companies looking for innovative ways to scale.
While the founders are clear that Sidekick’s user base has expanded into three main use cases, its first role remains as a product for accessibility.
“Seventy percent of the blind community is unemployed,” Warren said. “Much of the workforce is inaccessible. With Sidekick, we’re working to create a much more accessible path.”
The second priority is vocational training, which Fox added is a $150 billion market. He said he feels a Sidekick that integrates intelligent systems and technology more seamlessly can benefit the majority of the workforce.
“It’s going to be a really big moment in history and the ambitious teams that stick through it and execute well are gonna have a lot of opportunity,” Fox said.
The third category of use the founders hope to emphasize is everyday life. Sidekick could help assemble an Ikea shelf, take a video hands-free, make a phone call, give directions in a new city, identify a plant, and many other things according to the Sidekick website.
The founders said they don’t yet know when Sidekick will be available for consumer purchase.
SIER is currently launching with enterprise partners who are paying for their next round of research and development and helping expand market opportunities.
Warren said he believes that in just ten years, devices like Sidekick will be ubiquitous around the world.
“I think it’s the future,” he said.
Fox agreed and emphasized AI’s potential to empower people, rather than replace them, in the workforce.
“We’re extremely passionate about finding humanitarian and utilitarian applications,” Fox said. “This may be the highest-potential moment in technology in my lifetime.”