Phaze raised $8.75 million in seed funding led by a16z.
The round funds a remote desktop for humans and AI agents, per PR Newswire. The a16z Blog says agents are more productive with a full desktop, browser and app than with agent APIs.
That shifts the budget question.
Martin Casado, general partner at a16z, said the lesson of the last few years is to give agents computers and applications like you would a human, and Phaze enables that remote link when apps are OS specific or need specific hardware.
Phaze pitches a high-performance remote desktop that feels local, per PR Newswire. It targets latency-sensitive work in Blender, Unreal Studio, 3D, design and software development, with management built for agents as well as people.
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VFX, game and design teams that keep Windows and GPU workstations on prem must now decide whether to stream them. IT admins who provision those hosts become the deployment owners.
Phaze was started by Benjy Boxer and Chris Dickson, who previously built Parsec. Parsec was the remote desktop for graphics intensive apps that Unity acquired, and a16z was an investor through that sale.
Remote still means a host. Phaze does not replace the workstation, so customers still pay for hardware and licenses.
Phaze has not disclosed pricing or general availability as of Nov. 4, 2026.
