As smart homes evolve, lighting is no longer just about illumination — it’s about intelligence, mood, and efficiency. Lepro has been at the forefront of this shift, blending AI with everyday lighting to create solutions that adapt to lifestyle needs. In this interview, Cubed3 explores how Lepro’s vision for AI‑driven lighting is shaping the way people live, work, and play.
Adam Riley, Director at Cubed3: How do you see AI lighting influencing emotions during gaming or film watching — can light genuinely change how players feel in those moments?
Puxin Li, Brand Manager at Lepro: Absolutely. AI lighting can trigger our primal emotional responses and, in effect, turn into environmental storytelling. Our AI adaptively designs lighting scenes around your content and preferences, creating a unique experience for every user—one that generates immersion rather than delivering a fixed preset. Set to “Cyberpunk”, for instance, and the room snaps to neon teals and magentas with scanning beams and tight chases, so boss fights and car-chase scenes feel like they’re happening around you. Switch to “Superman” and cape-red pairs with sky-blue, with clean white flares on impacts, so heroic entries and flight scenes feel bigger, brighter, and right in the room. In both scenarios, you start to shift from simply observing to inhabiting the scene. AI lighting, then, is far more than just a light source; it becomes part of the narrative.
Adam Riley: Could you walk us through how LightGPM works? How does it interpret moods or themes and translate them into lighting effects?
Puxin Li: LightGPM™ is our proprietary AI engine—essentially a large language model trained for advanced lighting design—built on two core knowledge bases: colour psychology and professional lighting design principles. When you enter a mood or theme, or upload a photo of your room, LightGPM™ interprets the intent and maps it to concrete lighting parameters—colour and saturation, brightness and contrast, rhythm and tempo, multi-zone choreography, diffusion, and transition curves—then composes a complete multi-zone scene. More importantly, LightGPM™ has a memory. It gradually learns your preferences from historical behaviour—for example, favourite colours, preferred rhythm speed, and comfortable brightness—and when similar needs arise in the future, it prioritises lighting designs you loved before while generating new, personalised effects based on your tastes, so the experience feels like “you” from the start rather than a one-size-fits-all preset.
Adam Riley: Music sync is a popular feature in smart lighting, but what makes LightBeats different? How does your algorithm interpret rhythm and sound compared to competitors?
Puxin Li: LightBeats™ goes beyond basic music sync; it’s perceptive, rather than just reactive. Instead of only processing volume spikes or bass drops, it simulates the human auditory perception mechanism. That means it analyses how we actually experience sound, its rhythm, intensity, and emotional tone. The result is lighting that feels more fluid and expressive. Whether you’re vibing to lo-fi or battling through a high-energy boss fight soundtrack, LightBeats adapts the lighting in real time to match the emotional pulse of the sound — not just the beat.
Adam Riley: Many of our readers are gamers. How do you envision Lepro lighting enhancing immersion in a gaming setup — is it about ambience, reaction speed, or both?
Puxin Li: It’s absolutely both. Ambience sets the stage, providing the mood (think the cold blues of a space station or the fiery reds of a lava level), while the responsive nature of the lighting to gaming audio (explosions, gunfire, and intense music) delivers critical multisensory feedback. Together, they pull the game beyond the screen and into the room, heightening excitement and player awareness.
Adam Riley: When creating products like the floor and table lamps, what balance do you aim for between functionality, aesthetics, and affordability?
Puxin Li: That balance is often a challenge in the design process. At Lepro, we believe “smart lighting” shouldn’t equal a sacrifice of design or affordability. Our strategy for balance is to prioritise premium performance and aesthetics upfront (intuitive usability, segment control, sleek design) and then use a centralised, scalable platform to manage cost. By ensuring the underlying AI core is shared across all AI products—from bulbs to premium lamps—we guarantee that even simple models inherit the best performance. This approach maintains our premium functionality and aesthetics without sacrificing affordability.
Adam Riley: Were there particular design inspirations — from art, architecture, or even pop culture — that influenced the look and feel of the Lepro range?
Puxin Li: Our product design draws inspiration from diverse sources, including culture, architecture, art, film, and gaming. The TB1’s industrial design, for instance, references the orbital trajectories of the solar system, expressed as a refined triple-ring geometry.
Adam Riley: What’s the most surprising or useful piece of feedback you’ve received from gamers, streamers, or content creators using Lepro products in their setups?
Puxin Li: One of the most surprising and valuable things we’ve learned from gamers, streamers, and creators is just how imaginative people get with their lighting setups. Many have found ways to use Lepro lamps far beyond lighting and ambience, like integrating them into daily routines to support focus and mental wellbeing. Some, for instance, programme light changes as subtle cues to stretch, breathe, or signal the end of the workday. We’ve also upgraded our AI features directly based on suggestions from gamers. When Lepro AI Lighting first launched, many players asked for lighting effects that match their favourite games and characters. In the latest LightGPM™ release, we strengthened this capability: users can type or speak the name of a game or character (like “Cyberpunk 2077” or “The Hulk”) or upload an image and generate personalised lighting effects. Whether it’s ambience, routine, or wellbeing—we are truly proud to support our customers in their day-to-day, and to seamlessly integrate smarter AI into every corner of their lives, enhancing their ambiance experience, convenience, security, and efficiency.
Adam Riley: What were the biggest hurdles in developing lamps that are both stylish for the living room and powerful enough for dynamic, AI‑driven lighting?
Puxin Li: A key challenge was to design our lamps as furniture, not just lighting. We approach product form from an aesthetic perspective, so each piece has a real design presence, and is not just a functional object. At the same time, we wanted best-in-class light quality. We pair top-grade LEDs with high-precision control chipsets to deliver our most beautiful and dynamic lighting effects. Lastly, expressive forms can make industry certifications more challenging. We address this through early co-engineering, material and thermal optimization, and iterative testing to meet relevant standards without compromising the design intent.
Adam Riley: With Philips Hue and Nanoleaf dominating the conversation, how does Lepro carve out its own identity in the smart lighting space?
Puxin Li: With our core technology, LightGPM™, we remove the complexity of lighting design, which is a major barrier for many users. We are the first to use a large language model to generate light scenes based on natural language and photo inputs. This allows users to translate their individual mood rather than just choosing from app presets. Furthermore, we deliver high-quality, segment-rich RGBIC technology and features like LightBeats™ at an accessible price point. This makes the products accessible to a broader audience and allows gamers and tech enthusiasts to outfit their entire space—not just one corner—with sophisticated, connected lighting.
Adam Riley: Beyond features, how do you ensure Lepro products are energy‑efficient and environmentally responsible?
Puxin Li: For us, sustainability isn’t just about energy ratings. It begins with thoughtful design choices in everything from packaging to product features. For instance, our product packaging is right-sized, meaning we remove all non-essential structures and avoid the excessive “premium unboxing” inserts some brands use for simple products. This helps us reduce materials use while maintaining transport safety. On the product side, the upcoming AI Lighting Pro series will introduce an energy-saving feature. If no presence is detected for 10 minutes, the brightness dims automatically and restores when someone returns. It’s a simple yet effective way to prevent energy waste from lights left on. We’ve also launched bulbs rated A on the EU energy label, which are still relatively uncommon in the market. A-class bulbs contribute to meaningful energy savings and more responsible everyday lighting. .
Adam Riley: Are there upcoming features — perhaps deeper integrations with gaming platforms, or more advanced AI mood detection — that you’re excited to share?
Puxin Li: Yes, there is a lot we’re excited about. In 2026, we’re introducing the Lepro Pro Series with built-in microphones. That means you can trigger and switch scenes on the fly—no hub, no smart speaker. Ideal for mid-game adjustments. We’re also preparing Home Assistant integration for Lepro’s AI Lighting Pro, enabling our products to act as a true smart-home control centre. Once connected, Lepro devices can initiate scenes and automations that coordinate third-party IoT devices across the home, centralizing control within a single, open ecosystem. And of course, we’re always working on advancing our products and technologies—continuing to explore how AI can make lighting more personal, more adaptive, and more connected than ever.
Adam Riley: Lighting needs and tastes vary across regions. How do you adapt your products for different markets, from Europe to Asia to the US?
Puxin Li: Our core technologies, particularly LightGPM™, are globally relevant as many principles (e.g. of colour psychology and lighting design) can be leveraged across markets. However, when it comes to technology and regulatory compliance, adaptation is key. We ensure compliance with region-specific standards, such as the UK’s BS 1363 plugs and specific voltage requirements (220-240V in the UK/EU), along with all necessary CE and RoHS certifications. We also design region-tailored product lines around local usage habits. For example, the R2 is built for U.S. users, while the T1 is primarily for Europe. For universal categories, like light strips, desk lamps, and floor lamps, we provide region-specific voltage and plug standards along with local certifications to ensure safe, seamless use.
Adam Riley: If you could set up your dream gaming or entertainment room with Lepro products, what would it look like?
That’s a tough choice, as all our lamps have a specific charm and contribute so much to a great setup. But personally, I would focus on the TB1, the N1, and the B2 as the core of my dream entertainment room. The TB1 Smart Table Lamp is an anchor piece. It’s genuinely a stunning object whose form resembles a planet, and its segment-controlled lighting instantly elevates any space, giving you a dynamic light show right on your desktop. Next is the N1 Smart Rope Light. It provides such an even, beautiful light diffusion, making it an excellent choice for subtle, indirect illumination along furniture, monitors, or console setups. Crucially, it’s highly shapeable, allowing it to become a statement piece of wall art that can be quickly reformed based on any need. Finally, the B2 Smart Bulbs are essential because they make every existing lamp smart and include it in the AI setup. As much as I appreciate our own designs, I also have beloved legacy, non-smart fixtures. With the B2, I can keep those lamps in my gaming or living room and seamlessly make them part of the overall intelligent lighting ecosystem. This ensures the entire room is always synchronised.
Adam Riley: Do you see AI lighting as the future of how we interact with our environments — not just for gaming, but for wellbeing, productivity, and everyday life?
Definitely. A fundamental shift is already underway. We’ve long known that light profoundly affects our mood, focus, and sense of wellbeing. AI now allows us to personalise that experience in real time. With Lepro, users can already tailor their environment to how they feel or want to feel. Say “Time for deep work,” and your space shifts to a bright, high-CCT white that’s optimised for focus. Or say, “I want to relax,” and you’re instantly bathed in soft, warm tones that promote calm and reduce stress. The next frontier is emotional intelligence. This may mean picking up on an increased stress level through subtle cues like tone of voice or facial expression, and adjusting the ambience accordingly to help relax and unwind. We are incredibly excited about the future of AI lighting and are proud to be actively shaping it.
