07 Dec Wiivv Wearables Inc. Raises $3.5MM in Seed Money
Wiivv Wearables Inc., a bionics company that creates custom, 3Dprinted insoles and other gear – closed $3.5M in seed round funding.
Wiivv has developed a scalable, enterprise level Adaptive Manufacturing System that features the world’s fastest product customization engine designed to produce custom body gear. The company is preparing to enter the market with a Kickstarter campaign in early 2016 designed to build a community of early adopters for Wiivv’s first product to hit the mass market: BASE – a 3D printed comfort-fit insole with foot digitization done via smart phone.
The seed financing was led by Eclipse VC (formerly Formation 8 Hardware Fund), Real Ventures, and is the first investment made by Asimov Ventures – a seed and early stage VC focused on 3D printing and robotics. Evonik Industries – a world leader in specialty chemicals – and MAS Holdings – a design-to-delivery manufacturing company with 38 world-class apparel facilities – also joined the round as major strategic investors.
“Wiivv is at the forefront of mass customization, a new approach to traditional manufacturing that is on par with the ‘on-demand’ world we live in today,” said Alan Meckler, Asimov Ventures, Co-Founder and General Partner. “Wiivv is poised to serve as the gateway for body-part specific telemetry, and made-to-fit gear using a cutting edge adaptive manufacturing system. Their team and bold vision exemplify the kind of partners we choose to work with.”
Additional notable investors include Vyomesh Joshi – former EVP of Imaging and Printing at Hewlett Packard, Relentless Pursuits Partners co-founded by Simon Whitfield – a Canadian sports icon and Olympic gold medallist in Triathlon, and FIT Technology Group – the parent company that recently announced the sale of NetFabb to Autodesk.
The team has developed a suite of technologies that comprise a newly conceptualized ‘Adaptive Manufacturing System’ that can be applied to any part of the human body. The core innovation at Wiivv is a proprietary product customization engine that begins with digital capture and ends with manufacturing of a biomechanically enhanced 3D print-ready file in seconds.
“The technology we have created is our foundation, but ultimately our vision is to add 10 active years to peoples lives,” said Shamil Hargovan, CEO, Wiivv. “Through our Kickstarter campaign, we hope to bring our first product to market with a community of Wiivv’s earliest adopters – those who feed our vision of giving people the power of customized, body-perfect gear.”
Funds raised by the Kickstarter campaign will be funnelled towards the manufacturing and fulfilment of BASE custom insoles this winter, which deliver comfort and support to solve common foot pain.
Wiivv is a bionics company that creates custom, 3D printed body-perfect gear. Wiivv was featured in the Inc. Magazine “Coolest College Startups 2015”, Forbes “Twelve of Today’s Most Impressive Young Entrepreneurs”, and was winner of both the Inside 3D Printing Start-Up and the Vancouver Start-Up Week Product Hunt Demo competitions. Wiivv’s team is comprised of industry leaders in 3D printing and wearable technologies from companies including Apple, EA, Hewlett-Packard, Google, Nike, and 3D Systems. Wiivv is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada with a R&D manufacturing facility in San Diego, California.