Wandercraft, developer of a rehabilitation exoskeleton, raises $45 million in funding
Paris-based exoskeleton developer Wandercraft has raised $45 million in funding. The company plans to use the financing to develop and launch a personal exoskeleton for outdoor and home use, and to accelerate the rollout of Atalante, its rehabilitation exoskeleton, in the US.
Atalante is a self-balancing lower-body exoskeleton that mimics human walking. The company began clinical trials of the exoskeleton in 2017. In 2019, it received CE marking ("European conformity").
The exoskeleton is designed to let its wearer move their upper body and torso freely. It is used to help physiotherapy patients walk faster and more easily.
“We are very pleased to have attracted world-class investors from the US and Europe to advance the company's development program. With the support of patients, medical professionals and the DeepTech community, the Wandercraft team has created a unique technology that improves rehabilitation care and will soon allow people in wheelchairs to regain independence and improve their everyday health”
The funding round was led by Quadrant Management, a New York-based investment firm. Bpifrance, SofiOuest, XAnge, Eurazeo, LBO France and Cemag Invest also took part. Part of the funding also came from health insurance companies such as MACSF, Malakoff Humanis, AG2R La Mondiale and Mutuelle Impact.
“Wandercraft has managed to develop a revolutionary exoskeleton for treating patients whose daily autonomy has been impaired. It is fitting that we are pleased to take part in the rapid development of French innovation together with healthcare professionals”
Wandercraft also announced that Alan Quasha (chairman and CEO of Quadrant Management) is joining the company's board of directors.
“Our investors are important members of the team. We work at the forefront of both robotics and medicine, and our business requires those rare investors who understand healthcare and deep technology. In exchange for their vision and advice, we provide them with comprehensive information in real time”
Wandercraft was founded in 2012 with the aim of improving the mobility of people with disabilities. The company's solution is exoskeletons that can enable their wearers to walk with the help of robots. In 2019, the Paris-based firm released Atalante, a self-balancing exoskeleton with 12 degrees of freedom that relies on walking algorithms to determine the user's gait.
The exoskeleton's "free hands" function, designed with rehabilitation needs in mind, allows the upper limbs and torso to be mobilized, and enables almost effortless standing up at an early stage and walking on the ground, providing consistent sensory feedback.
"There is a firm consensus that the effectiveness of gait training correlates with the dose of treatment received: the frequency, intensity and duration of rehabilitation. Atalante allows hundreds of task-specific repetitions with minimal effort from both the patient and the therapist to reach the therapeutic threshold," the company said.
Wandercraft's self-balancing exoskeleton, which works without hand support, is designed to facilitate practice of skilled movement, mobilization of the torso and upper limbs in realistic tasks. This allows therapists to offer task-oriented, challenging, stimulating, non-repetitive and close-to-daily-life training programs that are expected to promote neuroplasticity.
Atalante is designed to minimize the training time for both the patient and the therapist. The easy-to-use exoskeleton helps optimize rehabilitation sessions, spending minimal effective time on setup and training. Atalante allows clinicians to make therapeutic tasks meaningful and clearly linked to the patient's personal goals, which increases therapeutic engagement.
The company is entering a crowded market, as it has moved into the US, where there are several well-known exoskeleton makers such as ReWalk Robotics, Ekso, SuitX and Sarcos, which have already raised huge funding and announced some high-profile industry partnerships.
“The team is everything. We strive to attract the best players in every area we invest in. We are proud to be the best walking robot team in the exoskeleton industry. We value scientific excellence, which is why we collaborate with the best academic groups”
However, one thing that sets the company apart is its fairly focused orientation toward user mobility, whereas most competitors also focus on things like the workforce or military audiences. In part, this means partnering with hospitals and other healthcare providers.
“We knew we wanted to be a medical device company from day one, and we turned Wandercraft into one. Technological mastery is what impresses everyone at first glance, but what really drives us is what this mastery achieves: delivering the best therapeutic solutions for both patients and their therapists. Wandercraft will not stop until every patient gets the rehabilitation and autonomy they deserve”
