Thalmic Labs’ core product is the Myo, a connected armband that reads electrical impulses from the wearer’s arm and translates them into input for computers and devices. The Myo has been used for tasks such as skipping tracks, controlling virtual characters in VR, and assisting with prosthetic control and therapy. The Myo was prototyped in 2012 and released to the public in 2014 after a pre-order campaign. Thalmic says the rise of consumer virtual and mixed reality has improved product-market fit for its interaction model, and the company has applied the technology to medical-science work and gesture-based input for sign language. The company recently opened a San Francisco office and named Tara Kriese, formerly of Samsung Electronics America’s VR marketing, as CMO. Thalmic is hiring broadly and says additional products are “in the pipeline.” Thalmic Labs develops the MYO armband, a wearable that senses electrical activity in the forearm to detect fine movements and enable gesture-based control of computers and mobile devices. The company closed a $14.5M Series A to accelerate product development, reach full production, expand R&D and grow the team. MYO is currently in pre-order with over 30,000 reservations at $149 each, representing roughly $4.5M of potential sales; the product is targeted to launch in late 2013 and pre-orders are not charged until shipping. Thalmic previously raised a $1M seed round in 2012 and is a University of Waterloo VeloCity and Y Combinator alumnus. The startup was founded by University of Waterloo mechatronics graduates Matthew Bailey, Aaron Grant and Stephen Lake. The company emphasizes shipping a refined initial user experience to avoid early hardware missteps and will use the funding to support that effort. Thalmic Labs develops MYO, an armband that uses sensors and machine-learning to read forearm muscle activity and enable gesture control of connected devices via Bluetooth. The device pairs with PCs and mobile phones and can control applications, presentations, and gadgets like the Sphero. The company is offering MYO for pre-order at $149 and is launching an API to attract third-party developers. Thalmic has filed multiple patents related to its technology. The startup was founded by University of Waterloo Mechatronics graduates Aaron Grant, Matthew Bailey, and Stephen Lake and currently has 11 employees. It is part of Y Combinator’s Winter 2013 class and has raised $1.1 million in seed funding.

Total raised

$136M

Funding rounds

3

Latest round

Series B

Latest activity

Sep 2016