SKULLY develops the AR-1, a smart motorcycle helmet featuring a heads-up display. The company ran one of Indiegogo’s most successful campaigns and previously raised $1.5M in seed capital. The Indiegogo units had not yet shipped at the time of the article; SKULLY says the new funding will be used to start manufacturing and send helmets to early backers. SKULLY is hiring software and hardware engineers to support manufacturing and likely to develop future products beyond the AR-1. CEO Marcus Weller emphasized growth and hiring as priorities. A source told TechCrunch the company has had high turnover and laid off several employees in the past six months; a company spokesperson countered that turnover is lower than average for an SF startup. The company intends to use the funds to carry it through manufacturing milestones and accelerate its technology roadmap. Skully makes a motorcycle helmet with a heads-up display and augmented-reality–style features. The helmets provide hands-free GPS navigation and calling, a wide-angle rear-view camera display, Bluetooth connectivity, integrated audio, and streaming music. The product was developed by brothers Marcus and Mitch Weller; Marcus has research experience in intelligent transportation systems via the University of Minnesota and conceived the idea after experiencing several bike crashes. Skully ran a highly successful two-month Indiegogo campaign, selling 1,950 helmets in over 47 countries and becoming one of the platform's most popular projects after targeting $250,000 but taking in nearly ten times that amount. Financially, the company has combined crowdfunding proceeds and angel investments to reach $5.8 million in pre-orders and angel funding, and recently added a $1.5 million convertible securities financing. The company did not disclose particulars of the current raise. Skully’s core product is the AR-1 motorcycle helmet, which integrates a network of sensors, microprocessors, and a camera to deliver a heads-up display with turn-by-turn GPS navigation. The HUD projects navigation about 10 feet in front of the rider and runs on what the company calls the “Synapse platform.” Synapse offers automatic infinitely variable focal distance so displayed information remains clear regardless of where the rider looks. The company ran a perks-based Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign that sought $250,000 but raised $1,133,101. That campaign became the fastest fully funded Indiegogo project to hit $1M, reaching that milestone in about 45 hours. The campaign drew contributions from 24 countries and 43 U.S. states, with an average pledge of $1,425 and 400 backers claiming the $1,399 AR-1 perk.

Total raised

$14M

Funding rounds

3

Latest round

Series A

Latest activity

Feb 2015