Amsterdam-based Aito, a haptic touch specialist, announced that it has raised €4.1M in a fresh round of funding. The round was led by KBC Focus Fund, FORWARD.One, and Innovation Industries.
Aito believes that in the coming years, advanced haptic feedback and force sensing will replace traditional button interfaces in billions of consumer devices.
Paul Pruijmboom from FORWARD.One says, “Analysts predict the haptic touch market will double in size within the next five years and with the industry’s slimmest and most responsive solution, Aito can benefit from this fast growth, enabling consumer technology brands to offer new experiences to users and delivering strong returns to its investors.”
Prior to this round, the startup had raised €3M in August 2020.
Capital utilisation
The company says that the raised capital will help it to bring its product to the market with several leading brands in 2022, reflecting the growth potential in the haptic feedback market.
The company says, “At less than 2.4 millimeters, our integrated finger sensing and haptic feedback solution is the industry’s slimmest haptic touchpad, providing ultra-local haptic feedback ‘only where you press’ enabling seamless design alongside bigger batteries in laptops.”
Aito claims that this solution enables consumer technology brands to build laptops, accessories, display screens, gaming devices, and AR/VR solutions that transform user experiences.
Speaking on the development, the CEO of Aito, Nedko Ivanov says, “This new round of funding reflects the enormous potential of the haptic touch market and is a testament to the progress made by the Aito team. Our integrated finger sensing and haptic feedback product is ready to be commercialised in a range of consumer technology devices including the lucrative laptop market. This investment makes the global rollout of our product a reality.”
Integrated finger sensing & haptic technology
Founded in 2012 by Jockum Lönnberg, Pauli Laitinen, and Rene Vries, Aito claims to be a frontrunner in the global human interface market. The Haptile modules add force sensing and haptic feedback to an extensive range of devices, including laptops, keyboards, computing mice, smartphones, and car infotainment systems.
Aito’s technology is developed by a team of engineers based in Espoo, Finland. It can be scaled to offer the largest edge-to-edge touchpads in the industry as well as provide consumer technology companies with new design options to create compact and versatile laptops, accessories, displays, and other devices.
Ivanov further says, “With almost 80 patents, we have built a significant portfolio of intellectual property in electronic sensing, control, signal processing, and mechanical construction. This enables us to provide a fully integrated haptic solution, allowing consumer technology companies to create intuitive touch experiences housed in elegant designs.”
“This investment, combined with the team’s expertise in bringing haptic solutions to market, provides us with the scope to truly extend our reach in the global market and transform how consumer electronics devices are designed and used,” adds Ivanov.
New CEO
Earlier this month, Aito announced the appointment of its new CEO Nedko Ivanov. Ivanov will help drive the company’s growth in the finger sensing and haptic touch industries, and further scale its operation as the engagements increase with consumer electronic brands.
Nedko’s previous experience includes various high-profile roles. During his role as CEO of Redux, another haptic touch business, Nedko led the company in the run-up to its acquisition by Google back in 2017. He has also served as CEO of internet security software company, BullGuard, which was later acquired by Avira.
