The Ukrainian-founded company Esper Bionics has raised $5 million in investment led by YZR Capital with co-financing from the EBRD and U.Ventures. The money will be used to scale and develop the bionic system, the company informed AIN.
- Esper Bionics is an engineering and technical company that manufactures bionic prosthetics. The headquarters of the company is located in New York, and the engineering, design, and production units are located in Kyiv.
- Esper Hand bionic prosthetics use artificial intelligence and cloud data storage. In 2022, it was featured on the cover of the Times as one of the best inventions of mankind.
- The main market for Esper Bionics remains the USA, but they also have operations in Ukraine. According to the company, it provided more than 80 bionic hands to Ukrainian veterans.
Esper Bionics’ goal is to create the first bionic ecosystem of connected devices that pushes the boundaries of human potential. After a successful launch in the US market, the company intends to go global,
Esper Bionic’s team commented.
- The fresh investment was led by YZR Capital, a €100 million Munich-based investment firm with a European early-stage health tech focus.
- The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s together with and u.ventures, established by Ukraine-Moldova American Enterprise Fund to invest in early-stage technology startups, also participated in the financing.
Future plans
Esper Bionics plans to ramp up production of its flagship product, the AI-embedded self-learning Esper Hand. The prosthesis costs $22,000 and is covered by insurance.
The engineering company will also add new devices to its ecosystem, including controllers for wearable prosthetics and a cloud-based ML platform. Esper Bionics cites research showing that prosthetic users had difficulty switching functions during normal control and experienced poor mechanical strength of their multifunctional prostheses.
