Verve Motion Raises $20 Million in Series B Financing

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Dec 13, 2023, 08:02 ET

Fueling Expansion: Funding to Boost Wearable Robotics Company's Drive to Minimize Industrial Workplace Injuries and Enhance Productivity

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Dec. 13, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Pioneering the future of industrial safety, Verve Motion, a Harvard University spinout, today announced it has reached a significant milestone by securing $20 million in Series B funding. This achievement, raising the company's total funding to over $40 million, marks a crucial step in the company's rapid expansion and the widespread adoption of its innovative industrial-use connected wearable technology, SafeLift™ exosuit.

Amidst the challenges faced by warehouse and fulfillment center workers who lift, on average, up to 50,000 pounds daily, the SafeLift exosuit proves transformative. This image captures a selector at a grocery distribution facility alleviating 40 percent of the load with each lift, addressing issues of overexertion, injuries, fatigue, lost productivity, and high turnover.

The Series B funding round, which will play a pivotal role in supporting the company's goals of market expansion and scaling manufacturing to meet demand, was led by Safar Partners, with new investments from Cybernetix Ventures as well as follow-on investments from existing investors, including Construct Capital, Pillar VC and OUP. The round also included participation from individual investors including Frederic Kerrest, Vice-Chairman and Co-Founder of Okta, and John McEleney, Co-founder of Onshape, and formerly CEO of SolidWorks.

Mitigating back injuries is a major workplace safety challenge that plagues a multitude of industries. Occupational back pain ranks as the most frequent injury, with more than one million workers suffering back injuries annually. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the average cost of back injury claims, including medical bills, wage loss benefits, and other expenses, can range from $40,000 to $80,000 per injury.

"The era of transformation in workplace safety and productivity is here," said Ignacio Galiana, the CEO and Co-founder of Verve Motion. "Our mission is to power the human workplace by spearheading the next generation of wearable technology for industrial workers. Our SafeLift solution significantly diminishes the risk of back injury and fatigue, while enhancing facility productivity, and fostering employee retention. We're creating a safer and more efficient future for industrial workers globally. This additional funding will drive the expansion of our solution and enable us to scale operations to meet the growing demand for our technology, ensuring it is accessible to the workers who need it most."

"As a lead investor in the Series B funding, we are excited to fuel the growth and innovation of Verve Motion, a trailblazing force in wearable robotics," said Arunas Chesonis, co-founder of Safar Partners. "The company's focus on commercializing high-performance wearable technology for the workplace aligns with our vision for transformative advancements in world-changing disruptive technology. We believe this substantial investment will not only accelerate Verve Motion's market presence but also contribute to reshaping the landscape of workplace safety and productivity."

"At Albertsons Companies, we are committed to pursuing innovative technologies that will safeguard our associates, particularly those on the frontline in our distribution centers," said Mustafa Harcar, VP of Automation at Albertsons Companies. "The integration of the SafeLift solution into our warehouse operations is proving to be a game-changer, helping mitigate physical strain, reducing injuries, and cultivating a safer work environment. We are enthusiastic about what we've observed and look forward to furthering our partnership with Verve Motion as we continue to prioritize the health, safety, and well-being of our employees."

Powering the Human Workplace through People-centric Robotics

The SafeLift exosuit is the world's first soft exosuit offering tailored, adaptive assistance that is customized for each worker and task. Invented by a team of scientists, engineers, and athletic apparel designers, it is a lightweight wearable solution that combines real-time motion sensing with robotic assistance. Its comfortable form factor, which wears like a backpack, is designed to power and protect industrial workers. The solution alleviates about 40 percent of the strain on a worker's back during a typical workday by providing assistance in parallel with their underlying muscles. SafeLift exosuit includes a cloud platform with motion-based sensors for automatic detection of risky movements like excessive bending and twisting. The software not only improves injury prevention through coaching but also promotes ergonomic enhancements in the workplace.

Verve Motion's technology evolved from work in the Biodesign Lab at Harvard's John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. Researchers there developed a soft exosuit with the goal of mitigating fatigue and injury risks for military personnel, work that paved the way for the next generation of wearable robots. The work was supported by DARPA (the advanced research and development agency of the U.S. Department of Defense), the National Science Foundation, and the National Institutes of Health.

Since the company's inception in 2020, Verve Motion's soft exosuits have helped American workers lift more than 300 million pounds, eliminating up to 85 percent of lower back and hip injuries at sites using SafeLift, and increase productivity by 3-7 percent, while creating a positive effect on worker retention and recruiting.

Verve Motion's soft exosuits are deployed in a wide range of industries, including grocery, package distribution, third party logistics, retail, supply chain distribution, and manufacturing. For more information, visit www.vervemotion.com.

About Verve Motion

Verve Motion is a wearable robotics technology, committed to improving the lives of workers across various industries. With a passion for innovation and a focus on ergonomics, safety, and productivity, the company is developing cutting-edge soft exosuits that redefine the way people work. Spun out from Harvard University's Biodesign Laboratory at the Wyss Institute, Verve Motion is based on a decade of research funded by DARPA, the National Science Foundation, and the National Institutes of Health. Since its inception in 2020, Verve Motion has raised more than $40 million in financing from a diverse group of investors. For more information, visit www.vervemotion.com.

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