Volumental secures multi million investment
There are many things going right for the 3D company Volumental, and recently it was announced that they have secured an investment making them able to realize their vision. The company accepts one of Sweden's largest seed investments of $ 3 million, equivalent of SEK 20 million.
Silicon Valley baserade FOUNDER.org and Stockholm based MOOR go in as joint investors and gives Volumental an opportunity for further growth. The startup is also initializing a proof of concept project with Intel .
‑ This is great matching for us. A local investor with roots in the gaming industry and an american investor with experience of large exits and business-to-business, says Caroline Walerud, CEO and one of the founders of Volumental.
Volumental's software, a result of research at KTH, is used to carefully scan the human body using simple 3D depth cameras. The cloud based platform allows individuals to then create tailor made products for their own bodies. The investment will initially focus on a solution enabling parents to scan their children's feet and so buy shoes with a much better fit. During 2012, Volumental engaged in the KTH Innovation innovation support process and enjoyed coaching from the team and their business coach. Lisa Ericsson, manager at KTH Innovation and one of the early believers in the company's potential. is pleased about their achievements.
‑ It is always exciting to work with a case with great potential. With this investment, Volumantal has a very good opportunity to succeed, she says.
Commercializing research from KTH is one of the key objectives of KTH Innovation. Supporting and offering coaching continuously, says Lisa Ericsson, can be a contributing factor to ideas reaching the market and not getting stuck on the way there. The financial aspect must also be addressed and KTH Innovation has great scope to contribute to securing funding for reasearch ideas in early stages. VINNOVA offers a program aimed at startups in early development and where students and researchers have the opportunity to test the market. The KTH holding company, KTH Holding AB, invests in 4-5 startups annualy which stem from KTH research. In 2013, KTH Holding AB became one of the first investors in Volumental. Today, the startup is one of the companies in the business accelerator STING .
Volumental was one of 10 winners of the FOUNDER.org $100K Competition and this is how they came into contact with the FOUNDER.org founder Michael Baum. He can see a clear trend for how people consume products, and that trend is for further customization and individual fit where 3D scanning will play a crucial part.
- Volumental is a leader when it comes to product development of 3D visualization and it is going to be very exciting to develope this and turn ”one size fits all” into customized solutions for each individual.
Lisa Ericsson maintains that the team behind developing startups is a very important factor to the progress of the business.
‑ Volumental has always had a business focus and has built a team that complements each other. That is probably one of the reasons they are enjoying such attention at the moment!
Are you a researcher or student at KTH and do you want help with commercializing your idea? Contact us at innovation@kth.se and let's meet up!