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Wednesday, September 18, 2019 - Axiles Bionics, a Brussels-based startup developing an innovative intelligent robotic ankle-foot prosthesis for lower limb amputees, announces the successful completion of a €2.4 million Series A funding round. The round was led by its co-founders and several private investors, including alumni from VUB and ULB. The funds will be utilized to advance research, development, and clinical validation of Axiles Bionics' next-generation bionic foot. Bart van Gael (former CEO of HENRARD SA), Michel Delloye (former CEO of the RTL Group, GBL, and private equity investor), Jacques Langhendries (former CEO and founder of HiGH5 Recycling), and Stefan Yee (CEO of the PE Group), serving as chairman, have joined the board of directors.
Current prosthetics still fall short of fully replacing a lost limb. Despite a clear demand from amputees for improved ankle-foot prosthetics, innovations are rare due to the challenge of replicating the human body.
Drawing on 12 years of robotics research supported by Innoviris at BruBotics, the Free University of Brussels, Axiles Bionics has developed technology capable of recreating the unique combination of strength and flexibility of a human ankle. This unique bionic technology can restore a natural gait and posture during daily activities, providing significant responsiveness to the user's intention and assisting in compensating for lost leg muscles.
"We are delighted to have raised this significant amount of private funding to further develop and bring our advanced bionic technology to more people," says Pierre Cherelle, a robotics engineering Ph.D. (VUB) and founder-CEO of Axiles Bionics.
"We believe that advanced robotics and artificial intelligence will play a major role in improving people's quality of life in the near future. It's very exciting to contribute to this process," says Felipe Gomez, Ph.D. in artificial intelligence (VUB), co-founder, and CTO of Axiles Bionics.
Professors Dirk Lefeber, head of BruBotics, and Bram Vanderborght are equally enthusiastic: "As university researchers, we often develop advanced prototypes, but they rarely make it to the market. We are grateful that, thanks to the team's perseverance, this type of prosthesis will reach amputees."
About AXILES BIONICS
Founded in January 2019, Axiles Bionics is a forward-looking startup stemming from Brubotics at Vrije Universiteit Brussel, with a mission to enhance the quality of life through intelligent assistive robotics. The ambition is to create a center of excellence in new bionic technologies in Brussels.
With 12 years of robotics research financially supported by the Innoviris program of the Brussels Region, Axiles Bionics primarily focuses on lower limb amputees, aiming to offer a new generation of affordable bionic feet in the market. Axiles Bionics also benefits from the support of the Caring Entrepreneurship Fund of the King Baudouin Foundation.
Vrije Universiteit Brussel is an internationally oriented university located in Brussels, at the heart of Europe. Providing research and education of excellence on a human scale, VUB aims to actively and committedly contribute to a better society.
The Brussels Human Robotics Research Center, BruBotics, is a joint initiative of eight research groups at Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) dedicated to improving the quality of life through human robotics. With over 100 researchers combining expertise in robotics, artificial intelligence, rehabilitation, physiology, sociology, aging, marketing, and e-health, BruBotics is a leader in European research on human robotics.
About INNOVIRIS
As the Brussels Institute for Research and Innovation, Innoviris supports Brussels-based businesses, research institutes, non-profit organizations, and citizens through the funding of innovative projects.
About CARING ENTREPRENEURSHIP FUND
Managed by the King Baudouin Foundation, the Caring Entrepreneurship Fund aims to support entrepreneurs in establishing businesses in the health and well-being sector. The main goal is to create jobs while having an impact on society's health and well-being. Startups, particularly in this field, are an essential driving force for development and progress to meet unmet medical needs and the aging population.
Read the article on the VUB website
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