NewHaptics – an innovative tactile display technology company – recently announced it has raised growth capital from the Accelerate Blue Fund. This represents the company’s first round of venture funding and it is a meaningful milestone towards commercializing an affordable refreshable braille and tactile graphics display.
The Accelerate Blue Fund (ABF) is known as an early-stage venture fund that exclusively invests in University of Michigan (U-M) licensed startups. And the goal of Accelerate Blue is to bridge the funding gap between initial launch and angel/VC funding for startups based on the University of Michigan intellectual property (IP).
NewHaptics’ technology is aimed at enabling increased access to braille in digital form and allowing blind people to interact with spatial content through digital formats. And it supports the company’s mission to improve information access for people who are blind and enable them to reach information parity with their sighted counterparts, particularly in Science, TeNewHapticschnology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields.
KEY QUOTES:
“We are excited to partner with Accelerate Blue in order to further our development efforts. This investment complements the funding we have raised from government grants, and enables us to continue improving the capabilities and performance of our product and prepare for its commercial launch.”
— NewHaptics co-founder Alex Russomanno
“ABF was created to support companies like NewHaptics. We provide patient, early-stage growth capital to U-M licensed companies with the potential to positively impact society. NewHaptics’ braille display will significantly change so many lives for the better and we are happy to support their mission with our investment.”
— Don Manfredi, Associate Director of Ventures at U-M Innovation Partnerships
