On August 22nd, 2024, we celebrate the five-year anniversary of the incorporation of Auxivo. Since then, many things have happened, and Auxivo has developed from an early-stage ETH Spin-Off into a driving force for innovation in the young and dynamic exoskeleton market. Today, we want to take the opportunity to look back on how Auxivo came to be and what happened in the first, sometimes turbulent, five years of our company's history, which were full of positive but also challenging moments.
ETH Exoskeleton Research (2012-2016)
The story of the Auxivo can be traced back to the exoskeleton laboratories of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zürich, where pioneering research in the field of exoskeleton has been conducted since the early 2000s.
A leg-exoskeleton research prototype (left) and the ETH VariLeg exoskeleton project (right). Pictures: ETH Zurich.
Several members of the Auxivo team have been actively involved in exoskeleton research, working on various medical exoskeleton projects and foundational research systems.
These medical exoskeletons were developed to assist individuals with physical impairments, such as those recovering from strokes or spinal cord injuries, supporting rehabilitation and aiding in daily activities like walking or eating. The goal of basic exoskeleton research was to better understand the interaction between the exoskeleton and the wearer's body, and to develop concepts, methods, and solutions to optimize this interaction, which is essential for creating high-performance exoskeletons.
During this period, future Auxivo team members contributed to the development of multiple prototypes, including passive research exoskeletons, active gait exoskeletons for rehabilitation and mobility assistance, upper extremity systems, and textile-based exoskeletons.
Transfer Project (2017-2019)
In 2017, ETH Zürich supported a technology transfer project through a so-called Pioneer Fellowship to support the commercialization of the technology. Leveraging the knowledge and experience gained over the years, efforts were made to develop industrial exoskeletons that can ease the challenges and problems caused by heavy physical labor in many industries.
To facilitate this project, several industry partnerships were established. These partnerships allowed for frequent exchanges and field testing in realistic environments, ensuring that user and customer requirements were considered from the outset. With strong interest from multiple partners and promising initial feedback, prototypes for various exoskeletons were developed, tested, and iterated upon.
Early collaboration and field testing of prototypes with industry partners were key cornerstones of the project, enabling a fast proof of concept.
Based on this initial success, the Swiss National Science Foundation and the Innosuisse Agency further supported the project with a so-called Bridge fellowship, which allowed the prototypes to be advanced further and additional field testing conducted.
When the user feedback showed that proof of concept had been achieved, the incorporation of a company was planned to begin commercialization. To accelerate this process, the team entered the Swiss Venture Kick Startup competition and won the first stage (CHF 10k prize) in October 2018 and the second stage (CHF 40k prize) in February 2019.
Auxivo AG as an early-stage Start-Up (2019 - 2022)
In August 2019, the Founding team of Volker Bartenbach (former exoskeleton PhD student and Pioneer & Bridge Fellow at ETH), Michael Stucky (Experienced Founder and ETH business Coach), and Roger Gassert (Professor of Rehabilitation Engineering at ETH Zürich) incorporated the company Auxivo AG.
The new company's goal was to improve workers' safety and well-being by offering innovative, high-performance, yet affordable exoskeletons designed to reduce physical workload and minimize the risk of injury. By developing advanced and practical products, the team aimed to make a positive impact and make this technology accessible to more people who could benefit from it.
In September 2019, Auxivo won the final stage of the Venture Kick Startup competition, which resulted in an additional cash price of CHF 100k. This money allowed Auxivo to recruit an initial team, progress with the development of multiple products, and prepare for a first private investment round.
Auxivo successfully raised a pre-seed investment round in early 2020. With this money, the company was able to expand its team and operations further and commercialize and launch its first product, the Auxivo LiftSuit, in May 2020. The LiftSuit was a pioneering textile exoskeleton that offered a good level of support while being very lightweight, small, and easy to use.
The LiftSuit is a lightweight textile exosuit that supports the back and hip muscles when lifting objects and working in a forward-leaning position.
Also, in 2020, Auxivo integrated the educational exoskeleton EduExo into its offering since it aligned well with Auxivo’s mission of making exoskeletons more accessible and understandable to a broader audience. (More information on the EduExo history: link).
Unfortunately, the beginning of this commercialization phase coincided with the full outbreak of the global pandemic in early 2020, which severely affected business and progress. Preorders were canceled, and customer acquisition was severely limited. In addition, one of the founders, Roger Gassert, suffered a severe COVID-19 infection, resulting in a lengthy hospital stay and several months of neurorehabilitation. As a Professor of Rehabilitation Engineering, Roger shared his personal experience as a patient very openly in a public talk so that others in the field of medical technology could learn from it (link to recording, German with English subtitles).
Despite the challenges, Auxivo successfully launched its second occupational product, the CarrySuit, in May 2021. The CarrySuit is an upper body exoskeleton designed to relieve the arms, shoulders, and upper body when carrying or holding heavy loads.
The CarrySuit is an upper body exoskeleton supporting carrying or holding heavy loads.
As the world began to normalize in 2022, with trade fairs reopening and customer visits becoming possible again, Auxivo entered multiple new markets, both with its own sales teams and through a growing network of global distribution partners. An additional financing round in early 2022 supported this expansion.
This expansion led to an increasing adoption of the initial products across a wide variety of industries, sometimes to the team's surprise when they saw for which applications users successfully used the products.
The LiftSuit is being used in construction and logistics.
In March 2022, Auxivo launched the EduExo Pro, an advanced educational exoskeleton kit that was developed to better meet the needs of university teaching and further facilitate the adoption of exoskeleton technology in education and research.
The educational exoskeleton kit EduExo Pro takes a hands-on approach to fostering learning and teaching of exoskeleton technology.
In April 2022, the team moved into new offices, providing much-needed space for further growth. The new offices include a larger workshop for prototype development, a dedicated biomechanics lab for frequent in-house testing, and more space for the team to focus, collaborate, and have fun.
The new Auxivo offices offer space to focus, collaborate, build and test prototypes, and have fun together.
Throughout 2022, Auxivo experienced significant growth and, by the end of the year, had built a team, infrastructure, and organization capable of supporting continued expansion. Several additional research and development projects were ongoing, laying the foundation for the company's next phase, and the early-stage startup phase slowly came to an end.
Auxivo becoming an industry leader (Since 2023)
In 2023, Auxivo significantly expanded its occupational product portfolio by launching two new products: the DeltaSuit, Auxivo’s take on overhead exoskeleton design, and the OmniSuit, a uniquely integrated multitask exoskeleton that provides both hip and back support during work that requires load handling from the ground to above shoulder level.
The DeltaSuit Shoulder support exoskeleton (left) and the OmniSuit multitask exoskeleton, both launched in 2023.
With the launch of new products, Auxivo quickly became one of the exoskeleton companies with the most extensive occupational exoskeleton portfolios, enabling it to offer suitable solutions for a wide range of use cases and industries. The Auxivo research team also gathered and published an increasing amount of scientific evidence on the efficacy of their products, often in collaboration with academic partners or through independent third-party studies.
After the launch of the two new products in 2023, Auxivo entered a phase of further growth, expansion, and internationalization. An important part of this expansion was a significantly increased presence at trade fairs, conferences, and other events to discuss exoskeletons with various stakeholders.
The establishment of a new European subsidiary began in 2023, and it became operational in 2024. This new hub aims to provide European customers with the best possible local service. The team also kept growing adding local sales and customer support staff in France, Germany, and the Benelux countries.
Auxivo’s educational exoskeletons have experienced constantly increasing interest, and by mid-2024, thousands of students worldwide had used them to learn about exoskeleton technology. Complementary materials such as the well-received Auxivo whitepaper on exoskeleton support published in 2023 (today available in 7 languages here) have further helped to foster a realistic understanding of exoskeletons in a wider audience.
This growth was supported by additional financing raised in 2023 and 2024. In 2024, Auxivo was able to raise further funding through a growth loan from a bank for the first time, a significant sign and clear demonstration that the young company has reached a maturity level and financial results to qualify for such financing tools within its first five years.
What will the future bring?
When looking into the future of Auxivo, many projects are planned or currently ongoing. This includes new products, new business and marketing activities, further expansion, and further innovations in the exoskeleton field. But those are all topics for another day.
Today, we want to celebrate the achievements of our Team and partners over the last five years and thank everyone who has been involved and supported us in more ways than we could have ever imagined at the beginning of this adventure.
Cheers!
