Canada-based gesture control technology developer Thalmic Labs secured $120m yesterday in a round co-led by Intel Capital, the corporate venturing arm of chipmaker Intel, and e-commerce group Amazon’s Alexa Fund.
The corporates co-led the round with Fidelity Investments Canada, a subsidiary of financial services conglomerate Fidelity, and other participants included venture capital firms Spark Capital, First Round Capital and iNovia Capital.
Founded in 2012, Thalmic is working on gesture control technology that could eventually be used in entertainment, virtual reality, prosthetics and sign language.
The company’s first product, Myo, is an armband that can wirelessly control digital devices such as computers by measuring electrical activity in a user’s muscles.
Thalmic will use the new capital to grow its team, which currently numbers more than 100, as it seeks to develop additional products.
The funding brought Thalmic’s overall funding to more than $140m, it said, with Intel having led its last round, a $14.5m series A that closed in 2013 with contributions from Spark Capital, First Round Capital, Formation 8 and FundersClub.
Thalmic’s seed funding came from incubator Y Combinator and angel investors including Lee Lau, Paul Tsaparis, Daniel Debow and David Ossip.
Josh Walden, general manager of Intel’s New Technology Group, said: “In the three years since Intel Capital first invested in Thalmic, they have made tremendous breakthroughs in technology.
“These innovations augment Intel’s strategy for wearable technology and align with our vision to bring new and exciting experiences to users. We are excited to continue working together.”
– Image courtesy of Thalmic Labs