“We build bionic limbs and Star Wars has always been an inspiration,” Psyonic CEO Aadeel Akhtar told the 4thEst8. “And it’s cool to bring science fiction to reality.”
In the video, the Psyonic Ability Hand wields a Jedi (or Sith) lightsaber. The video was released today, May 4th, in what has come to be known as Star Wars Day because of the homophonetic resonance between the date, May the Fourth, and the Star Wars greeting “May the Force (Be With You)”
Psyonic Inc. was founded in 2015 and is headquartered in Champaign, Ill. The eight person startup claims to have the only prosthetic hand with sensory feedback in the fingertips that is covered by Medicare. It has secured two Phase I SBIR grants totaling $500k, plus this recent Phase II from the National Science Foundation for $739,000. According to PitchBook the startup has raised $625k in seed funding with investors including Illinois Ventures, iVenture Accelerator and MTT Ventures. Akhtar says the company has been in revenue since September 2019 when it launched the hand into limited release, or ‘paid-Beta’. A nation-wide sales campaign is expected in 2021.
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