Aescape, a tech company building automated, data-driven massage tables that mimic human touch, has announced a US$30m (£24.9m, €28.9m) Series A funding round.
With this backing, the New-York-based company will enhance its AI-powered technology and bring its Aescape Experience to the US market in 2023. The funding brings Aescape's total capital to US$47.5m (£39.5m, €45.7m).
Aescape’s mission is to ‘redefine the massage and wellness category through intelligent touchless technology that helps people to feel and live better longer’.
“Our team is working to bring beautifully-designed, fully-automated, therapeutic massage and wellness experiences to market with a solution that combines innovative research, revolutionary technology and a holistic approach to physical wellness and recovery,” said Eric Litman, founder and CEO at Aescape.
Litman is an American entrepreneur and businessman who has previously built and exited four companies; Medialets, Viaduct, digitalNATION and Proxicom.
His company aims to help grow the wellness industry by providing operators with a scalable solution that eases the labour shortage, acts as a support tool for massage therapists and athletic trainers and gives consumers a consistent, data-driven experience.
Aescape is reportedly experiencing strong partnership traction across a range of categories and has signed 17 partners which will be the first to launch the Aescape Experience at their locations.
The funding is led by Valor Siren Ventures and Valor Equity Partners – an early investor in Tesla and SpaceX – with participation from new investors including Fifth Wall and Alley Robotics Ventures, and existing investors including Crosslink Capital, Alumni Ventures and professional NBA athlete Kevin Love.
"Aescape is on the forefront of consumer innovation, providing a fully-automated massage table that not only helps solve the industry's immense labour gap, but fundamentally enables a more advanced and accessible experience," shared Kevin Campos, Partner at Fifth Wall.
"The application of its deep proprietary technology can span the built world from an employee perk boasted in office spaces, an essential health benefit offered in medical offices to an amenity provided in hotel spas and beyond."
Previous investors include AlleyCorp Robotics Ventures; FJLabs; Gaingels; Spacecadet; Silicon Valley Bank; Pete Wurman, founder of Kiva Systems/Amazon Robotics; Javon Bea, CEO of Trinity Health; Tom Lee, founder of OneMedical; David Karp, founder of Tumblr; Mark Gorton, founder and CEO of Tower Research; Eric Newnham, founder of Talon Outdoor; Neil Parikh, co-founder of Casper; Yony Feng, co-founder of Peloton; Lachlan Power, YouTuber and professional gamer; and NBA champions Kevin Love and Matthew Dellavedova.
