Glidance is a technology company.
Glidance has raised $1.0M across 1 funding round.
Glidance has raised $1.0M in total across 1 funding round.
Glidance has raised $1.0M in total across 1 funding round.
Glidance's investors include Amazon Alexa Fund, SOSV, Subtraction Capital.
Glidance is a Seattle-based assistive technology startup founded in 2023 that develops Glide, the world's first self-guided mobility aid for individuals who are blind or have low vision.[1][2][5] Glide uses AI-powered navigation, advanced sensors, and robotics to autonomously steer users to destinations, avoid obstacles, and provide real-time environmental awareness via haptic and audio cues, solving the limitations of traditional aids like canes that require constant user effort and training.[2][3][5][6] The company serves the blind and low-vision community—impacted by a global market of 2.5 billion people needing assistive products, rising to 3.5 billion by 2050—promoting independence with an intuitive, lightweight device that's easy to learn, rugged, and improves via over-the-air updates.[3][5] With 11 employees, under $5 million in revenue, one funding round from investors like Kalamazoo Forward Ventures, and selection for the AI for Good Global Summit 2025 Innovation Factory, Glidance shows early momentum through pioneer testing and anticipated Spring 2026 deliveries.[1][2][3][6]
Glidance was founded in 2023 by Amos Miller, who lost his sight in his 20s to retinitis pigmentosa (RP) while pursuing a Computer Science degree, driving his lifelong commitment to assistive tech.[3][4][5] As a former product executive at Microsoft Research for over 15 years, Miller created Microsoft's Soundscape navigation app and channeled personal experience into Glidance's mission of inclusive mobility.[5] The idea for Glide emerged from Miller's empathy for navigation barriers faced by the low-vision community, evolving from his career pushing inclusive technologies into a hardware-software solution blending AI and robotics.[1][3][4] Early traction includes multinational team hires from Slovenia, Germany, Turkey, France, Mexico, Canada, and the US; investor backing; and a spot in the AI for Good Global Summit 2025, with pioneers already testing prototypes.[2][3][6]
Glidance rides the AI-for-good and personal robotics wave, addressing a massive underserved market where 1 in 8 people face vision-related mobility barriers amid rising assistive needs (2.5B users now, 3.5B by 2050).[3] Timing aligns with maturing computer vision, sensor tech, and edge AI enabling scalable, real-time navigation—market forces like WHO projections and investor interest in high-impact startups favor it, as "people are lining up" for Glide.[2][3] By redefining assistive tech from reactive (e.g., canes) to proactive autonomy, Glidance influences the ecosystem, spotlighting inclusive design in AI summits and potentially accelerating adoption of empathetic robotics for disabilities.[1][3][5]
Glidance is poised for breakout growth post-2026 launch, scaling via software updates, pioneer feedback, and global demand in a trillion-dollar assistive market.[3][6] Trends like advancing AI models, robotics democratization, and inclusivity mandates will propel Glide, evolving from niche aid to mainstream mobility standard with investor returns and ecosystem impact.[2][3] As the first self-guided device, its influence could normalize AI companions for the 285 million visually impaired worldwide, tying back to Miller's vision: making independent mobility a universal right through empathetic tech.[1][4][5]
Glidance has raised $1.0M across 1 funding round. Most recently, it raised $1.0M Seed in December 2023.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 1, 2023 | $1.0M Seed | Amazon Alexa Fund, SOSV, Subtraction Capital |