WeWALK is a technology company.
WeWALK has raised $750K across 1 funding round.
WeWALK has raised $750K in total across 1 funding round.
WeWALK is a technology company developing assistive devices and services for visually impaired individuals, primarily the WeWALK Smart Cane, a hardware upgrade to the traditional white cane. It integrates ultrasonic sensors for obstacle detection, AI-driven navigation, voice control, Bluetooth connectivity, and public transport integration via a companion app, serving the global visually impaired community to solve mobility barriers like safe navigation and independence.[1][2][3][4] The company has achieved strong growth momentum, impacting users in over 59 countries, earning accolades such as TIME's Best Invention, Amazon's Startup of the Year, and an Edison Gold Award, while expanding features through partnerships and launching services like WeASSIST, a professional visual assistance platform for live help with tasks like indoor navigation or object description.[1][2][5]
WeWALK emerged from the founders' lived experiences with visual impairment and over a decade of prior work in assistive tech, including audio descriptions for movie theaters and an award-winning indoor navigation system used by hundreds of thousands.[2][3] In 2017, recognizing the white cane's stagnation for decades despite its essential role, the team—led by figures like Head of R&D Jean Marc Feghali, who is visually impaired—pivoted to hardware, combining the cane's simplicity with modern tech like sensors, AI, and smartphone APIs.[2][3] Early traction built on this personal drive, with rapid market adoption improving thousands of lives shortly after launch, bolstered by R&D collaborations with Microsoft, Imperial College London, RNIB, and others.[1][2][3]
WeWALK rides the wave of inclusive AI and assistive tech, leveraging smartphone APIs, ultrasonic sensors, and cloud services to modernize accessibility tools amid rising demand for equitable mobility solutions.[3] Timing aligns with global aging populations, advancing AI (e.g., real-time navigation), and corporate accessibility pushes, amplified by post-2017 smartphone ubiquity enabling affordable upgrades to legacy aids like the white cane.[2][3] Market forces favor it through partnerships with tech giants (Microsoft) and institutions (RNIB), scaling R&D while influencing the ecosystem by normalizing "smart" disability tech, sparking awareness (e.g., public curiosity about the cane), and pushing societal integration for the visually impaired.[1][2][5]
WeWALK's platform vision—uniting users via mobility tech and services like WeASSIST—positions it for global expansion, potentially integrating more AI for predictive navigation or AR descriptions. Trends like AI democratization and remote assistance will accelerate adoption, evolving its influence from niche innovator to ecosystem hub fostering barrier-free living. As it scales from cane to community platform, WeWALK exemplifies how lived experience plus cutting-edge tech empowers independence, turning personal mobility challenges into widespread freedom.[2][5]
WeWALK has raised $750K in total across 1 funding round.
WeWALK's investors include Alt Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Dig Ventures, Insight Partners, Kleiner Perkins, Preston-Werner Ventures, SciFi VC, SignalFire, South Park Commons, Adam D'Angelo, Ellen Salisbury, Jeremy Stoppelman.
WeWALK has raised $750K across 1 funding round. Most recently, it raised $750K Seed in April 2020.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 1, 2020 | $750K Seed | Alt Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Dig Ventures, Insight Partners, Kleiner Perkins, Preston-Werner Ventures, SciFi VC, SignalFire, South Park Commons, Adam D'Angelo, Ellen Salisbury, Jeremy Stoppelman, Max Mullen, Sam Lambert, Steve Chen |