Exoatlet Asia

"ExoaThlet" found support in South Korea and $ 2 million

The founder of the company Ekaterina Bereziy (the only Russian businessman included in the list of Young Global Leaders for 2017 compiled by the World Economic Forum) talks about the investment and the work of the "Exoathlet" in South Korea and Asia in an article specially prepared for Sk.ru .

The Skolkovo resident company ExoaThlet, the developer of the medical exoskeleton of the same name, received about $ 2 million in private investment and government grants in South Korea. The funds will be used to promote the company to Asia, which was supported by top managers of large Korean corporations and well-known business angels.

In October last year, Exoatlet Asia was registered in South Korea, headed by the former director of the mobile division of LG Electronics, Mr. Oh (Oh Joo Young).

The most urgent task in Korea is to create a high-quality production base for entering Asia and other markets. At the same time, the company provides market presence and distribution of exoskeletons, as well as the organization of their clinical trials in the domestic market.

Exoatlet Asia has already attracted about $1.2 million in private investment for promotion in the region. One of the investors was the chairman of COSMO Group, Mr. Kyung soo Ho. COSMO Group is part of GS Group, the seventh largest business group in South Korea by capitalization. The group's business is diversified: its member companies work in the chemical industry, in the field of new materials, in trade and distribution. The trade and distribution division of COSMO Group is engaged in the search and further distribution of goods that have a high chance of winning the market. So, in 2003, the company began to promote the I-bot Roomba cleaning robot, which became a hit on the consumer electronics market.

Mr. Keng Soo Ho became interested in the exoskeleton for rehabilitation because he sees good sales potential in it in the near future. It is expected that the average annual growth rate of the exoskeleton market for rehabilitation will be 70% by 2020. According to Mr. Keng soo Ho, the prospects of "Exoathlet", from the point of view of commercialization, seem more interesting than those of competitors. The Korean investor hopes that the funds raised by the company will give a new impetus to development.

The project was also supported by private investors: Mr. Oh, Mr. Zha and Mr. Lim.

From the point of view of the development of rehabilitation technologies, exoskeletons are now the main trend in Asia. They are in demand as rehabilitation equipment for clinics, rehabilitation centers, wellness centers, where people can practice like in fitness clubs. In South Korea, there are about 350 thousand people who have lost the ability to walk independently as a result of accidents. Of these, 42% are office workers, 14% are businessmen, 6% are housewives.

In South Korea and other developed Asian countries, a multi-stage rehabilitation scheme has been implemented for patients who have lost the ability to walk. It includes the period of treatment after an injury or stroke. The second stage of rehabilitation is implemented on the basis of centers where people can stay in the hospital up to 60 days. This is the time when you can most effectively start the recovery process. After that, the third stage begins, when the patient visits the same rehabilitation center or hospital where he is engaged on an outpatient basis. At the fourth stage, after two or three years of regular classes, patients move to private wellness centers. There they work out on simulators adapted to their limitations.

This infrastructure has already been created. And exoskeletons are in great demand in it, because they show high efficiency in rehabilitation, and at the same time they are quite budget-friendly. The equipment itself in the purchase for clinics is quite inexpensive. And in order to work with a patient, only one physical therapy instructor is required and corridors that you can walk through – no additional premises or additional personnel are needed.

How Exoatlet Asia was created

The parties approached the creation of a joint company for a long time and consciously. The team members have known Mr. O for many years. Acquaintance with the first version of the ExoAthlete took place at a major medical exhibition in Korea – KIMES. Mr. O and his colleagues were invited to look at the development of the Russian team.

At the exhibition, the Russian exoskeleton attracted attention. After that, it was decided to open a joint company ExoAtlet Asia. Mr. O gathered a team and presentations began in clinics – they showed the project, collected feedback from doctors to understand whether the ExoAthlete meets the expectations and requirements. More than 20 demonstrations were held. It turned out that Korean doctors like the product and surpasses existing competitors.

At the same time, Mr. Oh presented the Russian exoskeleton to the departments of innovative development in the regions of Korea, and began applying for grants.

To date, the amount of grant support is 700 thousand dollars.

The project received government support because robots for rehabilitation are included in the plan of the fourth industrial revolution – the state supports local robot manufacturers who can create jobs in Korea and contribute to the economic development of the country. Exoatlet Asia creates jobs and production, which means it falls into the conditions of the program.

Exoatlet Asia also signed an agreement with Gyeonggi Province represented by Deputy Governor Lee Jae-Yul Lee. KenGi will promote and support ExoAtlet Asia, and the exoskeletons produced by it will be supplied to hospitals and rehabilitation centers in the province.

Achievements and plans

Clinical trials in Korean clinics have already started – 8 patients took part in them, all were able to successfully walk the necessary distances in an exoskeleton and were satisfied with the results. The second stage of testing starts in September.

Despite the existing cycles of purchasing equipment for hospitals and rehabilitation centers, assuming budgets only for next year, already this year ExoAtlet Asia expects to sell about 10 exoskeletons.

ExoAtlet Asia currently employs 10 people. It is planned to produce 10 exoskeletons in Korea this year, 150 next year, and 1400 exoskeletons within five years.

From the autumn of last year to the present, Russian ExoaThlet engineers regularly come to Korea and work in the Korean office. Each of our engineering team spent at least two weeks in the Korean office. Someone helped formulate tasks for component suppliers. Someone participated in the launch of clinical trials that are currently taking place there. Someone trained Korean engineers and production staff to assemble an exoskeleton after all the components are ready.

The necessary certification in order to start selling exoskeletons in Korea has already been passed – on May 2, 2017, a CS certificate was received. A "wearable" robot is considered a semi-medical device in the country, and only with KC certification it is possible to work with clinics, rehabilitation centers, associations of disabled people and other similar organizations.

But most importantly, having been certified in Korea, we have prepared the product so that it meets the certification requirements not only in Asia, but also in European markets.

Korea is the first foreign market where ExoaThlet launches sales. The next stage will be certification in China, Japan, Singapore. The stated goal is to get all the designated certificates by 2019.

Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru  07.07.2017