Textronics
Develops and commercializes wearable textile sensor components and clothing solutions for fitness and health monitoring.
| Date | Investors | Amount | Round |
|---|---|---|---|
| investor investor | €0.0 | round | |
N/A | Acquisition | ||
| Total Funding | 000k | ||
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Textronics Inc. operated at the intersection of textiles and electronics, pioneering the development of wearable sensor technologies for the fitness and health monitoring markets. The company was established in 2005, with Stacey Burr as its founder and CEO. Burr's journey began at DuPont, and her background in industrial engineering and administration from Purdue University provided a strong foundation for commercializing e-textiles. This experience was instrumental in creating the company's core offering.
The firm specialized in designing and manufacturing electro-textile systems. Its main business involved creating textile-based sensors that could be seamlessly integrated into everyday garments to monitor physiological data. The product line included items such as heart-sensing sports bras and men's compression shirts capable of tracking respiration patterns. These products were developed using proprietary technologies like elastic conductive yarns, nano-composite elastomeric polymers, and textile electrodes that could capture the body's electrical activity. Textronics also supplied a developer's kit to researchers and product developers to encourage the creation of new interactive wearable prototypes. The company's client base spanned markets from sports and fitness to health and wellness and the military.
The business model centered on the research, development, and sale of these sensor components and finished garments. After its founding, Textronics secured venture capital funding from investors including Physic Ventures, N*GEN Partners, and INVISTA. A significant milestone was achieved in 2008 when the company was acquired by Adidas for approximately $35 million. Following the acquisition, the Textronics team and its technology were integrated into Adidas's Wearable Sports Electronics division, continuing to develop products like the miCoach® Elite athlete monitoring system.
Keywords: e-textiles, wearable sensors, smart fabrics, fitness monitoring, health monitoring, Stacey Burr, electro-textiles, physiological data, smart garments, Adidas acquisition, miCoach, wearable technology, textile sensors, heart rate monitoring, sports electronics, athletic performance, quantified self, biometric data, smart clothing, conductive fibers