Haply Robotics Secures $4.8 Million CAD Seed Round to Develop Tactile Tech Used for Surgical Training, Gaming | BetaKit
BetaKit's Olivia Collette reports on Haply Robotics' $4.8 million CAD ($3.5 million USD) seed round led by BDC Capital's Deep Tech Venture Fund. The funds will go towards fine-tuning the portable Inverse3 haptic device for medical training, gamification, robotic control, and 3D interfaces.
Originally published on haply.co — the canonical version of this article.
A seed round led by BDC Capital
BetaKit reports that Montréal-based Haply Robotics secured $4.8 million CAD ($3.5 million USD) in a seed round led by BDC Capital’s Deep Tech Venture Fund, with additional backing from an angel investor through their holding company, Spiritus Engineering. Haply plans to use the funds to develop its haptic technology further for medical training and gamification, while also improving its robotic control and 3D interface capabilities.
Fine-tuning the Inverse3
The round centres on Haply’s portable haptic device, the Inverse3. In virtual medical simulations, touch feedback lets users feel what it is like to cut tissue, drill into bone, or excise fat — adding a tactile dimension to training while eliminating risk. According to co-founder Colin Gallacher, the Inverse3’s portability sets it apart from similar technologies that are often much larger and more costly: “The device’s portability allows doctors or medical students to remotely collaborate,” letting them carry the hardware from hospital to home in a backpack, with precise analytics on how trainees perform and improve over time.
Gamification, robotic control, and 3D content
The article notes the Inverse3 already works much like a game controller, letting hand gestures manipulate virtual environments, and that Haply is building video games for the medical field with UK-based partner FundamentalVR. Haply also plans to make the device more precise at transmitting user movements — removing hand tremors and scaling motions — and is exploring industrial applications such as remotely operating machinery.
Company background
Haply was founded in 2016 by Gallacher, Steve Ding, and Felix Desourdy, with a team spanning robotics, game development, and electronics. Since its founding, the company was awarded $750,000 from the federal government’s Innovative Solutions Canada haptic challenge program, received $500,000 in support from the McGill University Health Centre, and raised $500,000 USD from an undisclosed angel investor in 2022.
Read the original coverage
The full article by Olivia Collette is available on BetaKit.