Enable Ventures leads investment in smart seating company serving wheelchair users, aviation, automotive and beyond
MELBOURNE, Fla.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Kalogon, the market leader in smart seating solutions, today announced it has raised $5.75 million in funding to accelerate further global expansion of its seating products that reduce the stresses of sitting. The investment was led by Enable Ventures, the first venture fund dedicated to closing the disability wealth gap, with participation from Florida Opportunity Fund, Castellan Group and returning investors DeepWork Capital, Sawmill Angels and Black Opal. Kalogon’s products serve anyone who sits for extended periods across a range of markets, including healthcare, aviation, and beyond.
The funding comes on the heels of a breakout year for Kalogon, which more than tripled its medical revenue year-over-year and moved into a dedicated manufacturing facility in Melbourne to meet increasing demand. Kalogon will use the capital to hire across engineering, research and business development, expand the number of life-changing products offered internationally, and invest in the intelligence that its growing suite of deployed smart cushions makes possible.
This investment reflects what the disability community has understood for decades – solutions designed for accessibility benefit everyone. More than one in four Americans identify as having a disability, and adults 55 and older are the fastest-growing segment of the workforce. The companies designing for this population are building better products for all users, pushing the rest of the industry forward. Much like curb cuts on sidewalks and closed captioning on screens, Kalogon’s advancements in wheelchair seating have made sitting healthier for all.
“Disability is not a niche market, it’s an inevitable part of the human experience, like being seated, yet there is still so much we don’t know about the effects of sitting,” said Regina “Gina” Kline, founder and managing partner of Enable Ventures. “People want products that are intuitively designed and fit seamlessly into their lives. Kalogon’s empathy-driven design process, rooted in data, is exactly what this market needs, and every cushion they put into the world teaches them something new about how people sit. That knowledge compounds, and what they’re building for wheelchair users today will become the standard for seating for everyone tomorrow.”
Founded in 2019 by engineers from SpaceX, Kalogon set out to solve one of the most overlooked health crises for wheelchair users: pressure injuries, which claim more lives each year than nearly any form of cancer and cost the healthcare system an estimated $20 billion annually. Its first product was Orbiter, a smart wheelchair cushion clinically validated to improve blood flow and comfort. Since then, Kalogon has expanded into a full seating system, adding custom Medicare-coded products that address postural support alongside pressure management. That same technology, refined through millions of hours of real-world use, is in pilot testing to relieve fatigue and pain for U.S. Air Force aircrew on B-52 and E-4B long-duration missions, with commercial aviation and automotive partnerships in development.
“People who use wheelchairs face real health consequences from sitting, but the stresses of sitting don’t stop there,” said Tim Balz, founder and CEO of Kalogon. “When you solve for the people with the greatest need, you end up solving it for everyone. Our work with the U.S. Air Force showed us that the same technologies that help wheelchair users can help a B-52 pilot endure a 30-hour mission at peak performance. Improving seating has applications everywhere, and this investment lets us chase the full scope of that opportunity.”
The funds build on a strong institutional foundation in the rapidly growing aging and mobility market. Kalogon is a graduate of the AgeTech Collaborative™ from AARP and Praxis SCI Incubate, both of which hold an investment stake in the company. The company serves customers nationally through major DME distribution partners, including National Seating & Mobility, Reliable Medical, Numotion and Paragon Mobility, and plans to expand distribution partnerships outside the United States.
To learn more about Kalogon, visit www.kalogon.com.
About Kalogon
Kalogon is the trusted leader in seated health, delivering inventive seating solutions that eliminate the stresses of sitting. Driven by clinical research, deep customer empathy and rapid product iterations, Kalogon’s solutions serve anyone who sits for extended periods, across healthcare, aviation and beyond. Kalogon’s proprietary technology combines real-time sensors, adaptive surfaces and personalized control to restore circulation, protect skin integrity and reduce fatigue. Founded in 2019 and headquartered in Melbourne, Fla., Kalogon manufactures all products in-house and serves customers through clinical partnerships, major DME distributors and direct sales. For more information, visit https://www.kalogon.com.
Contacts
Media contact:
Heather Sliwinski, Changemaker Communications
[email protected]
