Aito secures €2m series B financing to accelerate growth

Aito, a provider of piezo touch user interface technology, has raised €2m from existing investors, including INKEF Capital iAmsterdam, the Netherlands, and Sirius EcoTech Fund Düsseldorf, a German venture capital fund investing in high growth technology companies. The investment allows Aito to accelerate the global commercial rollout of its touch solutions.

Aito is building its products and solutions based on Software Enhanced Piezo technology, SEP. This breakthrough in piezoelectric sensing technology, utilises the best properties of piezoelectricity in combination with advanced control software to create a new touch technology. No other touch controller achieves the same level of design freedom, reliability, simple implementation, and low cost as the AitoChip.

With the AitoChip, touch panel overlays can be designed from any material: glass, metal, plastic, wood, fabric or ceramic. This ultimate design freedom in combination with the attractive functionality this technology offers (e.g. seamless panels that can be fully waterproof, and low-power operation) make the AitoChip very well suited for a variety of applications, such as kitchen appliances, medical equipment, consumer electronics, and simple light switches.

Rene de Vries, CEO of Aito, commented on this important milestone: “We welcome Sirius Venture Partners to our investor group and are proud of the continued support of our existing investors. This financing round enables us to accelerate our growth and our customer base.”

Mr. Johannes Peschko, partner at Sirius Venture Partners, will join Aito’s Supervisory Board. Mr. Peschko believes there is a tremendous potential for Aito’s solutions and noted, “Market response to the launch of the AitoChip has been very positive, already resulting in many design-ins in the kitchen and consumer electronic markets. The recent addition of haptic feedback to Aito’s products will further boost the company’s growth. By working together with some of the leading global players in the electronics industry Aito can scale up very rapidly.”

Frank Landsberger, founder of INKEF Capital, commented: “We are pleased to have been investors in Aito since 2010 and are excited by the strong market uptake of its technology. The philosophy of enabling customers to become self-sufficient in integrating AitoTouch into their products, without changing their current supply chain, is increasingly achieving market acceptance. We are delighted to continue to support Aito in its current expansion phase.”