Here's How Prosthetic Startup Psyonic Secured A Million Dollar Deal On Shark Tank
Last month, Dr Aadeel Akhtar, who is looking to make bionic prosthetics affordable for everyone appeared on Shark Tank with his product, the Psyonic's Ability Hand. He called the product the "world’s first touch-sensing bionic hand," and successfully struck a million-dollar deal with three sharks. Dr Akhtar met a girl who was missing a limb when he was 7 years old and he said that since then he wanted to help make the world more accessible.
Here’s How Psyonic Bagged 1 Million Dollar Investment on Shark Tank
Dr Akhtar pitched his idea of the Ability Hand, a bionic prosthetic, and asked the sharks for $1 million, in exchange for a 2% equity stake in his company. This valued Psyonic at $50 million.
Dr Akhtar stated the company’s mission as making their product affordable for everyone and the investment would increase the startup’s production capacity. He told the sharks that the bionic hand costs $15,000 to make, which is why it is difficult to scale.
Psyonic has already raised several million dollars and Dr Akhtar said it was also running a crowdfunding campaign on StartEngine. According to StartEngine’s website, the campaign ultimately closed at $3.1 million after the filming of Shark Tank.
At the time, the crowdfunding approach did not please star investor, Mark Cuban. Cuban said that if Psyonic’s technology was revolutionary, venture capital and private equity firms would be lining up to fund it and they would not need crowdfunding to raise money. Thus, Mark Cuban dropped out from investing along with Robert who also cited similar reasons.
Despite this, Dr Akhtar still had three other sharks Kevin O’Leary, Lori Greiner, and Daymond John’s attention. When O’Leary asked about Psyonic’s financials, Dr Akhtar disclosed that the lifetime sales have been about $2 million and in 2022, it was just over $1 million. He added that Psyonic made about $100,000 in profit in 2022.
However, O’Leary made it clear that “he wouldn’t get out of bed” for a 2% deal. He counteredDr Akhtar’s proposal by offering $1 million for 10% equity in the start-up. He did not seem keen as he was not willing to give up that much equity.
Ultimately, O’Leary, Greiner, and John joined forces and made another offer of $1 million for 6% in company shares, giving 2% to each investor. The shares were a combination of common shares and advisory shares, which allowed Akhtar to keep the $50 million valuation of the company, the StartEngine post noted.
Psyonic’s Ability Hand
The Ability Hand is made from 3-D printed materials, reinforced with carbon fiber, silicone, and rubber. The technology has been used by leading organizations like Meta and NASA for their robots to help them mimic body movements, Psyonic noted in 2022.
The hand device has sensors on its fingertips that sense pressure and communicate the feeling to the person’s arm through vibrations. The Ability Hand stands out due to its speed, water resistance, USB-C rechargeability, and durability.
The Ability Hand is considered to be a huge step forward in prosthetic technology, which employs insights from a study on biomimetic neurostimulation, that helps in improving mobility and reducing mental effort on the users of the prosthetic.