Close Menu
TechBrunchTechBrunch
  • Home
  • AI
  • Apps
  • Crypto
  • Security
  • Startups
  • TechCrunch
  • Venture

Subscribe to Updates

Subscribe to our newsletter and never miss our latest news

Subscribe my Newsletter for New Posts & tips Let's stay updated!

What's Hot

Israel announces $1.5 million seizure from crypto wallet linked to Iran

September 15, 2025

TechCrunch volunteer time is now in 2025

September 15, 2025

PayPal will add a new one-to-one payment link to support Crypto soon

September 15, 2025
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
TechBrunchTechBrunch
  • Home
  • AI

    OpenAI seeks to extend human lifespans with the help of longevity startups

    January 17, 2025

    Farewell to the $200 million woolly mammoth and TikTok

    January 17, 2025

    Nord Security founder launches Nexos.ai to help enterprises move AI projects from pilot to production

    January 17, 2025

    Data proves it remains difficult for startups to raise capital, even though VCs invested $75 billion in the fourth quarter

    January 16, 2025

    Apple suspends AI notification summaries for news after generating false alerts

    January 16, 2025
  • Apps

    Google brings Pixel 6 and new devices to Material3 Expressive, along with other features, to the Pixel 6 and new devices

    September 3, 2025

    Google's NoteBookLM now allows you to customize the tone of your AI podcasts

    September 3, 2025

    Roblox expands the use of age estimation techniques and introduces standardized assessments

    September 3, 2025

    Instagram finally launches the iPad app

    September 3, 2025

    Complete the 2025 Confusion Builder Stage Agenda with the Maximum Scaling Voice

    September 3, 2025
  • Crypto

    PayPal will add a new one-to-one payment link to support Crypto soon

    September 15, 2025

    10 additional exhibition tables open and open in 2025

    September 15, 2025

    Stripe will showcase who WHO including Humanity, Openai and Paradigm to build a new blockchain

    September 4, 2025

    Coinbase CEO explains why he fired an engineer who didn't try AI right away

    August 22, 2025

    Your next customer is destroying the 2025 Expo floor

    August 19, 2025
  • Security

    Israel announces $1.5 million seizure from crypto wallet linked to Iran

    September 15, 2025

    This is Tech Powering that drives the crackdown on Ice's deportation.

    September 13, 2025

    Apple's latest iPhone security features have made life even more difficult for spyware makers

    September 11, 2025

    France says Apple has notified victims of a new spyware attack

    September 11, 2025

    British children dare and hack their school for infamousness

    September 11, 2025
  • Startups

    7 days left: Founders and VCs save over $300 on all stage passes

    March 24, 2025

    AI chip startup Furiosaai reportedly rejecting $800 million acquisition offer from Meta

    March 24, 2025

    20 Hottest Open Source Startups of 2024

    March 22, 2025

    Andrill may build a weapons factory in the UK

    March 21, 2025

    Startup Weekly: Wiz bets paid off at M&A Rich Week

    March 21, 2025
  • TechCrunch

    OpenSea takes a long-term view with a focus on UX despite NFT sales remaining low

    February 8, 2024

    AI will save software companies' growth dreams

    February 8, 2024

    B2B and B2C are not about who buys, but how you sell

    February 5, 2024

    It's time for venture capital to break away from fast fashion

    February 3, 2024

    a16z's Chris Dixon believes it's time to focus on blockchain use cases rather than speculation

    February 2, 2024
  • Venture

    TechCrunch volunteer time is now in 2025

    September 15, 2025

    Eric Yuan and Santi Subotovsky on the success of breakouts in 2025 destruction

    September 15, 2025

    Bret Taylor from Openai board chair says we are in the AI ​​bubble (but that's fine)

    September 14, 2025

    How to prepare for a second semester salary increase now live in 2025

    September 12, 2025

    Melkor has its moments in the AI ​​data race

    September 12, 2025
TechBrunchTechBrunch

Alphabet X spinoff Skip teams up with Arc'teryx to bring 'everyday' exoskeleton to market

TechBrunchBy TechBrunchJuly 26, 20244 Mins Read
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Telegram LinkedIn Tumblr WhatsApp Email
Share
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Telegram Email


Skip emerged from stealth this week to announce a partnership with outdoor clothing specialist Arc'teryx. The deal marks the first to market launch of Skip's MO/GO technology, a “powered pant” that utilizes soft exoskeleton technology developed in-house at Alphabet's X Labs moonshot factory.

MO/GO stands for “Mountain Goat” and is a hybrid soft/rigid exoskeleton system designed to increase the wearer's mobility while walking. Rather than actually walking, it provides 40% energy assistance to the quadriceps and hamstrings, reducing strain on the knees.

Pre-orders for the technology will open this week, with shipments expected to begin later this year. MO/GO will have a soft launch as rentals in late summer/early fall near hiking spots like the Grand Canyon. TechCrunch first wrote about the technology in 2021, when it was still a project from the X Labs team.

Alphabet reportedly began reducing X's resources as part of company-wide layoffs in late 2023 or early 2024. Google's parent company includes X Labs in a division called “other businesses,” which lost $1.19 billion in the third quarter of last year.

“Towards the end of 2023, it started to become clear that this wasn't going to make sense as a project within Alphabet,” founder and CEO Katherine Zealand told TechCrunch. “This was a difficult time, as the world was cutting costs. We had to start raising money.”

Alphabet wouldn’t sell Zealand Skip’s foundational IP to her as an individual, so she approached VCs to form a spinout company. To date, the startup has raised $6 million in a combination of capital and grants.

Over the years, Alphabet has adopted different methods for working with its X Labs spinouts: Larger companies like Waymo tend to get more foundational support from the tech giant, while smaller projects are pushed out of the nest and encouraged to strike out on their own.

As Alphabet shrinks its resources, the latter model is likely to become an increasingly popular option: When we spoke to him about his company's generative AI headphones in May, Iyo founder and CEO Jason Rugolo told a similar story, noting that Alphabet participated as an early investor but did not sit on the startup's board.

As Skip began to forge its own path, signing fashion partners became increasingly important in helping it reach its market.

“I have terrible fashion sense,” Zealand says with a laugh. “Even when I was working at X, it was clear to me that this technology had potential. We had people coming in who had bad knees or had trouble climbing stairs, but when they put the prototype on, they could manage.”

Zealand tells the story of a woman who hadn't walked up stairs in 25 years, wearing the technology and climbing two flights of stairs in a row. “But in making the leap from 'this works in the lab' to a practical consumer product that people use every day, a lot of it was about wearability.”

Skip initially explored multiple clothing partnerships before settling on one company: Arc'teryx “checked all the boxes,” Zealand says. The Vancouver, British Columbia-based company makes not only clothing but also “hard goods” like harnesses and ski boots, and combining form and function is Skip's specialty.

While hiking rentals offer anonymous data collection to test MO/GO in harsh real-world scenarios, Skip's ultimate focus is everyday wear; its $4,500 launch cost will almost certainly limit its use to anyone other than those with limited mobility. Zealand says the company is currently conducting clinical trials to test the system's effectiveness in aiding conditions such as Parkinson's disease.

However, it will still be years before the system can be classified as a medical device. In the short term, Skip is aiming to get its system covered by the FSA to bring down the price for users. Scaling up manufacturing will also help bring the price down over time.



Source link

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email

Related Posts

7 days left: Founders and VCs save over $300 on all stage passes

March 24, 2025

AI chip startup Furiosaai reportedly rejecting $800 million acquisition offer from Meta

March 24, 2025

20 Hottest Open Source Startups of 2024

March 22, 2025

Andrill may build a weapons factory in the UK

March 21, 2025

Startup Weekly: Wiz bets paid off at M&A Rich Week

March 21, 2025

Wayve CEO shares his key elements for scaling autonomous driving technology

March 21, 2025

Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

Top Reviews
Editors Picks

7 days left: Founders and VCs save over $300 on all stage passes

March 24, 2025

AI chip startup Furiosaai reportedly rejecting $800 million acquisition offer from Meta

March 24, 2025

20 Hottest Open Source Startups of 2024

March 22, 2025

Andrill may build a weapons factory in the UK

March 21, 2025
About Us
About Us

Welcome to Tech Brunch, your go-to destination for cutting-edge insights, news, and analysis in the fields of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Cryptocurrency, Technology, and Startups. At Tech Brunch, we are passionate about exploring the latest trends, innovations, and developments shaping the future of these dynamic industries.

Our Picks

Israel announces $1.5 million seizure from crypto wallet linked to Iran

September 15, 2025

TechCrunch volunteer time is now in 2025

September 15, 2025

PayPal will add a new one-to-one payment link to support Crypto soon

September 15, 2025

Subscribe to Updates

Subscribe to our newsletter and never miss our latest news

Subscribe my Newsletter for New Posts & tips Let's stay updated!

© 2025 TechBrunch. Designed by TechBrunch.
  • Home
  • About Tech Brunch
  • Advertise with Tech Brunch
  • Contact us
  • DMCA Notice
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.