Crunchfish’s U.S. Success Story
How this SMB from Sweden in the Computer Software industry made it in the U.S.A
Country Of Origin Sweden
U.S. HQ. New York, USA
Industry Computer Software
Year Founded 2010
Number Of Employees 40-50
Annual revenue $1.3M
About Crunchfish
Crunchfish is a Swedish technology company in Malmo. The company develops gesture recognition software for the mobile phone and tablet market. Founded in 2010, the company’s initial focus was to create innovations for the iOS and Android app markets. Presently, Crunchfish develops and markets Augmented Reality (AR) technology for m-commerce as well as industrial and social applications. The technology offered by Crunchfish makes it easier for users to control electronics with gestures and enables AR in any third-party application. notably, the company’s technologies are licensed to both hardware manufacturers and application developers. The technologies are currently available in devices and applications from global players. Crunchfish has a presence in Sweden, China and in the US.
The US Expansion
In line with the company’s expansion plan, Crunchfish collaborated with Vuzix, US-based supplier of wearable display technology, virtual reality and augmented reality. That collaboration came in December 2017 to enable in AR smart glasses. Crunchfish and Vuzix Corporation entered into this partnership to pre-integrate Crunchfish’s software for gesture control in Vuzix’s smart glasses. In turn, that would make the software available for customers and partners.
Most notably, Vuzix is a leading supplier of smart glasses and Augmented Reality (AR) technologies in the US. Moreover, the company is famous for selling products meant for the consumer and enterprise markets. Combining Crunchfish’s gesture control with Vuzix’s glasses creates opportunities for efficient and user-friendly interaction. Now, the user becomes less dependent on touch screens and buttons.
Vuzix highlighted their delight in getting into collaboration with Crunchfish because it will provide new and effective ways to interact with its devices. In addition, the partnership will see both companies enhance their penetration in the US market. As the market demand for Vuzix technology grows, Crunchfish will see an increasing demand for gesture control. This will turn out to be a mutually effective collaboration that will provide a foundation for successful cooperation.
In October 2018, Crunchfish signed yet another partnership that would see the company expand its US market. RealMax is one of the leading companies in the field of Augmented Reality headquartered in Shanghai, China.
The agreement allows the AR smart glasses provider to pre-integrate and demonstrate Crunchfish’s gesture interaction technology. That would be an excellent solution for its RealWear AR products. Further, the partnership was aimed at strengthening Crunchfish’s global network of AR-partners. With the partnership, Crunchfish was positioned as one of the leading suppliers of gesture control for AR smart glasses.
Crunchfish now collaborates with RealMax to offer a complete AR ecosystem consisting of both hardware and software. Primarily, RealMax primarily addresses AR in industrial, medical and education sectors where their AR smart glasses. One of their products, RealWear HMT-1, meets the most challenging requirements in these fields. On the other hand, Crunchfish provides gesture recognition software for all RealMax products. For instance, HMT-1 utilizes different interaction methods. There is a combination of revolutionary voice control and Crunchfish’s gesture control software.
Funding the US Expansion
In September 2012, Crunchfish received a € 2M investment from serial entrepreneur Joachim Samuelsson and investor Mohammed Al-Amoudi. By the time the investment was made, Crunchfish had already released a large number of mobile applications. However, the company’s current project, A3D, is what got the investors’ attention. A3D is a motion control interface for smartphones that the company has designed to enable users to control the phone and other hardware without the need for physical contact. The investors believed that the A3D technology has a huge potential in the future. With the investment, Joachim Samuelsson became the chairperson of the Board. Ideally, the funding facilitated the company’s shift towards A3D technology and development.
In June 2013, Crunchfish received a €2.4M investment that came in part from the current investors. The current investors put an additional investment of €1.6M into the startup. The rest of the funding came from two new owners, Stephan Carlquist and Anders Williamson who contributed €600K and €100K respectively. These funds would be used to expand the company’s market to the US as well as advancing research and development.
In December 2018, Crunchfish received its first US patent in the proximity area. The patents would protect broad and basic functionality when proximity-based interaction is applied in social applications. Notably, the patent became Crunchfish’s first US patent in the proximity area. The validity of the patent runs until November 2034 and a similar patent has previously been granted in Sweden. Moreover, Crunchfish has also made patent applications in Europe and China.
The Company’s Patent Portfolio
Currently, Crunchfish has 58 active patents and patent applications at the national and international level. The patent applications are in two technology areas: gesture and proximity. Ten out of 11 unique inventions in hand control have been granted patents. In addition, eleven out of 18 unique inventions within proximity have been granted patents. At present, the company owns all its patents and patent applications without limitation. The company’s strategy is to protect the company’s technology in all geographical markets. Crunchfish intends to expand its company’s portfolio gradually to target new markets with new and improved innovations.
Sources
Note: This company is not a client of, or associated in any other way with, Mount Bonnell Advisors, or has been involved in this publication. This content has been produced using the following information sources in the public domain: