Iván Martínez's father suffered a stroke ten years ago that left one side of his body affected. He would never walk again, according to doctors, and the family began to look for systems that went beyond the wheelchair. That's how they delved into the world of robotics, exoskeletons, and prosthetics: there were many gadgets on the market, but none suitable for his father's situation.
"There were devices to stand up and walk; the technology was there, but it was mainly designed for spinal cord injury, when the problem comes from a point in the body downwards; in the case of a stroke, the problem is lateral, and those systems couldn't help my father," Martínez recalls. With the technology available but not applicable to his case, Martínez decided to put into practice what he had learned 20 years earlier during his Mechanical Engineering degree to adapt the devices so his father could walk again.
The now CEO of Robopedics rescued his mechanical engineering knowledge to put it at the service of the project. Martínez, who until then had worked in operations, supply, and quality areas, began to focus his free time on this purpose: "I visited congresses, consultants, and robotics companies, and I put in many hours of work and homemade research, with a lot of trial and error too." For about five years, Martínez spared no materials, travel, or electronics to advance in his determination, to which he dedicated more than 30,000 euros from his own pocket during this stage.
Martínez was squeezing his time to materialize the project, but 2020 arrived, and his father died during the pandemic. With his loss, Martínez was left with years of work and the technology he had developed. Although it could no longer serve his father, it could be useful for millions of people in his situation. "That's when I met my partners and we decided to set up the company," which Martínez founded with Marc Serra and Dionís Guzmán in 2021. A year later, the startup closed its first round of financing and, the following year, the second. In total, they have raised nearly two million euros, with which they have completed the development of the bionic device that allows those affected by the sequelae of a stroke, such as hemiplegia and difficulties in moving, to walk.
Now, Robopedics is immersed in a third round, which should allow it to bring its Awake device to market. "As it is considered a medical device, we have to go through a whole regulatory certification process," explains Martínez. The startup, which has a team of eight people and expert advisors in various disciplines, faces this "final phase" with the forecast of entering the market at the end of this year.
Robopedics' intention, furthermore, is for Awake to enter the market at an affordable price and with payment facilities. "Devices that allow people to walk again in other cases cost around 100,000 euros, and we will come out at around 15,000," assures Martínez. The goal is to reach as many affected people as possible, and for them to be able to exchange their wheelchair for the device to move around inside the house, to gain autonomy and eliminate problems that can arise from not walking, such as chronic pain, pressure ulcers, and cardiovascular difficulties. To facilitate this, the device has been designed with a reduced weight —six kilos, compared to the nearly 20 that similar gadgets for other conditions weigh— and adapts to each patient. To allow them to walk, it provides the necessary strength in the knee and hip of the affected half of the body, and reinforces the other with a quad cane that allows the user to lean on and control the device.
In a context where in Spain there are about 100,000 people unable to walk after a stroke and worldwide this figure amounts to about 20 million, Robopedics offers the only solution designed for this specific segment: "There is no other option internationally," assures Martínez. Thus, although the health tech will begin to commercialize its device in Spain in 2025, it has its sights set on the global market. The startup's goal is to reach 2027 with a presence in France and the United Kingdom, and then continue growing internationally. With an estimate: to reach 500 million euros in sales by 2031.
To reach its potential users, Robopedics will directly target affected individuals and their families in a first phase, and in a second phase, it will offer its device to hospitals also as a rehabilitation tool. The startup, which plans to adapt its technology in the future to segments such as the elderly, has a production agreement with Awake with Mondragón Corporación should it acquire significant industrial scale. However, in a first phase, the device will be manufactured at Robopedics' facilities in El Prat de Llobregat: "We have an installed capacity of up to one thousand devices per year," which they expect to close the certification phase to enter the market.