Soft prosthetics startup Koalaa raises nearly £1 million from investors

Nate Macabuag, founder of Koalaa - The Imperial College Enterprise Fund joins investors backing Koalaa's innovative prosthetic limbs, which are helping people worldwide. Koalaa , a startup with its roots at Imperial, has closed a £925,000 investment round that will help drive the international expansion of its business. The company has developed a range of soft prosthetic limbs that are light, comfortable, and suitable even for very young children. "I still find it incredible that something which started out as a spark of an idea at university has turned into a fully-fledged company, employing a team of 18 people, and with around 1,000 people worldwide now using Koalaa prosthetics," said Nate Macabuag, the Imperial alumnus who founded Koalaa in 2020. The idea took hold while Mr Macabaug was studying for a Master's degree in the Department of Mechanical Engineering , and was developed with the support of Imperial's entrepreneurship resources and programmes. Unlike traditional prosthetics, which are made from rigid materials, Koalaa uses fabric that is breathable and fits snugly against the arm. Interchangeable tools, whose design is driven by user feedback and need, can be attached to the end of the sleeve and swapped in and out depending on the task the user would like to carry out.