Another emerging startup in Taiwan has received major investment! Smart helmet manufacturer JARVISH has teamed up with European helmet label LAZER to develop the lightest smart helmet in the world, and they recently received a total of US$3 million (equivalent to NT$94.5 million) investment from Acer – a public company in Taiwan, Vectr Ventures in Hong Kong and Sanshin Electronics Co., Ltd. – a public company in Japan. JARVISH believes that the increased capital will facilitate the company’s endeavors in the international market.
Optimism abounds in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Japan, JARVISH received US$3 million investment.
JARVISH emphasizes that the safety helmet is manufactured using aerospace-grade carbon fiber to achieve the ultra-lightweight of 1.5kg. Additional features include voice control, phone call, 2k high-resolution video recording and Internet connection, In addition, there are other functions such as full voice control, dynamic sensor and cloud smart analysis, transform the helmet into a “smart assistant” rather than merely offering simple protection. After hosting a series of helmet try-on events across various areas in Taiwan, US and China, the company has received a total order of more than NT$50.7 million!
Aside from the product, the main reason why JARVISH was able to successfully secure international funding is also attributed to one of the founders of the company, who has worked for Foxconn previously. As a result, both companies have collaborated closely in terms of hardware production process, design and manufacturing. In the past, many emerging hardware manufactures were criticized for their cost control, because there was often a significant price margin between the promotional period and actual production. In light of this, JARVISH predicted that shipment would begin in late October, and the products will be supplied every month until January next year. Furthermore, after the preorder period was over, the price of each helmet was restored to NT$28,000, in turn reassuring all the enthusiastic supporters of the product.
Taiwanese market becomes a testing ground for emerging motorcycle accessory product manufacturers
With target fixed on the international market, the smart safety helmet team still values feedbacks from local consumers, because after all, Taiwan has one of the highest motorcycle densities globally. JARVISH stresses that the safety helmet’s design does not require installing specific apps to operate basic functions such as dash cam, phone call and music, which makes it unique compared to other Bluetooth enabled helmets on the market. The app is only needed to access advanced functions including personal setup, FB sharing, status view and navigation.
JARVISH has successfully made its foray into the overseas market, and the key to success now depends on whether the actual usage experience of the smart safety helmet can live up to the expectations of the general motorcyclists.
