This startup is one step closer to cracking the code on 3D printing shoes with a $3 million investment led by former Nike executives
Summary
None The investments from Sprunk and Greg Bui amount to sizzling endorsements.The 3D-printed footwear company Hilos has announced a $3 million investment round that includes funding from longtime Nike executives, including former Chief Operating Officer Eric Sprunk.Sprunks former Nike colleague Greg Bui and venture capital firms Better Ventures, Builders VC and XRC Labs also participated in the round.As part of the round, Bui, who worked at Nike as vice president of global footwear sourcing and manufacturing, joined Hilos staff to work on special projects.Hilos, based just a short drive from Nikes suburban Portland, Oregon, headquarters, has now raised $5 million. The investment serves as an attention-grabbing endorsement, both of Hilos and 3D-shoe printing, as the race to develop the technology accelerates.Hilos wants to crack the code on 3D printing in order to limit waste by sneaker manufacturers and get shoes to customers faster by making them closer to home.Footwear manufacturing is inherently wasteful and time consuming. "This is an industry that perpetuates overproduction and there are so many incredible innovations happening around materials, but nothing is targeting overproduction," Hilos CEO and cofounder Elias Stahl told Insider.Hilos technology works like this: When a customer purchases a shoe, Hilos makes another one available in a matter of days. "Hilos makes soles from a type of plastic, technically TPU, or thermoplastic polyurethane, that is made from 80% recycled material. "Stahl and Hilos "have the passion, creativity, and intellect to break-through and lead a footwear manufacturing revolution," Sprunk said, in a statement to Insider.