HapWare, a Denver company that makes a wristband translating facial expressions and gestures into vibrations, has closed an oversubscribed pre-seed round of $1.5m. It announced the funding on 19 October 2026.
Adaptation Ventures led the round, with participation from Sidecut Ventures, Mines Venture Fund, Avesta Fund, The Pitch Fund and other investors. The company did not disclose a valuation.
The announcement came as TIME named the company's ALEYE wristband one of its Best Inventions of 2026, in the accessibility category. TIME selected 300 inventions for this year's list.
“We were proud to back HapWare early because we saw an incredible team building from lived experience.”Rich Palmer, Managing Partner, Adaptation Ventures
What HapWare makes
ALEYE is worn on the wrist and connects to Meta smart glasses or a smartphone camera. Software picks up facial expressions, gestures and body language from the camera, and the band turns each one into its own vibration pattern. In the company's examples, a smile is felt as a U-shape across the wrist and a wave as a side-to-side vibration.
The device is aimed first at people who are blind, have low vision or are DeafBlind, who can follow what is said in a conversation but miss nonverbal signals. HapWare says nonverbal cues make up more than half of human communication, according to Pulse 2.0. "The majority of communication is visual," said Jack Walters, chief executive and co-founder. HapWare said it also plans work for autistic and other neurodivergent people, sales professionals and developers, the last through a haptic software development kit.
A beta tester identified only as Michael said in the release that the device had brought him close to tears.
Who is behind it
HapWare was co-founded by Walters and Dr Bryan Duarte, the chief technology officer. Duarte became blind at 18 and later earned a PhD in computer science, and the product was shaped by his experience. "The most important thing we can do as humans in our lives is interact with other humans," he said. Duarte described the company's mission as giving users the information they need to be fully included in every social interaction.
According to RuntimeWire, the company grew out of a university capstone project, and a separate $250,000 investment is linked to its origins at the Colorado School of Mines. No date or terms were given for that investment.
Rich Palmer, managing partner at Adaptation Ventures, said his firm backed HapWare early because of a team building from lived experience.
What the money is for
HapWare said the funding will take ALEYE from testing to a wider launch in the United States. It has partnered with the Braille Institute of America, the Society for the Blind and assistive technology distributors for the launch. Pulse 2.0 also named the American Council of the Blind among its distribution partners.
Preorders are open with a fully refundable $59 deposit that counts towards a $359 preorder price, which the company said is 20% below retail. The official launch is set for 2027, and RuntimeWire reported that the first customer shipments are planned for early 2027.
The company has not disclosed its headcount, revenue or the year it was founded.
Company website: hapware.com