Seiko Epson Corporation and its subsidiary company Epson X Investment Corporation have invested in Japanese startup company AI Silk Corporation through a joint fund, the EP-GB Investment Limited Partnership. Sendai-based AI Silk, a startup that spun out of Tohoku University, develops and manufactures a high-performance conductive textile called “LEAD SKIN”.
AI Silk intends to use this third-party allotment of shares to expand volume production of LEAD SKIN. The company plans to expand beyond Japan and to sell LEAD SILK as a material to meet the growing global demand for automotive parts and wearable devices such as EMS products. It is also considering expanding into the medical field.
Epson aims to give people lifestyle choices and enable them to live enriched lifestyles founded on physical and mental well-being. Epson decided to invest in AI Silk because it sees LEAD SKIN as an interface technology for converting biological data captured through daily life into new value.
