The problem
A wheelchair user told WHILL’s founder he’d “given up on even going to the grocery store two blocks away.” The devices on offer were clinical, bulky, and embarrassing — mobility engineered without dignity.
How it works
WHILL designs power chairs and scooters like consumer EVs — tight turning, sleek looks, app-connected — sold through retailers and online (Models C2, F, and R scooters). Travelers rent through Scootaround, and at airports including Haneda passengers summon self-driving WHILL units that detect obstacles, brake automatically, and deliver them to the gate.
Pain points
Stigma that keeps people housebound, the cost of buying for temporary needs, and airport terminals whose distances defeat anyone with limited stamina.
Business model
Hardware sales plus short-term rentals and venue fleets: airports and large sites pay for autonomous or on-site mobility service instead of staffing wheelchair pushers.
Challenges
Each model needs regulatory clearance per market, airport rollouts are won venue by venue, and holding physical inventory ties up the capital raised for expansion.
Funding
- Raised: $45M Series C (Sep 2018, led by SBI Investment, Daiwa Securities Group, and WHIZ Partners with Endeavor Catalyst), taking total funding to about $80M at the time; later strategic funding led by Toyota’s Woven Capital (May 2022, amount undisclosed) to scale production and the service business (company and Endeavor).
- Valuation: MISSING.
Latest — May 2022
On 17 May 2022 WHILL closed strategic funding led by Woven Capital, Toyota’s growth fund, on its 10th anniversary — earmarked for global production scale-up and the service side of the business after autonomous trials across San Jose, New York, Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, Toronto, Winnipeg, and a permanent Haneda installation.