Former basketball hopeful aims to reduce ACL injuries with inflatable knee protection technology.

You’ve heard of car airbags deploying within milliseconds to protect passengers. How about an airbag for your knee? Former basketball hopeful Kylin Shaw is working on just that with his startup, Hippos Exoskeleton—a ‘knee sleeve’ that measures stress on the knee joint and inflates around the knee to protect it from major injuries like ACL and MCL tears.

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The Birth of an Idea

That’s what former basketball player Kylin Shaw is working on. His company, Hippos Exoskeleton, is developing a ‘knee sleeve’ that measures stress on the knee joint and inflates around the knee to protect it from major injuries like ACL and MCL tears.

Shaw himself knows the pain of such an injury. At 17, he was preparing for a professional basketball career and NCAA trials when he heard a sickening pop from his knee while landing from a dunk. The injury ended Shaw’s sporting career prospects, but it gave him the idea to combine AI-driven sensors and a ‘knee-bag.’

Combining AI-Driven Sensors with Knee Protection

Shaw dropped out of the London School of Economics to develop this innovative solution. He teamed up with co-founder Bhavy Metakar (CTO) to create Hippos Exoskeleton.

The company’s airbag uses predictive AI to detect risky movements in real-time and deploys airbags around the knee, potentially saving athletes thousands in medical expenses.

Bootstrapping Success

Shaw and his co-founder initially bootstrapped Hippos by investing $1,000 of their savings to develop a prototype and generate initial preorders from clinics and athletes. The startup has now raised a $642,000 pre-seed round from investors Possible Ventures and Silicon Roundabout Ventures.

Securing Preorders and Future Plans

Shaw told TechCrunch the company has already secured ‘over six figures in preorders’ and would use the new funding to develop the product further and push for a full launch in around three months.

The eventual unit will cost around $129, with a subscription plan covering AI-driven insights, small air canisters, and workout tracking starting at $29 per month.

Beyond Elite Athletes

Shaw said the product could be used for injury prevention for anyone else, such as those in construction jobs or the elderly. Hippos may well be pushing at an open door with this solution.

While approximately 150,000 ACL injuries are reported in the United States each year, and 8.6 million globally among adults, these stats don’t include injuries among children. Most health solutions focus on rehabilitation rather than prevention.

Competing Solutions

Existing companies addressing joint protection and injury prevention include:

Nike’s Hyperadapt: A high-tech shoe that provides real-time support and stability for athletes.
Adidas’ Parley Ocean Plastic: A line of shoes made from recycled ocean plastic, providing sustainable support for athletes.
Under Armour’s Micro G: A line of shoes with micro-grip technology to provide stability and support.