BY HUSNIYE GUNGOR
Thread In Motion, which produces smart, wearable, handheld terminals for the automotive, logistics, and manufacturing sectors, aims to become a unicorn in three years. As the only company in Turkey that produces wearable IoT technologies, the company aims to dominate both the local and the global market.
Thread In Motion produces smart wearable handheld terminals that increase the efficiency and speed of the operational processes of companies in all industries, particularly the automotive, logistics and manufacturing sectors. The technologies help to eliminate the margin of error and losses due to human error in operations, according to Thread In Motion Founding Partner and CEO Kadir Demircioglu.
“Thanks to the human-centered designs of the devices we produce, our customers do not only protect employee satisfaction and health, but also have the chance to speed up barcode scanning processes by 50%,” Demircioglu says. The multi-layered feedback mechanism they use avoids the added costs of delays and product recalls, he adds.
The wearable terminal market is expected to reach USD 116bn globally by the end of 2021, according to Demircioglu. Thread in Motion aims to dominate both the local and global markets as the only company in Turkey that produces wearable IoT technologies.
BORN INTO TEXTILE
Demircioglu’s family was in the textile business while he was still a student and simultaneously working for the family business. The textile industry was stagnant at that time, operating with conventional methods and technologies. With the influence of the engineering education he received, Demircioglu dreamed of integrating modern technologies into the textile industry. “We produced the world’s first smart suit with my partner Rahim Oner, based on our belief that the clothing fabrics we use every day should have functions beyond keeping us warm and making us look stylish,” he said.
The twosome founded Thread in Motion in 2017, anticipating the tremendous change that wearable technologies would ultimately create in the industry. It has since become a company with a network of operations and customers all over the world, creating smart industrial designs.
The company currently sells its products and solutions to more than 85 companies in 13 countries, including the UK, Spain, Romania, and Brazil. Demircioglu says that their short-term target is to grow their team and partner network, their assets, and to dominate the Turkish and Western European markets. Then, in the medium-to-long term, they hope to dominate the majority of the USD 116bn international wearable technologies market. They want to be the first brand that springs to mind when one thinks of wearable technology.
“We aim to provide on-site service and support to all our global customers by developing our global partner network,” Demircioglu says. He added that the company produces technology at a tremendous speed by identifying the technological developments and needs of the world. They aim to appeal to different industries in the future.
USD 2.5M INVESTMENT IN FOUR YEARS
Thread in Motion is currently valued at over TRY 300m. “Although we have a revenue generating structure, we always allocate a large portion of our revenues to human resources and R&D activities in order to produce more innovative technologies,” Demircioglu notes. Therefore, the company does not make a meaningful profit at the moment.
Along with its latest investor, Sabanci Ventures, the company has received investment from StartersHUB, Vinci VC, Reisoglu Iplik as well as from angel investors, including Ayse Ebru Dorman, Onur Topac and Murat Balci. The company completed its last investment round with a valuation of more than TRY 100m in the third quarter of 2020. “We have received over USD 2.5m investment since our establishment,” Demircioglu said, further noting that the company is working to initiate a Series A investment round on a global scale. The company intends to expand its team and global partner network and continue to develop new wearable technologies with the investments it will receive. Its “goal is to become a unicorn in three years.”
Surviving the pandemic with a social distancing bracelet
Thread In Motion developed the smart bracelet SKADI during the pandemic. “SKADI does not only measures social distancing, but also draws a filiation map in case of any positive case, eliminating possible risks and measuring the quarantine processes,” the company’s CEO Kadir Demircioglu says. “Interestingly, this product, which we designed mostly for our existing business partners, has seen a demand far above our expectations. Many companies, from kindergartens to hotel chains, have used SKADI. We were very efficient during the pandemic.”