An interactive products maker in Seoul, South Korea, is moving headquarters to Tustin and looking to raise its first institutional round.
Anyractive Co. Ltd. is behind GoTouch, a portable device that turns any surface into an interactive projector screen or whiteboard. The device, released in March, costs about $280 and is retailing at Best Buy and through a network of resellers.
GoTouch utilizes infrared sensors to project a digital display and content from a computer, tablet or smartphone via Bluetooth and its app. Users can write notes and draw on a wide range of file formats, such as images, PDFs and video, which are mimicked on the whiteboard or device in real time.
Chief Executive and co-founder Jay Suh told the Business Journal last week during a product demo that, “The best part of the solution is that you can group your friends remotely,” like a group text message. “They can see it simultaneously.”
The company, established in 2012, has raised $1.4 million through a mix of crowdfunding and public and private backers.
It raised $110,396 in 2016 from nearly 900 backers on Kickstarter and won a startup competition in South Korea, leading to the government and Samsung Electronics, the world’s largest consumer electronics maker, to invest more than $1 million.
Suh and Anyractive now want to raise $15 million to $20 million through a consortium of strategic partners and networks for corporate purposes and to boost awareness and expand distribution. Specifically, Suh wants to allocate 30% to research and development and patent protection, 30% to operations, and 20% each to inventory and sales and marketing.
“There are so many investors who are chasing me, but I don’t want to take their money,” he said. “I need a strategic partner.”
The company is targeting schools, medical and dental offices, the military, police and fire departments, professional services firms, and consumers.
GoTouch competes against similar products of big tech companies but comes at a much cheaper price compared to Microsoft’s Surface Hub at $8,000; Google’s Jamboard, which sells for $5,000; and the $3,000 Samsung Flip.
— Chris Casacchia
