The baby steps

“The story of WeWALK began with a simple question: why, in a world of advanced technology, has the white cane barely changed in a century? Our founding team sought to bridge this gap by combining cutting-edge technology with the traditional white cane,” says Meriçliler. 

During his studies Meriçliler would go on to join the Young Guru Academy (YGA), a tech-driven social innovation NGO, in 2006. It was here that he would realise that using technology for the good of society was his calling.

“WeWALK started off in Turkey in 2019 as a spin-off from YGA where myself and the early team members, including Co-Founder Kürşat Ceylan, who has been blind since birth, started working on assistive technology solutions,” explains Meriçliler. These early stages included covering areas such as indoor navigation, automated audio transcription, and more accessibility technologies. 

From this basis, the company would partner with Vestel, a large electronics company and one of its biggest investors, to overcome some of the initial manufacturing challenges. “WeWALK has since been the latest outcome of all our endeavours,” Meriçliler says.

Now, the driving force behind WeWALK’s mission is its belief that mobility is a fundamental right for everyone, regardless of their abilities. Its team, composed of people with both lived and professional experience of visual impairment, understands the daily challenges that can limit independence and is deeply committed to breaking down those barriers and making a tangible difference in people’s lives. 

This mission is being achieved through the Smart Cane, a cane which integrates advanced technologies such as haptic feedback, Bluetooth connectivity, and advanced motion sensors, to provide real-time navigation assistance, obstacle detection, and information on the user’s surroundings. “It’s more than just a cane; it’s an accessible, AI-powered mobility companion, offering a seamless experience for users, and helping them engage more freely in everyday activities,” comments Meriçliler.

Walking together

Despite being a relatively young company, WeWALK has managed to grow healthily in its early tenure, building a team that Meriçliler is very proud of. The team has gone from its initial five in 2019, consisting of Kürşat Ceylan, Oğulcan Başkan, Murat Ugiş and Dr Jean Marc Feghali, to the 20 of today.

“Today, our team includes specialists in both hardware and software development, business growth, user experience, and customer support, alongside a team of experts from our R&D partnerships with institutions like Imperial College London and Microsoft,” says Meriçliler.

However, the team doesn’t stop there; WeWALK is proud to work closely with the visually impaired community to ensure that its products truly address their needs above all. As Meriçliler explains: “We work closely with organisations such as the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB), Vision Australia, Lighthouse San Francisco, and Guide Dogs UK.”

Overcoming the obstacles in the way

For WeWALK, one of its biggest challenges lies in raising awareness, not of the company, but rather of the importance of accessibility technologies. Meriçliler has noted that: “…the tech industry often overlooks disability-focused innovation, which makes it difficult to attract mainstream investment opportunities.”

This unfortunate reality means that the challenging nature of a startup company in the traditional sense must also compete in an underappreciated and underfunded market.

However, WeWALK has managed to get over this hump with a handful of key investors that appreciate its mission. “We have been very fortunate to have investors such as Nesta Impact Investments, KHP Ventures, APY Ventures, Vestel Ventures and NEC X,” adds Meriçliler.

Navigating the successes

Yet, despite the challenges that would seemingly restrict WeWALK, the team has managed to make the company shine, turning its idealistic mission into a reality. During this time, it has overseen many achievements and successes, from finding funding all the way to product development. For Meriçliler, however, there are a few that stand out above the rest.

“Being named one of TIME’s Best Inventions and receiving the King’s Award for Innovation are two invaluable achievements. We’ve also raised around $3.5 million in funding, and our backing from major players like Microsoft, Toyota and Innovate UK has allowed us to innovate continuously.”

Despite all these fantastic achievements, one tops them all: “By far, our most meaningful success lies in the real-world impact WeWALK is having on the lives of visually impaired people across the globe,” enthuses Meriçliler.

The next steps

Now, WeWALK looks ahead to the next step in its journey, leaving no time to stay still and get complacent. The company is focussing heavily on its R&D efforts in order to integrate increased AI-based features into the Smart Cane.

As Meriçliler states: “We're exploring ways to further personalise the user experience and provide even more actionable insights through our AIM (Artificial Intelligence for Mobility) technology, working closely with orientation and mobility specialists and experts.”

Beyond this, WeWALK is also working on expanding its B2B partnerships with assistive technology distributors, government programmes, and insurance companies to make the company more accessible to people around the globe.

A final thought

Meriçliler had some final thoughts to share about how he feels about WeWALK and its mission. “I think it's important to highlight that WeWALK is not just a company; it’s part of a movement to create a more inclusive world. We’re driven by the lived experiences of visually impaired team members, and we succeed together in the development of our technology. We believe that accessibility should be at the heart of every technological innovation, so nobody is left behind. As Helen Keller famously said, ‘Alone we can do so little, but together we can do so much!’”

This article originally appeared in the November/December 2024 issue of Startups Magazine. Click here to subscribe