The investment round was led by SecFund, a fund supporting startups, scale-ups, and innovative SMEs that address the innovation needs of the Dutch Ministry of Defence, in collaboration with the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Regional Development Agencies under management by the Brabant Development Agency (BOM). Additional participants include TNO Ventures, which supports the creation of new companies based on TNO-developed technologies; Brabant Startup Fonds (BSF), financing innovative and knowledge-intensive startups in North Brabant; imec.istart, imec’s open accelerator program; and Joanna Invests, a community of women investing in women who are building companies with global impact. The round also includes support from NWO (Take-off 2), the Dutch Research Council’s program for advancing high-potential, research-based innovations.
Founded by Charlotte Kjellander and Martin Romero, Touchwaves focuses on wearable haptics technologies designed to support human performance and situational awareness, enabling intuitive interaction with complex systems in high-workload environments.
Charlotte Kjellander holds a PhD in Materials Science and previously served as Head of Wearables at TNO the Holst Centre, where she spent more than 10 years leading innovative research developments for the defense and medtech industries, including advanced haptic systems and materials. She was recently awarded the Women TechEU grant, ranking in the top 4% among +1,000 applicants from 43 countries.
Martin Romero brings a background in finance and business development, with experience leading and scaling software companies in Europe and Latin America, including two exits, the most recent in Amsterdam in 2023.
Touchwaves is already working with the Dutch Ministry of Defence, including the Royal Netherlands Air and Space Forces (RNLASF) and the Center for Man in Aviation (CML), on the development of wearable haptics systems aimed at enhancing pilot performance in fighter jet operations.
Human factors remain a critical challenge in aviation. Studies indicate that approximately 80% of non-combat aviation mishaps are caused by human error. In military aviation, such incidents can lead to the loss of two to three F-35 aircraft each year, along with the pilots who fly them, underscoring the urgent need for innovation that places the human at the center of system design.
“While most innovations in military aviation focus on aircraft systems, our mission is to elevate human performance,” said Charlotte Kjellander, co-founder of Touchwaves. “By supporting pilots with intuitive, non-invasive haptic feedback, we help them operate more effectively in the most demanding environments.”
“Modern aircraft are incredibly advanced, but the human remains the decisive factor,” added Martin Romero, co-founder of Touchwaves. “Our technology is designed to complement existing systems by enhancing situational awareness and resilience under high workload and stress.”
While military aviation is the initial focus, Touchwaves’ technology is inherently dual-use, with the potential to redefine human performance across multiple high-stress domains beyond fighter pilots. Future use cases include:
- Elite sports, supporting breathing guidance, body awareness, and recovery through haptics
- Ground forces, where haptics alerts can support fatigue and workload management
- Healthcare and wellbeing, where tactile guidance may help individuals build focus, awareness, or resilience
These applications reflect Touchwaves’ long-term vision: establishing haptics as a core interface for improving human performance in environments where cognitive load and stress are high.
