HaptX Company Profile: History, Funding, Products and Leadership
Updated: 7 days ago
HaptX makes gloves that let the wearer feel virtual or remote objects, used in virtual reality and in the remote control of robots. Jake Rubin and Bob Crockett founded it in 2012 under the name AxonVR, and it is now a brand of a larger company called 1HMX. This profile sets out its history, funding, products and leadership.
HaptX at a Glance
Fact | Detail |
Company | HaptX, a brand of 1HMX |
Founded | 2012, as AxonVR |
Founders | Jake Rubin and Dr. Bob Crockett |
Headquarters | 6724 185th Ave NE, Redmond, Washington, USA |
Funding | About USD 61.45 million in total |
Products | HaptX Gloves, Nexus NX1 and the HaptX SDK |
Founder and CEO | Jake Rubin |
Company History
The company started as AxonVR, a virtual reality start-up in the Seattle area. Its first idea was a full-body system in which the user would be suspended and feel a virtual world over the whole body. That system never shipped. The company narrowed its work to the hands and developed gloves that use microfluidics, a technology in which small channels of air press on the skin. The gloves found buyers in robotics, training and design, and the company took the name HaptX.
It worked for years with Advanced Input Systems, a manufacturing group that was also one of its investors. The partnership was extended in 2024, and the combined organization took the name 1HMX, with Jake Rubin and his team joining the larger company. Under that name the original full-body idea has returned as the Nexus NX1.
Key milestones
2012: Founded as AxonVR.
2018: HaptX Gloves DK1.
2021: HaptX Gloves DK2.
2023: HaptX Gloves G1.
2024: Partnership with Advanced Input Systems expanded; 1HMX formed.
November 2025: Pre-orders open for the Nexus NX1, with shipments expected in the second quarter of 2026.
Funding
A company database puts total funding at about USD 61.45 million, with a Series B round of USD 23 million as the most recent. Investors named include Mason Avenue Investments, Taylor Frigon Capital Management, Crescent Cove Advisors, Verizon Ventures and Advanced Input Systems.
Products
Product | Year | Description |
HaptX Gloves DK1 | 2018 | First development kit |
HaptX Gloves DK2 | 2021 | Second development kit |
HaptX Gloves G1 | 2023 | Mass-produced microfluidic haptic glove |
Nexus NX1 | Pre-orders from November 2025 | Full-body system that includes the G1 gloves |
HaptX SDK | Not stated | Software development kit |
The Nexus NX1 combines the gloves with a treadmill platform from Virtuix and robotic shoes from Freeaim.
Robotics Use
Gloves of this kind let an operator control a robot hand remotely and feel what it touches. HaptX took part, with the Shadow Robot Company, Tangible Research and SynTouch, in a tactile telerobot that reached the finals of the ANA Avatar XPRIZE. The same gloves can be used to record human hand movements as training data for robots.
Leadership
Name | Role |
Jake Rubin | Founder and Chief Executive Officer |
Dr. Bob Crockett | Co-founder; professor of biomedical engineering at California Polytechnic State University |
Joe Michaels | Chief Revenue Officer |
Can You Invest in HaptX?
No. It is privately held as part of 1HMX.
What Is Not Covered
Product prices, employee numbers, sales and the ownership structure of 1HMX are not stated in the sources used, so they are left out.
Strengths and Challenges
Strengths
A touch technology that goes beyond simple vibration.
A manufacturing partner within the same group.
Uses in both virtual reality and robotics.
Challenges
An earlier flagship concept that failed to reach the market.
Expensive, specialized equipment with a limited customer base.
A new full-body product that has yet to ship.
Current Catalogue Coverage
Catalogue checked on 15 October 2026: 1 associated product records. The links below are representative entries, rather than a claim that every historical model is currently available.
HaptX FAQ
What does HaptX make?
Haptic gloves that reproduce the sense of touch, and related software.
Who founded HaptX?
Jake Rubin and Dr. Bob Crockett, in 2012.
What was HaptX called before?
AxonVR.
Where is HaptX based?
In Redmond, Washington.
What is 1HMX?
The combined organization formed in 2024 by HaptX and the manufacturing group Advanced Input Systems.
How much funding has HaptX raised?
About USD 61.45 million, according to a company database.
Sources
HaptX: company
AR Insider: HaptX fulfills decade-long dream of full-body VR haptics
CB Insights: AxonVR / HaptX
AI Wiki: Shadow Robot Company
