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New York Post
31-07-2025
- Business
- New York Post
AI-powered exoskeletons are helping paralyzed patients walk again — and could soon be coming to homes across the U.S.
Inside the glass-ensconced Wandercraft storefront on Park Avenue South, Caroline Laubach recently rose from her wheelchair and walked. 'Every time I get up I remember how tall I really am,' Laubach, a 22-year-old from Pennsylvania, told NYNext. At age 18, Laubach went into end-stage heart failure. For two weeks, she lingered on life support while doctors scrambled to find a donor. She ultimately had a successful heart transplant, but not before a spinal stroke left her paralyzed from the waist down. 10 Three years after a spinal stroke left her paralyzed, Caroline Laubach now walks weekly with the help of an exoskeleton from Wandercraft called Eve. Emmy Park She thought she would be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of her life, then she met Wandercraft's Atalante. During a therapy session in November 2024, she strapped on the exoskeleton for the first time. It was life-changing. 'To look at somebody from eye-level and have a connection with them in that way,' she said. 'It's a different dynamic.' 10 In December 2023, Wandercraft debuted its flagship U.S. space — a street-level showroom and clinic called Walk In New York. Emmy Park Founded in 2012, the French robotics and AI company Wandercraft launched its first model of Atalante in 2019. The device received FDA clearance for stroke rehabilitation two years later. In December 2023, Wandercraft opened a headquarters and showroom in New York. It's betting that its exoskeletons can help redefine mobility for people with spinal cord injuries, strokes and other conditions affecting gait and balance. 'We are not just a technology [confined to] cool video demonstrations in the lab,' Matthieu Masselin, CEO and co-founder of Wandercraft, told NYNext. 'We are working with real people, real patients.' 10 'I was born completely healthy — as far as we knew,' Caroline Laubach (left) told NYNext's Lydia Moynihan (right). At 18, Laubach went into end-stage heart failure and spent two weeks on life support awaiting a transplant. During that time, she suffered a spinal stroke that left her paralyzed from the waist down. Emmy Park 10 Laubach can control Eve with a handheld joystick, using buttons to walk forward, turn, squat and even bend side to side — all without assistance. Emmy Park Unlike other exoskeletons that require crutches, both Atalante and Wandercraft's newer model, Eve, are fully self-balancing. The former is designed specifically for physical therapy and requires the assistance of a clinician. The latter, now in clinical trials at the Bronx VA and Kessler Rehabilitation Center in New Jersey, can be fully controlled by the user and is built for personal use in home and real-world environments. Wandercraft's exoskeletons are powered by multiple motors — two at the ankles, one at each knee and several at the hips — plus a suite of sensors that constantly track weight distribution. As the user shifts or moves, the system processes inputs in real time to maintain balance and posture. 10 While Atalante (right) is used in rehab centers under therapist supervision, Eve (left) is untethered, joystick-controlled and intended for everyday use outside the clinic. Emmy Park 10 Masselin, who co-founded Wandercraft in 2012, left Paris and moved to New York about three years ago to help bring the company's vision to life in the U.S. Emmy Park From weight and height to balance and stride, every patient moves differently. To ensure safety, Wandercraft has spent more than a decade refining its control algorithms and AI systems with collaborators like Nvidia and AWS. It's tested its hardware with more than 2,000 patients in hospitals and rehab centers. 10 French paraplegic tennis player Kevin Piette wore a Wandercraft exoskeleton while carrying the Olympic torch through Paris ahead of the 2024 Games. Courtesy of Wandercraft One prominent patient is French paraplegic tennis player Kevin Piette, who donned a Wandercraft exoskeleton to carry the Olympic torch towards Paris ahead of the 2024 Games. 'Emotionally, psychologically, physiologically … [we're seeing] the benefits on so many aspects of [the patients'] lives,' Masselin said. 10 Thanks to improved engineering and streamlined production, Wandercraft's exoskeletons are steadily becoming cheaper to produce — and a new partnership with the Renault Group, Masselin said, will drive costs down even further. Emmy Park Wandercraft devices are currently used in more than 100 institutions across Europe and America, and access is expanding. The company recently received Medicare coding for Atalante, meaning qualifying patients will be reimbursed. When Eve hits the market,potentially as soon as next year, it will be eligible for reimbursement up to $93,000. 10 As part of its partnership with the Renault Group, Wandercraft has co-developed CALVIN-40 — a humanoid robot that can support manufacturing workflows. Courtesy of Wandercraft 10 Masselin said that future iterations of the exoskeletons will be equipped for less even terrain and consistent surfaces like stairs and sand. Emmy Park To help scale, Wandercraft partnered with the Renault Group in June to streamline manufacturing and reduce costs. As part of the partnership, Wandercraft is also developing a new line of humanoid robots that can slot into the manufacturing process. To Masselin, who relocated from Paris three years ago to lead US expansion, the future of the technology lies in its adaptation to broader environments — stairs, outdoor terrain, even beaches — and in building devices that respond to how people actually live. This story is part of NYNext, an indispensable insider insight into the innovations, moonshots and political chess moves that matter most to NYC's power players (and those who aspire to be). Laubach, for her part, hopes to be among the first to take Eve home once FDA clearance is granted. 'I hope we see a lot more exoskeletons out on the street,' she told NYNext, 'for people like me — and people very different from me.' Send NYNext a tip: nynextlydia@
New York Post
22-07-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Sick of online dating, NYC singles are looking for love via PowerPoint presentations
They've got some hot pitches At the buzzy new dating event Pitch & Pair, Gothamites try to sell the audience on their single friends with three-to-five minute PowerPoint presentations. 'I have a lot of shy friends who are single who are really great catches, and they kind of don't flourish in the typical dating apps or speed dating because they're introverted,' said the event's founder, Joe Teblum, a 33-year-old who lives in Chelsea and works in tech marketing. 'I also saw that there was this trend of people wanting to meet in person especially after Covid.' 8 At Pitch and Pair events, New Yorkers pitch their single friends to potential mates. Emmy Park for NY Post At an event last week at Slate in the Flatiron District, 16 locals gave presentations to a few hundred in the audience. There were bullet points, short videos and tickers. 'He can explain things without making you fall asleep,' Kedar Venkataramani's cousin told the audience of the 30-year-old, 5-foot-8 intellectual property lawyer who lives in NYC. 'He has a sharp mind, a sharp suit, and zero ego.' The cousin also praised Venkataramani as a soccer enthusiast and tasting menu aficionado. 'He will take you to a Broadway show including 'Hamilton' or 'Book of Mormon',' she said. 'He also Citi Bikes everywhere like it's his personal Tour de France.' The crowd was especially excited about the presentation for Chris Puch, a 33-year-old firefighter who lives in Staten Island and is a pseudo-celebrity on Tik Tok for being a hunky public servant. 8 Joe Teblum launched the events last year. They now attract hundreds and quickly sell out. Emmy Park for NY Post 'He will cook healthy for you even though I've seen him eat $50 worth of Taco Bell in one sitting, so you don't have to worry about him being too healthy,' said his matchmaker friend, laughing. 'If you guys like to travel, he loves it. He's a world traveler, and he's been all over the world, and he's looking for someone to go with besides himself.' Anand Tamirisa, a 33-year-old who lives in Chelsea and works in investment banking, was another one of the singles on offer. He admitted that he had authored much of the presentation himself, even though it was given by a dating guru buddy. 'I'm working in PowerPoint all day so it's easy for me,' he said. 'I made it in two hours. I even have a ticker on the top and stuff.' 8 Firefighter Chris Puch (with Caroline Busch) was a crowd favorite. Emmy Park for NY Post 8 Puch's presentation touted his love for travel and Taco Bell. Emmy Park for NY Post His deck included information such as 'Moved to NYC in 2018 after being inspired by Jay-Z,' 'Works in investment banking but doesn't wear a vest,' and, 'Has performed stand-up comedy at world-class dive bars.' It proved effective. By the time he walked off stage, Tamirisa had five new 'follow' requests on Instagram. (At the end of each presentation the matchmaker friend tells the crowd how to reach the single, whether it's via Instagram, email or text.) 'If I end up with one of them it would be a really good story,' Tamirisa said. Pitch & Pair takes place twice a month at venues round town, including City Winery in the Meatpacking District and Second City in Brooklyn. It costs $40 to $60 pitch — with two tickets to the event included — and $15 to $25 to sit in the audience. The next event is August 4th at Caveat on the Lower East Side. 8 Anand Tamirisa (left, with Jaspreet Mini Hanjra) authored much of his presentation himself, he said. Emmy Park for NY Post Events regularly sell out shortly after being announced — in as little as 34 hours. When Teblum first came up with the idea about a year ago, interest was limited. 'Only one person wanted to do a presentation,' he said of the first event, which was held at Kilo Bravo bar in Williamsburg and only attracted a few people beyond his friends. 8 The night's PowerPoint presentations displayed the fluency many young professionals have with the medium. Emmy Park for NY Post 8 Pitch and Pair is held twice a month, at various locations. Emmy Park for NY Post ts some early iterations, people tended to roast their friends in an attempt to be funny. Audiences sometimes erupted into 'boos.' Now, Teblum tells participants to keep it positive. 'The crowd gets so into it,' he said. 'Like the matchmaker shows a picture of someone's dog or hobby and everyone breaks out cheering.' 8 Sophia Demetriou said being pitched was a bit akward. Emmy Park for NY Post Still, Sophia Demetriou, who was the first single presented at last week's event, said the experience was slightly uncomfortable. Her former roommate extolled her virtues, including the fact that she has never lost a game of backgammon, can 'serve looks' and is a Pizza Hut connoisseur. 'It was terrifying,' said Demetriou, a 26-year-old fashion designer. 'But I do think this is how people are going to date in the future. It just makes sense.'
New York Post
17-07-2025
- Health
- New York Post
This medical school is thinking like a tech startup — and it could save your life
NYU Langone is blurring the line between doctor and inventor. The medical center's new MedTech Pipeline has med students, residents and fellows identifying real-world clinical problems — then developing prototypes and devices to solve them. 7 Dr. Insoo Suh is a practicing endocrine surgeon and helped pioneer a scarless thyroid surgery technique early in his career — an experience that revealed just how hard it is for clinician-led innovations to reach patients. Emmy Park for NY Post Advertisement Trainees do 'all the cool things that tech startups do,' Dr. Insoo Suh, the program's architect, told NYNext. 'They brainstorm, they buy parts at Home Depot, they put together first iterations and then get more sophisticated, they start using all sorts of tools to show people what this could really look like.' The nine-month program capped off its inaugural year in late May, with three teams pitching ideas to a panel of NYU chairs, healthcare venture capitalists and entrepreneurs. 'The medical device and technology industries are completely outside the curriculum of medical schools,' said Suh, a practicing endocrine surgeon and Langone's vice chair of surgical innovation. 'What we're trying to do is fill the gap.' Advertisement 7 During pitch night in May, the pediatric surgery team presents 'Kedge,' a device designed to better secure life-saving tubes to critically ill newborns. The team won the pitching contest and was awarded $25,000. Charley Rowe for New York Post The ophthalmology team presented a novel procedure to counteract progressive myopia, a type of nearsightedness that worsens over time. The minimally invasive surgery team showcased a device to improve visualization and movability during liver surgeries. The $25,000 prize, however, went to the pediatrics team for their design of 'Kedge,' a device that secures life-supporting ECMO tubes to critically ill newborns — and alerts doctors if those tubes start to shift, giving them time to act before the situation turns deadly. Advertisement 7 The Tech4Health lab is outfitted with everything from 3D printers and laser cutters to digital modeling software and microfabrication tools — giving trainees the ability to design, prototype, and iterate entirely in-house. Emmy Park for NY Post ECMO, or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, is used when a patient's heart or lungs — or both — can't function on their own. The procedure requires inserting thin tubes, which circulate blood and circumvent the failing organs, into the neck. Traditionally, these tubes are secured manually to infants with sutures and surgical tape — an unnervingly low-tech fix in such a delicate and high-tech environment. If the tubes fall out of place, the mortality rate is near 100%. 7 Dr. Lily Ge, a member of the ophthalmology team in the MedTech Pipeline, earned her MD the same week she pitched her procedure for treating progressive myopia. Emmy Park for NY Post Advertisement 'As a pediatric surgeon, we see patients on ECMO almost every day,' Dr. Barbara Coons, mentor of the pediatrics team and a practicing surgeon at NYU Grossman's School of Medicine, told NYNext. 'To develop a product that could make it safer is incredible.' This year's program featured nine trainees — seven medical students, one resident and one fellow — selected from a pool of 25 applicants. The program isn't part of their traditional schooling, but akin to extracurricular learning. 7 The ophthalmology team pursued a novel treatment for progressive myopia, which they say affects nearly 30% of adults worldwide. Charley Rowe for New York Post While comparable programs often curtail doctors to largely consultative roles — describing problems so engineers can build solutions — the MedTech Pipeline sets itself apart by placing doctors squarely in charge of the innovative process. It's an extremely hands-on affair. 'I thought this would be a very academic exercise,' Dr. James Moon, a surgery fellow on the winning team, told NY Next. 'But developing our product, getting our pitch together and this award money — these are real steps to making this product viable, a reality.' Trainees spend the first several months of the program in hospitals, interviewing patients, observing procedures and cataloging friction points. 7 The pediatric team poses with their awards. The $25,000, they say, will go towards further developing their prototype and navigating a strict regulatory environment. NYU Langone Advertisement 'That's where the light bulb happens,' Dr. Suh said, 'and through that they start inventing.' Concurrently, trainees work with team mentors and program leadership to develop their business acumen. They ascertain market size, study the competitive landscape and potential regulatory hurdles, then design a plan to support their solution. Prototype construction happens out of the Tech4Health Institute, Langone's research and development hub, located in Long Island City. 7 Being able to prototype entirely in-house allows teams to move faster, test ideas more freely and stay closely connected to the clinical environments their devices are meant to serve — without waiting on outside manufacturers or losing control of the design process. Emmy Park for NY Post Advertisement Part classroom, part machine shop, it houses everything from fabrication equipment to digital modeling software — all the resources necessary for trainees to build their early-stage devices. Inventing and implementing a new medical device typically takes five to 10 years and involves clearing a number of regulatory hurdles. But Suh is bullish on the life-saving — and life-changing — capacity of the devices his program is developing. This story is part of NYNext, an indispensable insider insight into the innovations, moonshots and political chess moves that matter most to NYC's power players (and those who aspire to be). 'We're in the early stages but we have a lot of momentum behind us,' he said. 'We're looking at milestones of increments: we want to see that our inventions are patentable. That they're fundable. That investors are willing to take a bet. Advertisement 'Eventually,' he concluded, 'maybe we have a device that's treating tens of thousands, maybe millions.' Send NYNext a tip: nynextlydia@
New York Post
05-06-2025
- Business
- New York Post
Inside NYNext groundbreaking AI event at New York Tech Week
On Tuesday night as part of New York Tech Week, NYNext joined forces with Tech:NYC and PensarAI to host our first-ever event. The night celebrated the key players — from scrappy startups to giants such as Google and IBM — that are making big moves in artificial intelligence. Nearly 150 people took part in NY AI Demo Night. Founders and venture capitalists snacked on figs and tuna tartar and sipped rosé — as well as our new favorite non-alcoholic beverage Töst — at the Domino Sugar Factory in Williamsburg. The factory has gotten a major facelift and now houses a number of startups as well as a sweeping view of Manhattan. Eight AI companies presented their newest ideas to the audience with the goal of getting people to download their apps and invest in their companies 4 Julie Samuels, who runs Tech: NYC — which plays a major role in hosting Tech Week — addressed attendees. Emmy Park 'One of the most unique aspects of the NY tech scene is the ability to bring together and showcase tech heavyweights implementing AI at scale alongside startups in deep builder mode,' Caroline McKechnie, Director of Platform at Tech:NYC, told me. 'We saw a real need for an event that gives founders and engineers a window into what's being built across the city's AI landscape — all against the iconic skyline. The energy of having established players and emerging talent demo side by side is something you can only capture in a city like New York.' Reality Defender, which detects deepfakes, showed just how effective it is in finding AI-generated images among a slew of photos. Founder Ben Colman told me it would have made the plot of HBO's 'Mountainhead' — a film based on the premise that deep fakes are destroying the world — completely null. 4 More than 150 guests came to our New York Tech Week event. Tech Week has ballooned to more than 1,000 events this year. Emmy Park PromptLayer, which aims to empower lay people to create their own apps with AI, demonstrated how seamless it is for anyone to prompt AI to build a product. Founder Jared Zoneraich said, 'The best AI builders, the best prompt engineers are not machine learning engineers … they're subject matter experts.' Representatives from IBM presented their newest insights into AI. But the company also made headlines this week with its newly unveiled watsonx AI Labs in NYC. 'This isn't your typical corporate lab. watsonx AI Labs is where the best AI developers gain access to world-class engineers and resources and build new businesses and applications that will reshape AI for the enterprise,' Ritika Gunnar, General Manager, Data & AI, IBM, told me. 'By anchoring this mission in New York City, we are investing in a diverse, world‑class talent pool and a vibrant community whose innovations have long shaped the tech landscape.' 4 NYNext co-hosted the evening with PensarAI, Two Trees, and Tech: NYC. Emmy Park Other presenters included Flora, an AI tool for creatives; a podcast and newsletter network powered by AI; Superblocks, an AI platform building software; Run Loop AI, which helps companies scale coding; and Google's Deepmind. This story is part of NYNext, an indispensable insider insight into the innovations, moonshots and political chess moves that matter most to NYC's power players (and those who aspire to be). The event was just one piece of what has become a sprawling and celebratory week for anyone in technology. 4 The event was hosted in Williamsburg where the Domino Sugar Refinery has gotten a major facelift — and now houses dozens of tech startups. Emmy Park The idea for a tech week came from Andreessen Horowitz (a16z). The firm launched with a Tech Week in Los Angeles in 2022. In 2023, they expanded to San Francisco and New York City. Since the first New York Tech Week in 2023, the seven-day conference has ballooned to more than 1,000 events with 60,000 RSVPs. This year, over half of the events focused on AI. 'The energy that is in this room, the startups that we're going to hear from, these are the ideas that are going to propel New York's economy for generations to come,' Tech:NYC CEO Julie Samuels told me. 'These are the idea that are gonna change the way we all live, we all work, we all do business, we communicate. We are on the cusp of such an exciting time for New York, and tonight is just a little bit of a flavor of that.' Send NYNext a tip: nynextlydia@
New York Post
05-06-2025
- Business
- New York Post
For members of this new private club from The Laundress co-founder, cleaning isn't a chore — it's a lifestyle
She's coming clean. In 2019, Gwen Whiting sold The Laundress — the luxury laundry and home care brand she co-founded — to Unilever for a reported $100 million. 7 Gwen Whiting launched The Fill in 2024. The members-only cleaning club holds wellness as its north star — and membership includes not only access to The Fill's home and laundry care products, but also direct advice from Whiting via her 'cleaning concierge,' and admission to an in-person and virtual forum called 'the Circle.' Emmy Park for NY Post. Now, after waiting out an agonizing five-year non-compete, non-disparagement agreement, the 49-year-old has launched a new company — The Fill — devoted to cleaning and community, and she's opening up about the regrettable Unilever deal. 'The value proposition was, '[Unilever is] a business that cares about sustainability,' and I really drank the Kool-Aid, I really believed that I was sending my baby to college,' Whiting told NYNext. 'Unfortunately, that was not the experience that I had.' Under the watch of Whiting and her co-founder, Lindsey Boyd, The Laundress had scaled deliberately. Once owned by Unilever, the company boomed in scope and scale — with disastrous results. In November 2022, Unilever had to issue an eight million-item recall of Laundress products due to bacterial contamination; the company told customers to stop using all detergents and cleaning products and pulled items from store shelves. 7 Because The Fill's products come in refillable pouches, Whiting prefers to use decanters as opposed to the plastic bottles most cleaning products are stored in. The ethos of The Fill is rooted in Whiting's conviction that cleaning can be a lifestyle. Emmy Park for NY Post. 7 Whiting has a 'smell station,' showcasing the different scents bottled inside The Fill's products. 'The beauty of aromatherapy,' Whiting said, 'is you don't have to do anything to get the benefits.' Emmy Park for NY Post. The following March, there was a second recall due to a carcinogen in some products. The Laundress temporarily shuttered, and wouldn't relaunch until July of 2023. 'It was very painful,' Whiting said. 'My whole life and identity were so intertwined with The Laundress.' Her legal agreements made it worse. 'There were a lot of people reaching out to me and I had that five-year non-compete, non-disparaging agreement — I couldn't say anything,' she said. (The Post has reached out to Unilever for comment.) 7 Whiting sold The Laundress to Unilever for a reported $100 million in 2019. Emmy Park for NY Post. Whiting had stayed aboard for two more years after The Laundress' sale, but unbeknownst to many of her followers, her contract had expired in 2021. 'It wasn't exactly public that I was not part of [it anymore],' she said. In the wake of the fallout, Whiting didn't immediately plot a return; in fact, she actively resisted one. 'I never wanted to make products again,' she said. 'My work was done.' 7 Whiting told NYNext's Lydia Moynihan that her experience with Unilever left her burned out and disenfranchised. 'I never wanted to make products again,' she said. 'My work was done, I could move on to something else.' Emmy Park for NY Post. But friends and longtime customers kept calling — asking what she was using now, asking what they should clean with — and Whiting felt pulled back in. 'I couldn't leave my community hung to dry,' Whiting said. Last June, she launched The Fill, a line of eco-friendly cleaning products and a private member's community that is based out of the National Arts Club in Gramercy Park. 7 Whiting's work with The Fill is a natural evolution from the work she began with The Laundress in the early 2000s. Back then, she was pioneering 'neat cleaning,' a fabric-specific, design-forward approach. Emmy Park for NY Post. Memberships start at $40 per year and include access to The Fill's line of home and laundry care products, direct advice from Whiting via her 'cleaning concierge' service, and admission to 'the Circle,' a digital and in-person hub for workshops, Q&As, and community programming. Past events have included in-person fitness classes, online breathing workshops and Zoom reading sessions — and it's all tied to Whiting's belief that cleaning isn't just a chore, but a lifestyle. 'I gave my know-how, cleaning help and resources openly for 20 years,' said Whiting, who studied fiber science and apparel design at Cornell and later worked as a designer at Ralph Lauren Home. 'Now, that's mine to share with the members of my community. And there's value in community.' 7 The Fill's products come in reusable pouches, which Whiting said use 80% less plastic than traditional bottles. Emmy Park for NY Post. While The Laundress trafficked in traditional notions of luxury with $50 bottles of detergent perfumed with Le Labo scents, The Fill is more sustainability focused and discrete, but still skews upscale. Many products come in eco-conscious pouches, and refillable glass bottles are sold separately. Traditional perfume has been swapped for functional aromatherapy blends designed to calm, energize, or restore. Labels have a handwritten-look. This story is part of NYNext, an indispensable insider insight into the innovations, moonshots and political chess moves that matter most to NYC's power players (and those who aspire to be). It's a deliberate return to the intimacy Whiting had spent years cultivating — then lost. 'My goals are very different [this time around],' she said. 'It is a completely different way of doing business. A different sensibility. The second chapter.' Send NYNext a tip: nynextlydia@
