Steplife to Raise Up to RUB 200 Million with Bonds and Pre-IPO

Steplife expects the bond issue and pre-IPO to attract both retail and institutional investors. The funding raised through the rounds and bond issue will be used to expand the production of next-generation bionic hand and leg prostheses, including forearm and shoulder prostheses.

The Steplife company (Salut Ortho Group, Skolkovo resident) is a Russian manufacturer of high-tech leg prostheses with both pneumatic and microprocessor control. The first prototype of a leg prosthesis using the Steplife P5 knee module with a pneumatic phase control system was developed in 2020 as a result of experimental design work at the Skolkovo Innovation Center with the involvement of doctors from Moscow and Russian regions.

In the summer of 2022, the company launched the production of domestic pneumatic knee modules for Steplife P5 leg prostheses. The volume of investments in the project is not disclosed, the capacity of the enterprise was estimated at up to 5 thousand components per year.

In 2024, the company developed a serial model of the Steplife B7 microprocessor-controlled hip prosthesis. In the new version, 95% of the product components are made from Russian components. The product is intended for those who are accustomed to using the German C-leg knee module: the geometry of the design is similar, but all algorithms, electronics and hydraulics are developed in Russia. It is assumed that this will facilitate the transition of patients from German modules to Russian developments. It is expected that the selling price of Steplife products will be 30-40% cheaper than Western counterparts, the price of which started at 1.49 million rubles. The volume of investment in the project was not disclosed, but in 2023 the company was attracting investments in the development of domestic leg prostheses, estimating the required amount at 60-150 million rubles.

According to SPARK-Interfax, Steplife LLC (previously the legal entity was called Salut Ortho Group of Companies LLC) was registered in 2019 and is 100% owned by Steplife JSC. In 2024, the company's revenue amounted to 240 million rubles, net profit - 96 million rubles.

In the summer of 2024, another Russian manufacturer of functional bionic prostheses, Motorika, managed to raise up to 900 million rubles during a pre-IPO. The name of the investor was not announced, but in the fall of 2024, the closed-end mutual investment fund (ZPIF) Pervaya - Direct Investments, managed by Pervaya Management Company (part of the Sber ecosystem), became a co-owner of a 10.16% stake in the company. And in December 2024, the company received a preferential loan of 100 million rubles from the Moscow Venture Fund to finance the IPO, which is scheduled to take place in 2026.