SAN FRANCISCO — Sex Tech hardware and experience innovator Intimuse Holdings has announced its vision for the growing market of next-generation sexual health and wellness products.
According to the company, at what many see as the beginning of an extraordinary new era of innovation, relationships and pleasure, many new upstart companies will bring a groundswell of products to market, opening significant untapped consumer demand.
“The industry is about to enter what we call Adult 3.0,” says Intimuse CEO John McCoy. “People recall Adult 1.0 was mostly still photos, magazines and movies in theaters; Adult 2.0 entered homes with VHS home video, DVDs, streaming and pay-walls. But Adult 3.0 is all about deep interactivity, sensory immersion and personalized experiences for consumers.”
According to observers such as noted industry IP attorney Maxine Lynn, for several years, a set of patents has been used to stifle the Sex Tech market by preventing some of the best new innovations from reaching consumers. On August 17th, 2018 a core patent in that portfolio (Sandvick, ‘268) finally expired and a new era of freedom is propelling top tier toy designers such Intimuse forward — yet some barriers remain and savvy entrepreneurs create their own IP to support viable products.
“Many hurdles to market entry remain as companies seek to expand their reach in this massive opportunity of Sexual Health and Wellness, including investment, IP access and viable innovation,” Lynn explains. “But having seen some of what Intimuse is working on I believe it’s fair to say they are among the top tier players when it comes to understanding the IP landscape and what makes consumers tick.”
Intimuse currently offers a series of haptic (force feedback) devices aimed at stimulating the sexual health and arousal of women and men, with products aimed at specific audiences and fine-tuned for couples and individuals seeking Adult 3.0 entertainment.
“All systems represent a natural progression of increasingly immersive media, made possible now with a convergence of processor power, telecommunications bandwidth and growing mainstream acceptance of adult products and entertainment,” McCoy says. “The first wave of interactive devices are already here, with various vibrating and sliding products.”
McCoy believes that moving ahead, stroking and squeezing, bi-directional play and the convergence of connected toys with VR will be much more common.
“The winners will be those firms that can capture consumer attention, monetize their own IP and scale operations,” McCoy concludes. “At stake is more than revenue, but global happiness and totally new kinds of relationships that are connected but remote, personal but diverse, memorable and sharable.”
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