GoSense
GoSense is a Lyon-based accessibility technology company that builds 3D spatial audio products — the Rango smart white cane module, noor open-ear earphones, and the Wizigo community GPS app — for visually impaired and blind individuals, monetizing through medical-device hardware sales, B2B professional licensing, and municipal smart-city contracts.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2013
- HeadquartersLyon, France
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What GoSense does
GoSense is a French accessibility technology company founded in 2013 and headquartered in Lyon that designs sensory augmentation products for visually impaired and blind individuals. Its core technology is proprietary 3D spatialized audio, combined with ultrasonic obstacle detection and Bluetooth/sensor-fusion earphone hardware, deployed across three interconnected products: Rango, a €2,000 medical-device module that attaches to standard white canes and uses ultrasonic sensors (2.5m radius) plus 3D sound alerts to detect mid-height obstacles; noor, open-ear earphones embedding the company's 'GoSense Audio 3D' sensor stack (gyroscopes, accelerometers, magnetometers, microphones); and Wizigo, a free community-based GPS mobile app using spatialized sound for pedestrian navigation, supported by the MyWizigo.com web platform.
The company monetizes through a hybrid model: one-time hardware sales of the Rango kit (with 75% French MDPH reimbursement reducing the effective price to ~€500 for eligible users), freemium individual access to Wizigo, and a four-tier professional licensing structure (annual subscriptions, one-time purchases, or hybrid) for municipalities, transport operators, and enterprises that deploy Wizigo beacons and indoor/outdoor guidance. Go-to-market combines specialized accessibility distributors (Association Valentin Haüy, CECIAA, Cflou, AccessSolutions), a four-ambassador direct-sales network of visually impaired users, smart-city direct contracts, and earned media coverage on French national television (TF1, M6, France 3).
GoSense has been funded by a 2014 Bpifrance French Tech grant, a 2020 angel round of ~€667K, and a 2023 equity round of ~€1.06M, and has earned recognition including semi-finalist status at the 2014 Hello Tomorrow Challenge and the 2024 Smart Paris Accessibility & Innovation Award. Operating geographies span France, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium, and Italy, with active municipal pilots in Lyon, Montpellier, and Paris.
GoSense firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- GoSense
- Legal name
- GoSense SAS
- Website
- https://gosense.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2013
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- GoSense is a Lyon-based accessibility technology company that builds 3D spatial audio products — the Rango smart white cane module, noor open-ear earphones, and the Wizigo community GPS app — for visually impaired and blind individuals, monetizing through medical-device hardware sales, B2B professional licensing, and municipal smart-city contracts.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
GoSense industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Assistive Technology for the Visually Impaired
- SIC
- Electromedical & Electrotherapeutic Apparatus (3845)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Home Patient Monitoring & Telehealth Devices (Vitals, Fall Detection, PERS) (HSABAKAE)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Hearables (True Wireless Earbuds & Smart Headphones) (CRACAIAD), Consumer Navigation & Turn-by-Turn Apps (BPAMANAA)
Keywords
Where GoSense is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Lyon
- HQ country
- France
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
GoSense business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Rango Smart White Cane Hardware Kit: One-time sale of the Rango electronic device kit (€2,000) that attaches to standard white canes. Includes the Rango device and noor open earphones. Recognized as a medical device in France, eligible for 75% MDPH reimbursement.
- Wizigo Freemium (End Users): Wizigo mobile app and MyWizigo.com web platform are free for individual visually impaired users. Revenue is generated from B2B professional licenses and hardware beacon sales to municipalities, cities, and organizations.
- Wizigo Professional Licenses: Four professional license tiers: (1) free outdoor guiding license, (2) paid indoor guiding license (requires hardware), (3) paid platform-to-train-door guiding license (requires hardware), (4) paid Bluetooth/sound beacon activation license. Available via one-time purchase, annual subscription, or annual-only subscription. Hardware (Wizigo beacon) sold separately.
- Wizigo Bluetooth Beacon Hardware: Proprietary Wizigo Bluetooth beacon hardware sold to enterprises, public institutions, and municipalities for indoor navigation and physical beacon activation (traffic lights, transport stops, building entrances).
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Rango Smart White Cane Kit — €2,000 one-time purchase |
| Freemium | Annual | Wizigo — Free for individual users |
| Subscription | Annual | Wizigo Professional Licenses — Paid licensing tiers |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels7 records
GoSense product offering
Product offeringCore offering
GoSense designs, manufactures and sells an integrated accessibility technology ecosystem for blind and visually impaired people. The core commercial offering is Rango, an ultrasonic-sensor module that attaches to a standard white cane and provides 3D spatialized sound alerts about obstacles in the user's path (priced at €2,000 as a reimbursable French medical device). It is sold alongside Noor open-ear earphones (proprietary 3D audio technology) and complemented by Wizigo, a free community-based pedestrian GPS mobile app with a web-based route-planning platform, with revenue from professional/enterprise licenses and Bluetooth beacon hardware sold to municipalities and accessibility organizations.
Product overview
GoSense is a product company specializing in 3D audio and accessibility technology for visually impaired and blind users. Its portfolio consists of three interconnected products: Rango (the core smart white cane device — a medical device module that attaches to a traditional white cane and provides 3D obstacle detection alerts), Noor (open-ear earphones with embedded 3D audio technology and motion sensors that are included in the Rango kit and also enhance the Wizigo GPS), and Wizigo (a free community-based GPS app providing spatial audio pedestrian navigation, supported by the MyWizigo.com web platform for trip planning and professional fleet management). The products share a common technology stack based on GoSense's 3D spatial audio and are designed to work together — Rango detects obstacles, noor delivers spatialized alerts and feeds motion data back to improve both Rango and Wizigo, and Wizigo provides navigational guidance that complements Rango's obstacle detection.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Rango: Electronic device that attaches to traditional white canes, providing 3D obstacle detection and sound alerts for visually impaired users. A virtual intelligent shield that detects obstacles at mid-height and ground level.
- Wizigo
- Noor
Products and services
- Rango Rango is an electronic module that attaches to a standard white cane and transforms it into a connected intelligent device. It uses ultrasonic sensors to detect obstacles at mid-height and ground level within a 2.5-meter radius, delivering 3D spatialized sound alerts via headphones to indicate obstacle direction and proximity. It is classified as a medical device, manufactured in France, and priced at €2,000 with 75% reimbursement available through French MDPH.
- Noor Open-Ear Earphones Noor are open-ear (extra-auricular, not intra-canal) Bluetooth earphones that transmit sound without covering the ears, keeping users aware of their surroundings. They embed GoSense Audio 3D technology with dual gyroscopes, accelerometers, magnetometers and three microphones, and they ship with a 2-year warranty. They are included in the Rango kit and also enhance Wizigo's navigation precision from 5+ meters to 1–3 meters.
- Wizigo Community Sound GPS Wizigo is a free community-based GPS application for visually impaired users, providing pedestrian navigation via spatialized 3D sound guidance rather than visual maps. Available on iOS, it synchronizes with the MyWizigo.com web platform for pre-trip planning. Users and sighted community members (Wizigoths) can contribute routes, points of interest, and construction zones. With Noor earphones, navigation precision reaches 1–3 meters.
- MyWizigo.com Web Platform MyWizigo.com is the companion web platform for Wizigo. It allows users to prepare sound-based routes, manage points of interest, and share data with the community from a computer before going out. For professionals and municipalities, it enables management of beacon fleets and real-time data synchronization with the mobile app.
Quantifiable outcome
- Nearly 400 users across France, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium, and Italy as of September 2021
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use GoSense
Customer profileNamed customers7 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
GoSense technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration2 records
AI capability6 records
Feature6 records
GoSense partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Association Valentin HaüycoreLeading French association for the blind and visually impaired. Operates retail stores in Paris and Lyon where Rango is sold. A trusted reference in the visually impaired community.
- CECIAAcoreSpecialized distributor of assistive technology for visually impaired individuals with stores in Paris, Marseille, Lyon, Rennes, and La Réunion.
- CflouminorSpecialized distributor of accessibility and assistive technology for the visually impaired in France.
- AccessSolutionscoreAccessibility solutions distributor with agencies in Paris, Bordeaux, and Toulouse, reselling Rango.
- Fédération des Aveugles de FrancecoreMajor French federation of blind and visually impaired associations. Partner in developing Wizigo through a partnership with IFSTTAR and using federation locomotion experts for route beaconing.
- UNADEVminorNational union for the visually impaired in France, supporting accessibility initiatives and the visually impaired community.
- FAF ApridevminorApridev federation of disability associations working on accessibility solutions.
- Lions Club FranceminorLions Club France supports GoSense's social mission to improve mobility for visually impaired individuals through fundraising and community outreach.
- Fondation RAZEminorRAZE Foundation supports innovation for disability and social causes in France.
- Région Auvergne-Rhône-AlpescoreRegional government body co-financing the development of Wizigo as part of smart city and accessibility initiatives in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region.
- Ville de LyoncoreCity of Lyon collaborates with GoSense on smart city accessibility experiments, conducting trials of Wizigo in the Part-Dieu district and supporting the company's headquarters presence in Lyon.
- IFSTTARminorFrench Institute of Science and Technology for Transport and Development (IFSTTAR) partnered with GoSense and the Fédération des Aveugles de France to develop public transport management features for Wizigo.
- Witkowska (ESAT Witkowska)minorESAT (sheltered workshop) for visually impaired individuals that supports GoSense's ecosystem.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
GoSense competitors and assessment
Company assessmentMarket position
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
GoSense social profiles
Digital presenceGoSense compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
GoSense financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
GoSense leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
GoSense funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors7 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
GoSense M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about GoSense
What does GoSense do?
GoSense designs, manufactures and sells an integrated accessibility technology ecosystem for blind and visually impaired people. The core commercial offering is Rango, an ultrasonic-sensor module that attaches to a standard white cane and provides 3D spatialized sound alerts about obstacles in the user's path (priced at €2,000 as a reimbursable French medical device). It is sold alongside Noor open-ear earphones (proprietary 3D audio technology) and complemented by Wizigo, a free community-based pedestrian GPS mobile app with a web-based route-planning platform, with revenue from professional/enterprise licenses and Bluetooth beacon hardware sold to municipalities and accessibility organizations.
Is GoSense a public or private company?
GoSense is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was GoSense founded?
GoSense was founded in 2013. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is GoSense based?
GoSense is headquartered in Lyon, France, in the Europe region.
How does GoSense make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Rango Smart White Cane Hardware Kit is the primary driver. The others are wizigo Freemium (End Users), wizigo Professional Licenses and wizigo Bluetooth Beacon Hardware.
Does GoSense have an API?
No public API is recorded for GoSense.
What industry is GoSense in?
GoSense's product category is Assistive Technology for the Visually Impaired. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HSABAKAE, Home Patient Monitoring & Telehealth Devices (Vitals, Fall Detection, PERS), with a secondary code of CRACAIAD, Hearables (True Wireless Earbuds & Smart Headphones). Its SIC code is 3845.