SHENZHEN, China, Nov. 13, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Clawlab, a technology startup developing smart tools for textile creation, has raised more than $15 million in a Pre-A3 funding round led by miHoYo. Vision Plus Capital and Shunwei Capital also increased their investments through super pro rata participation. The round brings Clawlab's total funding to approximately $25 million across four equity rounds. Its shareholder base includes Sequoia China, Shunwei Capital, YM Capital, Vision Plus Capital, and miHoYo, bringing together leading venture capital firms and a strategic corporate investor.

Investors Back Clawlab's Vision for a New Consumer Category

With AI software commanding much of the market's attention, Clawlab's more than $15 million funding round reflects investor interest in a different opportunity: the untapped consumer potential of smart knitting.

The opportunity comes from a gap between rising consumer demand and the tools available to meet it. Interest in personalized, hands-on creation is growing, yet most knitting equipment remains designed for factories and professional users. Pattern development, stitch control, and machine operation still require specialist expertise. The category lacks a desktop device capable of bringing industrial-grade knitting capabilities within reach of individual creators.

Clawlab is addressing that gap with the world's first smart knitting machine designed for home use. It turns an image or idea into a finished knitted item, handling pattern preparation, stitchwork, and repetitive production while leaving the design, colors, and intended use to the user.

That flexibility supports a wide range of applications, from scarves and doll clothes to pet accessories and personalized gifts. A hobby project can also grow into custom work or a small business. Clawlab is set to unveil this smart knitting machine to a global audience at CES 2027.

The Engineering Foundation Behind Clawlab

Bringing professional knitting equipment into the home involves more than reducing its size. The real challenge is translating complex engineering into a product that feels intuitive to everyday users. Clawlab's founder and CEO Wenxin Hu previously worked as a hardware engineer at DJI and Meituan, while most members of the company's core R&D team are also former DJI employees. Together, they bring experience developing consumer-grade smart hardware and other technically complex products.

That background has shaped Clawlab's approach to product development. Rather than simply miniaturizing existing equipment or adding digital features, the company is rethinking the knitting experience across hardware, software, and interaction design around the needs of individual creators. The technology takes on the complexity, while users retain control of the creative process.

The Long-Term Vision in Knitting

Clawlab chose knitting based on a simple premise: textiles meet one of the most basic and enduring needs of everyday life.

"Textiles meet a broad, long-standing need in everyday life. Standardized products are abundant, but consumers' desire for personal style, customization, and emotional expression remains underserved," said Wenxin Hu. "We want to reconnect ideas, design, and production so that people without professional training can create through knitting."

Their longer-term ambition is to make knitting an everyday medium of expression. Smart knitting equipment, design software, and a creator community can help people turn ideas, memories, and care for others into one-of-a-kind pieces they can hold, share, and pass on.

About Clawlab

Clawlab is a technology startup founded in 2023 that develops smart tools for textile creation. It is building the future of knitting through a combination of innovative knitting technologies and a connected maker community. Its mission, "Push knitting forward. Bring more ideas to life," is to develop the tools and technology that help more people turn what they imagine into something they can hold. Clawlab's vision is to make knitting an everyday language for expression, much like words and pictures, through which people can tell their stories, preserve memories, and connect with others. For more information, please visit www.clawlab.com