Timothy Balz, the co-founder and CEO of Kalogon, a startup focusing on wheelchair technology, didn’t see his time at SpaceX as just a job—it was a stepping stone towards a bigger goal. “I worked at SpaceX with the intention of coming back and disrupting the wheelchair industry,” Balz shared with Observer during this year’s SXSW. At SpaceX, he was a build engineer for the Starship thermal protection system.

Balz’s passion for innovating mobility traces back to his teenage years when he established a nonprofit called Freedom Chairs to refurbish and donate power wheelchairs. The initiative began when he saw a fellow student stuck in a manual wheelchair because his insurance wouldn’t cover a powered one. Balz took action by creating a custom device for him.

“I swapped a moped for a wheelchair on Craigslist, and I customized it for him,” Balz recalled. He added features like a sound system, leg rest, joystick adjustment, and even a hitch to pull a recycling bin so the student could participate in the school’s recycling program.

Fast forward fifteen years, and Balz, now in his early thirties, has come a long way. During an internship at Intel, he developed the first connected wheelchair using the chipmaker’s technology, earning praise from none other than Stephen Hawking. In 2019, he launched Kalogon to create smart seating systems aimed at enhancing wheelchair comfort, reducing pressure injuries, and assisting professionals like pilots who spend long hours seated.

Kalogon’s technology adjusts to the user’s body shape and movement in real-time, automatically redistributing pressure points to mimic the health benefits of standing. The core products—Orbiter Med and Orbiter for Aviation—are already in use in clinical and commercial settings. A connected app allows clinicians to customize settings based on specific medical needs that the device may not detect automatically, such as amputations or pelvic imbalances. Powered by A.I., the system eliminates the need for manual adjustments and traditional air pumps.

Balz isn’t just enhancing wheelchairs; he’s changing what’s achievable for their users. John Miller, an early adopter who developed a severe pressure injury after a spinal cord injury, saw his comfort period expand from a few hours to 16 hours with Kalogon’s technology. This transformation allowed him to reconnect with his community, visit his grandchildren on a road trip, engage in gardening and cycling, resume physical therapy, and start relearning how to walk, eventually using a cane.

Challenges Faced by Disability Tech in the Investment Realm

Despite the potential of their technology, Kalogon initially encountered hurdles in attracting investors. Balz recounted, “I struggled to even get my foot in the door at first.” The prevailing belief was that wheelchair technology lacked mass-market appeal, despite approximately 5.5 million Americans relying on wheelchairs.

Diego Mariscal, CEO and co-founder of 2Gether-International (2GI), the largest startup accelerator for disabled entrepreneurs, pointed out, “People are aging and living longer due to technology advancements. It’s clear that disability is a natural part of life.” Mariscal, who has cerebral palsy, also serves as the “chief disabled person” at his company. (2GI is not an investor in Kalogon.)

Balz expressed his hope that Kalogon’s success will shift investor perspectives. “When I can go back to them and say, ‘You missed out on a 10–20x return due to your biases,’ that feels pretty satisfying,” he remarked, alluding to where Kalogon could be if it were acquired today. “We’re now paving the way for other startups that failed not because of market or product issues but due to biases.”

As major companies like Apple and Meta introduce accessible consumer technologies such as AirPods with clinical-grade hearing aids and Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, Mariscal sees both promise and caution. Beyond what Balz refers to as the flawed U.S. incentive structures, Mariscal highlighted that the current health insurance system often falls short in meeting the needs of disabled individuals, underscoring a deeper issue of representation.