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InStryde
Techstars '22Winston-Salem, US · 1 employees on LinkedIn · 2 known investors
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InStryde is a Winston-Salem company making custom 3D-printed shoe insoles fitted remotely via an AI smartphone foot scan.
Also known as inStryde · InStryde
Founders & leadership
Investors · 2
How we know: the Techstars portfolio · open dataset · Top 3000 Accelerator Startups (no YC) 2026-08 · Not right? Tell us
Company profile
researched Sep 2026InStryde is a Winston-Salem, North Carolina company that developed custom 3D-printed foot orthotics fitted remotely via smartphone. Its SmartFit process scans a customer's feet using a smartphone camera, applies artificial intelligence and computer vision to take measurements and generate a custom insole design, and then 3D-prints and ships the resulting insoles to the customer's home.
The company positioned itself as a hybrid hard-tech business addressing what it described as a 50-year-old fitting and fabrication process in the orthotics industry. It contrasted its offering with traditional custom orthotics, cited as averaging $600 and taking about two months to obtain while often fitting poorly inside a shoe, and with prefabricated retail insoles that are cheaper but not tailored to individual needs.
Founding story
Founder and CEO Mike Schmid started the company on the premise that consumers should not have to choose between health, time and money when buying insoles, arguing that existing custom insole fitting and fabrication methods had not kept pace with advances in technology.
Business model
InStryde sold custom 3D-printed foot orthotics direct to consumers, replacing in-person clinical fitting with a smartphone-based scan and home delivery, positioning its product between expensive clinician-made orthotics and cheap prefabricated off-the-shelf insoles.
Sales of custom 3D-printed insoles ordered and fitted through a consumer smartphone process and shipped directly to buyers.
Traction
Selection into the 2022 Techstars SportsTech Accelerator cohort, described in company materials as accepting fewer than 1% of applicants, and the April 2022 commercial launch of the SmartFit fitting process; the company is described as venture-backed and as having operated for almost four years.
Latest developments
In July 2026 founder Mike Schmid was named President of Winston Starts, effective August 10, and Greater Winston-Salem Inc.'s first Vice President of Innovation; the announcements describe InStryde as a company he ran for almost four years before moving into other roles, including leading AI product teams.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history
Market position
A venture-backed, Techstars portfolio company in the custom orthotics market, competing against clinician-prescribed custom orthotics and mass-market prefabricated insole brands.
InStryde's approach replaced traditional in-clinic casting and fabrication with a smartphone camera scan processed by AI and computer vision, with 3D printing used for manufacture, aiming to cut the time and cost associated with conventional custom orthotics while offering individualized fit compared with prefabricated retail insoles.
Technology
A smartphone camera-based foot scanning system paired with artificial intelligence and computer vision that takes measurements and generates a custom insole design, which is then produced with advanced 3D printing.
Go-to-market
Direct-to-consumer online sales with at-home smartphone fitting and doorstep delivery, supported by accelerator programming; the Techstars SportsTech program culminated in a demo day pitch to investors, and Techstars connections to research facilities, medical practices and athletic programs were cited as channels for the company.
Consumers and athletes seeking custom foot orthotics without the cost and wait of clinician-made devices, including users reached through Techstars-linked medical practices and athletic programs.
Geography
Headquartered in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, in the Triad region, with participation in the Techstars global accelerator network.
History
The company was founded in Winston-Salem, North Carolina by Mike Schmid, and was built through the local Winston Starts and Center for Creative Economy ecosystems. In spring 2022 it joined the Techstars SportsTech Accelerator cohort, and days later, on April 20, 2022, announced the launch of its SmartFit custom insole process. The company ran for roughly four years, taking Schmid from the Winston Starts ecosystem into the Techstars global ecosystem. Schmid, who has led R&D teams at Collins Aerospace and Assa Abloy, was named President of Winston Starts and first Vice President of Innovation at Greater Winston-Salem Inc. in 2026.
Compiled by commissioned research from 5 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 3
launches, deals, and filingsMike Schmid, founder of InStryde, was announced as the next President of Winston Starts effective August 10, and as Greater Winston-Salem Inc.'s first Vice President of Innovation.
inStryde introduced SmartFit, a process in which a customer's feet are scanned with a smartphone camera, AI and computer vision generate a custom insole design for 3D printing, and the finished insoles are shipped to the customer.
inStryde took a place in the 2022 Techstars SportsTech Accelerator cohort, a program running mid-March to mid-June and ending with a demo day pitch to investors.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
▸Research sources · 5
primary sources listed
- getinstryde.comgetinstryde.com · web
5 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does InStryde do?
- InStryde is a Winston-Salem company making custom 3D-printed shoe insoles fitted remotely via an AI smartphone foot scan.
- Who founded InStryde?
- InStryde was founded by Michael Schmid.
- Who are InStryde's investors?
- InStryde's investors include NC IDEA, Techstars.
- Where is InStryde headquartered?
- InStryde is headquartered in Winston-Salem, US.