Technical outerwear brand Oros secures $14.5 million in funding

By

Robin Driver

Published
Jun 28, 2021

Oros, a Portland, Oregon-based technical outerwear brand, announced on Thursday that it has closed on a $14.5 million Series A funding round, financing which will allow the company to invest in its manufacturing capabilities, as well as in further material innovations.

 
Founded in 2014, Oros made its name with its patented Solarcore insulation, which was launched in 2015 and leverages aerogel technology used by NASA to create streamlined outerwear designed to keep wearers warm in below freezing temperatures.
 
According to the company, it has now invented a new lightweight insulated material set to launch in 2022, when it will debut in a new performance apparel collection. Like Solarcore, the new material “incorporates a suite of patents and exclusive rights to underlying NASA IP.”

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The capital raised in the company’s Series A funding round will allow Oros to make further refinements to this new material, conceive new apparel products and invest in a state-of-the-art manufacturing site, outside Boston, Massachusetts. The new facility will allow the company to turn recycled fiber into thermal performance wear made using 3D engineered knitting.
 
The domestic manufacturing site will also permit Oros to customize its machinery, equipment and engineering processes, while also consolidating its supply chain so as to facilitate the sustainable scaling of its production.
 
“Since day one, Oros has endeavored to transform insulated apparel, using only the best materials and technologies – some of which have been developed with exclusive access to NASA IP and have been used for their most demanding applications in space,” said the company’s chief technology officer and VP of product, Jeff Nash, in a release.
 
“I’ve been in the industry for decades, and OROS is completely doing things differently. I strongly believe we’re on the cusp of something groundbreaking: recreating the category of insulated products for the industry,” he added.
 
Elizabeth Street Ventures and Enlightenment Capital led the funding round, which also included the participation of entrepreneur Thomas Tull, Snap Inc. chairman Michael Lynton and Brandon Shainfeld of Unilever Ventures, among others.
 
Along with the closing of its Series A funding round, Oros announced that Rachel Ulman, venture partner at Elizabeth Street Ventures, has been appointed to the company’s board. Ulman, who is the founder and CEO of retail consultancy 27 Edge, brings more than 20 years of experience in digital retail to her new position.
 
Former The North Face CEO Hap Klopp, who acquired the outerwear brand in 1968 and led it for 20 years, transforming it into a global apparel business, has also been named as board observer.