Samantha Payne

Samantha Payne is an entrepreneur and co-founder of Open Bionics, a company that creates 3D-printed multi-grip bionic hands for below-elbow amputees. Proudly working class, she hails from a council estate in Bristol and has dedicated her life’s work to breaking down the financial barriers that prevent access to advanced prosthetics.

At just 23 years old, Samantha co-founded Open Bionics with the goal of providing empowering and stylish bionic limbs to those in need. The Hero Arm, a co-designed bionic limb that is functional, affordable and attractive, is the product of her tireless efforts.

Disney granted Open Bionics royalty-free licence agreements, enabling them to produce prosthetics based on fan-favourite characters like Black Panther, R2-D2, and Iron Man.

As a woman in the world of innovation, Samantha has faced numerous challenges, from the lack of women role models in her field to the dismissive attitudes of all-male investment committees. Despite these obstacles, she remains committed to her work and is inspired by the opportunity to serve as a positive example for other women and girls.

Looking forward to the future, Samantha says, “I’m very excited to watch Open Bionics launch in 10 new countries and scale across the globe before launching our products in R&D. My long term ambition is to build incredible assistive devices that enhance the human body at scale, accessibly.”

Her words of wisdom? “Never give up! Your company relies on you and your eternal optimism to keep going after the mission. Inventing the future is hard, building products is hard, shipping is hard. Keep going!”