Editor’s Note: This piece references Forbes’ feature “The Footwear Brand Using AI to Revolutionize Shoemaking” by journalist Anna Haines. The story explores how IAMBIC merges artificial intelligence, biomechanics, and craftsmanship to redefine precision-fit footwear.
IAMBIC designs AI-powered, precision-fit footwear that unites data, biomechanics, and European craft. Each pair begins with a smartphone 3D scan capturing more than twenty biometric data points. Our Fit Engine converts this data into a digital last shaped to your anatomy, then artisans in Portugal build your pair for balance, alignment, and endurance.
Recognized as a TIME Best Invention and supported by the National Science Foundation, IAMBIC continues to lead the evolution of fit through innovation and design.
Forbes spotlight: The footwear brand using AI to revolutionize shoemaking
NEW YORK, NY — Forbes profiles how IAMBIC applies AI-assisted, NASA-grade design to eliminate poor fit in footwear. Before mass production, every pair was crafted to the individual. Today, most shoes are built around standard sizes, and our feet feel the consequences. Across 18 studies, researchers found that 63% to 72% of adults wear ill-fitting shoes, contributing to pain and performance decline.
“Have you ever had a custom-made shoe?”
Anna Haines, Forbes
The story follows IAMBIC’s origins in founder Maeve Wang’s search for shoes that fit and shows how data, biomechanics, and craft unite to deliver comfort that performs all day. Explore the technology.
Why standard sizing fails and how AI changes the outcome
Traditional sizing ignores the complexity of human feet. IAMBIC’s AI Fit Engine maps 3D geometry to predict pressure points, balance, and alignment. The result is footwear that fits precisely and supports performance, whether walking, presenting, or traveling.
“Most shoes start from a fixed size chart and a static last.”
Maeve Wang in Forbes
With AI-driven geometry, IAMBIC eliminates compromises between comfort, movement, and professional presentation.
How the IAMBIC system works
- Order MODEL T. Start from the product page.
- Complete your Virtual Consultation. After checkout, you’ll receive a link to capture three images per foot and complete your comfort profile.
- Receive your pair. Each order is handcrafted in Portugal and shipped in about four to six weeks.
- Balanced pressure: Data-optimized load distribution.
- Locked-in comfort: Geometry matched to your foot’s architecture.
- All-day performance: Stability that supports focus and endurance.
Engineered for leaders who move
Every step influences posture, focus, and energy. IAMBIC’s AI system reads twenty or more biometric variables to improve balance and reduce fatigue. This precision-fit approach has made IAMBIC the choice for executives seeking luxury performance footwear that supports demanding days.
Precision that reduces waste
IAMBIC’s made-to-order model prevents overproduction and reduces returns by ensuring each pair is built for a specific customer. Every shoe has an owner before it exists, aligning sustainability with craftsmanship and performance longevity.
“Precision fit means each pair has an owner before it is made.”
IAMBIC Engineering
About the Forbes Author
Anna Haines is a lifestyle journalist covering wellness, travel, food, and design for outlets including Architectural Digest, Bloomberg, Vogue, and Travel + Leisure. Her reporting focuses on innovation across culture and lifestyle industries.
The most interesting thing about them being crafted just for me is how well they fit. And I had never even noticed that my shoes didn't fit right. My other shoes don't hurt me - they just slosh around. With these, the heels actually stay on the whole time and it fits snugly yet still comfortably. And I'd never experienced that before. They just stay comfortable all day.
As a runner, as an athlete, just knowing that I'm doing a good service to my body is incredible. It’s the reason that I love my IAMBIC shoes. It's that precision that makes me feel safe to walk down the street, get on the subway, do my commute, bring my kids to school, and not feel concerned that I'm doing it in a shoe that doesn't fit right or that doesn't feel good.
The thing that I was surprised by the most with the precision fit is that any pressure points thatI had been feeling with the shoes that I previously came in wearing were completely gone. I was wearing a shoe that wasn't too tight. It wasn't too loose. The sole fit just right. Total comfort.That's the best way to put it.
So I suffer from chronic foot pain and I believe that a lot of that has to do with wearing shoes that actually don't fit. Whenever I wear my IAMBICs, I've noticed that I have felt less pain, which is really incredible. And they're just so comfortable. I'm not worried about the back of my heel popping out or my ankles not having enough support. Also, they're just so stylish and every time I wear them out in the street, I always get compliments, which never happens to me.
A shoe that may feel comfortable for a half hour walk is not a shoe that always feels comfort able for a three and a half hour walk. So what I like about IAMBIC is, even though the snug fit is there and it feels comfortable, it also feels substantial enough that I can walk a lot without getting any discomfort. That's just something that's especially important to me and I think the shoe has really delivered that.
The first moment that I tried on my IAMBIC shoes, I noticed a difference. I have small feet. So whenever I try on shoes, I usually expect them to not fit. If they do fit, there's usually some sort of discomfort, whether that's in the toe box or too much space or at the heel. So knowing that this shoe was tailored to my foot was really meaningful. It's rare that you find a shoe like IAMBIC that truly is comfortable, but also hits the markers of style versatility.
I think we're all placed on this earth as unique individuals. None of us are really off the rack in terms of sizing. So for me to have that experience of having something made specifically for me that fit perfectly was something that was a little bit mind blowing. And once I got the shoes, I tried them on, they looked great, they felt great. And honestly, they fit like a glove.
When we get behind the wheel of a Ferrari, Lamborghini, people feel that precision. 1 millimeter of change in the steering wheel, you will feel that. 1 millimeter of pressure into the accelerator, you’ll feel that. And for me, that is a linkage between performance, but then for me as I'm wearing my IAMBICs, it's just another reminder of how my IAMBICs are created based on that performance and the millimeter of precision that's included within the shoe which aligns up with the world of Ferrari and Lamborghini and the precision behind that.
Having a pair of shoes that I know will make me be able to stand up and do the job that I need to do without feeling burnt out or exhausted at the end of the day, which most shoes will end up doing no matter what they've been in the past. After a certain amount of time standing up, I don't think I've ever worried about that, or had that fatigue after a long shoot. At the end of a shoot when it's “Oh hey, we have to go into overtime." or something like that. This is something that helps me not feel the fatigue of being drained or tired because it's a pain that I don't get anymore from being on my feet for so long.
They're so comfortable that they're a part of life. They move with you, and I think that's the support, the comfort. I don't wear them just for the style, I wear them because they make me feel good. That's a really big thing for me.
When I wear my dress shoes, I'm constantly thinking OK, I wish I brought a pair of sneakers, and then when I have my sneakers on, then I'm tending to deal with the issues in the upper, right, part of the shoe whether on the front or back of my foot. So I want to say to myself, okay how do I replicate the feel of the IAMBIC shoe because I wear this every day.
What will happen is I'll wear my IAMBICs, I'm like this is great, like my day is good, I don't really notice anything. And then, if I switch to a different pair of shoes, especially like my very high end sneakers and I have a not bad collection of other high end sneakers, I'm immediately like ugh this just sucks like they really do. So I think it's the relational sort of experience where when I'm wearing my IAMBICs, I don't really notice and I think that says a lot. And it’s not until you wear a different set of shoes that you're like oh the reason I'm not noticing is because these fit my feet so well.