Redmond-based Sensoria has managed to secure a $5 million first investment round from Italy’s Reply SpA, which in turn will get 20% of the company, along with a seat on their board.

Formerly known as Heapsylon, Sensoria makes several smart mobile-capable wearables such as smart socks, sports bras and T-shirts, as well as a platform that enables other companies to join the growing smart wearables market. The company plans to use the new money to “drive engineering, sales, and marketing efforts.”

Sensoria will use the new money to “drive engineering, sales, and marketing efforts.”“This round of financing will help us to accelerate the pace of innovation, convert data into wisdom, and make vision become reality for our customers and partners,” said Davide Vigano, co-founder and CEO of Sensoria.

Smart clothing is made for both professional athletes and fitness enthusiasts to help them improve performance and monitor health and wellness in real time. Sensoria products and the SDK include textile and sensors, electronics, cloud-based services, and mobile software.

Their technology incorporates step counting, speed, altitude, distance, heart rate and calories burned. Compared to “standard fitness bands” like Fitbit and Jawbone, Sensoria’s devices can capture more information, while also being able to deliver actionable information across different disciplines, not just walking and running.

Prior to this deal, Sensoria has raised $1 million in angel funding, and has ran an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign that produced $115,000.

[Via: VentureBeat]