When Elliott Hill came out of retirement to become the new CEO of Nike in October 2024, his goal was to implement a turnaround strategy focused on reorienting the brand around its core strengths in sport and innovation.

A year in, Nike has this week announced three key new developments looking to push the envelope in both areas.

Project Amplify

The first is Project Amplify, described as the world’s first powered-footwear system for running and walking, designed to help everyday athletes go a little bit faster and farther with less effort.

Engineered to augment natural lower-leg and ankle movement and built on motion algorithms informed by the Nike Sport Research Lab (NSRL), the first-generation footwear system is comprised of a lightweight powerful motor, drive belt and rechargeable cuff battery that seamlessly integrate with a carbon fibre-plated running shoe that can be worn with or without the robotics system.

This makes it easier for everyday athletes to walk or run more often, for longer amounts of time,

Akin to how electric bikes have made it easier to ride farther and more frequently, Nike is developing Project Amplify to make slower running, jogging and walking easier and more fun. 

Athletes of all abilities and intensities report that in testing the system feels like it’s part of their body and that it makes walking or running uphill feel like moving on flat ground.

Air Milano

Also new is the Therma-FIT Air Milano Jacket, powered by AIR (Adapt, Inflate, Regulate) technology and to be worn worn by Team USA athletes competing in the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Italy next February.

Air Milano combines Nike’s Air technology with a new laminate and computational design to provide dynamic warmth enabling athletes to personalise their thermal control in all conditions. The versatile, lightweight jacket adapts to athlete needs, allowing them to regulate their temperature in real time without changing layers by inflating or deflating air within the jacket’s baffles, offering a wide range of warmth levels.

This is made possible by a two-layer composite laminate material that’s both durable and soft to the touch, giving rise to an entirely new sensation in performance outerwear.

While most outerwear designs are limited by the horizontal construction required to contain down or synthetic fill, the designers found that a jacket built around Air technology freed them from those constraints, offering new possibilities in aesthetics and fit.

Built to inflate or deflate in seconds, the jacket also complements material innovations across Nike’s Functional Innovative Technologies (FIT) system of apparel, which includes Therma-FIT insulation, Aero-FIT cooling technology, sweat-wicking Dri-FIT solutions and Storm-FIT weather protection.

Mind 001 and 002

In a third developmet, Nike is introducing its first neuroscience-based footwear scientifically shown to activate key sensory areas of the brain via underfoot stimulation.

The Mind 001 and Mind 002 shoes feature 22 independent foam nodes per shoe that are bonded to a flexible, water-resistant material that allows them to act as pistons and gimbals as athletes move, imparting the feeling, and even the texture, of the ground directly beneath. This interaction is said to heighten sensory awareness, clear away distractions and enhance concentration.

www.nike.com