It’s been a long, hard battle here deep in the deserts of Las Vegas but the judges have chosen and we are ready to rock and roll. We are pleased to announce the finalists for the 2015 Hardware Battlefield in Las Vegas where 15 amazing companies vied for $50,000 and the coveted Metal Man statue.
All the Hardware Battlefield companies did an amazing job and the judges were endlessly impressed. Whether we were saving fish, fixing pools, or finding ourselves in the wilderness, the products were well-designed, usable, and worked perfectly in demo. Best of all, all of our contestants were able to show their wares at the Sands at CES 2015 and you can still see them all tomorrow at in Eureka Park at Level 2, Sands Expo, Booth 75468.
TechCrunch loves hardware and we’re looking for cool stuff all year round. If you didn’t make it out to Las Vegas this year, keep us posted on your project. Now, however, let’s celebrate the top five startups in our 2015 Hardware Battlefield.
Fogo Digital l http://fogo.io l Tyler Gilbert, Co-Founder & Principal/Electrical Engineer l Dustin Bouch, Co-Founder & Principal/Mechanical Engineer
Fogo Digital builds smart connected outdoor gadgets. Our flagship product is the Fogo, a durable waterproof smart flashlight with GPS and a digital radio (among other goodies). It is perfect for hiking, biking, camping, hunting, climbing, fishing, and all things outdoors/apocalyptic.
Location: Salt Lake City, UT USA l Date Founded: 12/1/2014 l USD Raised: $0
LookSee Labs Inc. l http://www.lookseelabs.com l Per Ljung, CEO
looksee is the next generation in fashion and technology with an always-on display wrapped around a modern design bracelet. The battery life is up to two years. Users can update their bracelet’s image from the looksee app to reflect the time, context, style, location or mood of their choice for the ultimate in self-expression.
Location: Oakland, CA USA l Date Founded: 1/12/2014 l USD Raised: Undisclosed
Peeple l peeple.io l Chris Chuter, Founder & CEO l David Genet, Founder & Chief Designer l Craig Sullender, Founder & CTO
Introducing Peeple: the elegant, compact, and easy-to-use caller ID for your front door. Peeple is a smart camera that attaches to existing peepholes and easily connects to home Wi-Fi to identify, inform, screen, and alert people to any outside presence. Say goodbye to the days of worrying about what time the kids got home, if the package arrived, or if there’s a potential intruder at the rental property. When the house is empty, Peeple is home.
Location: Austin, TX USA l Date Founded: 9/2014 l USD Raised: $50K
Sutro l http://www.mysutro.com l Ravi Kurani, CEO l Amanda Nagai, COO
Sutro is a water testing and data analytics company. Our first product, the Sutro Pool, is a sensor-driven, connected, learning device to right-size your water chemistry. It automates testing, ships you chemicals when you need them, and tells you how and when to administer them – keeping you and your family safe, and saving you time and money.
Location: San Francisco, CA USA l Date Founded: 1/1/2014
Voltera l www.volterainc.com l Alroy Almeida, Co-Founder l James Pickard, Co-Founder l Jesus Zozaya, Co-Founder l Katarina Ilic, Head of R&D
The Voltera V-One is a circuit board prototyping printer that enables hardware professionals and hobbyists to cut down their development time from months to days, drastically reducing their time to market. Custom circuits, just press print!
Location: Kitchener, ON, Canada l Date Founded: 6/06/2013 l USD Raised: $25K