PCH International is one of those quirky, successful mid-size companies you’ve probably never heard of. For starters, PCH is a Chinese manufacturing company named after a California highway that has headquarters located in Ireland. If you have a lot of gadgets lying around, you’ve probably used one and you may not even know it. PCH designs and produces electronics and gadgets in partnership with major PC manufacturers and consumer electronics brands. The company was raking in $400 million in revenue last year, on top of $41 million in funding raised to date (about half of which was closed in February).
Today, PCH Founder Liam Casey took to the Disrupt NYC stage following Lark Founder Julia Hu to announce that PCH is launching its own business accelerator called, appropriately, “PCH Accelerator” — and that Lark (a Disrupt SF alumni) will be the accelerator’s inaugural startup. LARK is an innovative silent waking system that lets the user wake naturally, according to their own biological clock. The system involves an iPhone app and a small band that you wear across your wrist while sleeping, which, of course, uses the latest science and technology to improve sleep patterns and enhance sleep quality with a personalized sleep coach. It’s great for couples, especially if one side of that relationship is a snorer.
And speaking of relationships, in probably the best moment of the morning, LARK Founder Julia Hu was proposed to by her boyfriend through the slideshow deck on the monitors, and then onstage:
While LARK already had a head start, launching at SF Disrupt last September, PCH Accelerator will be helping to bring startups like LARK from concept to reality, by offering the small startup access to PCH’s unique business model. PCH will be offering 10K feet of new office space in San Francisco, and will be offering office space in China as well. Startups will also be provided with designers, product development engineers, and more.
For those who might be wondering what PCH would bring to your fledgling product or startup, PCH as a business has enabled the disruption of traditional supply chain models, contributing to the success of many of the world’s largest technology brands. On stage, Hu said that Casey and PCH had helped them produce 12 different prototypes of LARK, and when the Japanese earthquake interrupted the supply chain for LARK devices, Casey and PCH were able to find work arounds due to their giant supply chain and deep integration in the market.
To learn more about the PCH Accelerator, check it out here.