hardware startups

7 common pitfalls for hardware startups and how to avoid them

Hardware development is complex and challenging, and requires substantial investment in materials, tooling, manufacturing and logistics.

DIY: 5 ways disruptive component startups can win over OEMs

When people see use cases in action enabled by your components, it encourages others to start using your solution.

Show, don’t tell: Tips for robotics startups raising a Series B during a downturn

The climb uphill toward a Series B can get much easier if a robotics startup can showcase a solid business model, measurable metrics and a plan for the next 18 months.

SupPlant is an Internet of Trees solution dramatically reducing irrigation needs for thirsty crops

Agtech startup SupPlant‘s flagship product is, essentially, a Babel fish for plants: leveraging a set of hardware sensors, the plants can tell you whether they’ve been drinking enough wate

Menlo Micro switches on an opportunity for its tech to be in every device you touch

Traditionally, electrical engineers have to choose: high-power switches that are unreliable and slow, or high-speed, high-precision switches that can’t handle that much power. Menlo Microsystems

From surviving to thriving as a hardware startup

While there will never be one fully exhaustive answer, here are some of the lessons we learned over the years.

Exclusive: 2019 HAX report reveals hardware startup trends

Hardware startups are expanding from the world of consumer tech; global hardware accelerator HAX knows this better than most and details the latest trends in its yearly report. One of the most active

Hardware and robots to watch at the HAX IX demo day

An accelerator for hardware and robotics startups called HAX is holding its 9th Demo Day in San Francisco today. Startups pitching investors there span industries from education to agriculture and 

Sunflower Labs raises $2.1 million to build a flying home security system

Broadband at home, motion sensors and high definition video cameras led to a renaissance in home security systems over the past decade. But big problems remain in residential security, says Alex Pachi

Who invests in hardware?

We’re still in the early days of the hardware renaissance. Driven by decreased development costs, shorter times to market and a shift in hardware business models away from commoditized consumer elec

SmartSite uses sensors to monitor construction workers’ health and safety

A startup called SmartSite has released hardware and cloud-based software to help the construction industry track what their employees are exposed to and take measures to protect them from harm. Cance

Meet the 8th class of hardware startups from HAX

An accelerator called HAX held its 8th Demo Day for hardware startups in San Francisco yesterday. Best known for bringing companies in its portfolio to Shenzhen, China for about 15 weeks to get to kno

Build your brand, and they will come

To achieve market scale along the lines of GoPro and Fitbit, effectively working with big retailers is a necessary part of the process. Despite the growth of online channels, more than 90 percent of t

An insider’s handbook for IoT startups

Tips are everywhere. There’s an abundance of generic advice available for how to build teams and culture, how to fundraise, how to be productive, how to stay above the noise… But what about specif

Hardware is hard: How we built a hardware startup with two engineers and some free time

Hardware is hard. Building a hardware startup is even harder. The good news is that the staggering amount of innovation in rapid prototyping, 3D printing and backend-as-a-service platforms has made ha

3 pitfalls that can sink any crowdfunded hardware startup

You might have noticed something puzzling if you’ve been keeping an eye on the crowdfunding space: A large number of seemingly promising crowdfunded hardware startups fail to deliver. The list of hi

Who Invests In Hardware Startups?

While many angels and VCs are still skittish about hardware startups, there has been a massive renaissance in the hardware-funding ecosystem over the last few years. Since 2010, venture capital invest

Hardware Incubators Are Critical To The Future Of Making Things

Hardware is hot -- and poised to get hotter. Venture capital investment in connected device hardware startups reached approximately $1.48 billion in 2014, more than triple the amount of two years earl

Factories Aren’t Dying To Take Your Order And Other Hardware Startup Follies

As the Greater China Investment Partner for 500 Startups, I have been finding myself fielding an increasing number of questions about the manufacturing process in China, especially as we see more inve

Lemnos Labs Raises $20M, Opens 8,000 Sq. Ft. Warehouse To Support Early-Stage Hardware Startups

Hardware continues to be a hot sector in the startup community, with a number of investment firms backing startups that make physical goods to change the way we live. Lemnos Labs is one of those firms
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