YC for Hardware
blog.ycombinator.com
YC for Hardware
1–10 of 132 posts
Re: YC for Hardware
#2I'm a bit out of the loop on hardware startups, but has YC funded many successful hardware startups? The only one I've heard of is Pebble.
Lowering the barrier to hardware startups is an awesome thing, of course. Hardware has a greater potential to directly impact lives at this point than software. There's tremendous software power locked up in the small, awkward-to-use computing devices we call phones, tablets, laptops, desktops, and servers.
Re: YC for Hardware
#3>and we don’t shy away from expensive hardware--we’ve funded companies building things like nuclear reactors and rockets, which will require hundreds of millions of dollars in funding to succeed
How does this make sense for YC to do?
Re: YC for Hardware
#4Wait, why is Tilt on the list of startups helping out with hardware expertise? Aren't they a crowdfunding company?
Re: YC for Hardware
#5>and we don’t shy away from expensive hardware--we’ve funded companies building things like nuclear reactors and rockets, which will require hundreds of millions of dollars in funding to succeed How does this make sense for YC to do?
I'd guess that it's part of a diversified approach. Yes, they are capital intensive, but YC isn't the one who will be investing the hundreds of millions, and if one of these is successful, then I'd say it's likely to be hugely successful and a worthwhile return for YC.
Re: YC for Hardware
#6From first paragraph: Bolt’s partners and engineering stuff
*i think you meant staff
Re: YC for Hardware
#7Wait, why is Tilt on the list of startups helping out with hardware expertise? Aren't they a crowdfunding company? https://www.tilt.com
A lot of the very recent, surprising successes in hardware (Oculus, Pebble) were crowdfunded (specifically for those, Kickstarted). I would go as far to say that using a premier crowdfunding platform to test the market may be the best, lowest risk way to validate a hardware idea. Or at least crowdfunding lowers the barrier for hardware success from "damn near impossible" to "really really hard."
Re: YC for Hardware
#8I'm a bit out of the loop on hardware startups, but has YC funded many successful hardware startups? The only one I've heard of is Pebble. Lowering the barrier to hardware startups is an awesome thing, of course. Hardware has a greater potential to directly impact lives at this point than software. There's tremendous software power locked up in the small, awkward-to-use computing devices we call phones, tablets, lapt…
Boosted Boards is another one: http://boostedboards.com/
Re: YC for Hardware
#9Interested hardware startups should be sure to check out Wearable World as well:
http://www.wearableworld.co/
They have a similar focus on hardware, great numbers re the percent of each class that gets funded, and have had some big successes like the Skully AR-1 intelligent motorcycle helmet: http://www.skully.com/
WW recently toured the AQS facility in Fremont where a lot of well known products are being made like Makerbot and the Lift Labs tremor defeating spoon, and class members get frequent introductions to everyone from investors to Perkins offering billing for law services only on funding. It has been a pretty kickass program so far.
Re: YC for Hardware
#10Wait, why is Tilt on the list of startups helping out with hardware expertise? Aren't they a crowdfunding company? https://www.tilt.com
Indeed. But crowdfunding has opened up a new channel for hardware startups: preorders. It makes developing a hardware product, which used to be very difficult and take a lot of up-front investment, much more accessible. It's still difficult (see all of the infinitely-delayed crowdfunded projects), but has been getting steadily easier over the past few years. Crowdfunding serves as nondilutive financing to the startups and can also signal market validation to future investors. It is a very important part of the chain.