This summer will be its fourth batch. As usual, the program takes zero equity, no intellectual property, and there are no strings attached. What’s different this year? “This year’s accelerator has a much stronger focus on industry-specific applications” says accelerator chief Yatan Blumenthal. “For the participating startups, working side-by-side with well established and heavy-weight industry partners Siemens, Bosch Car Multimedia, and Deutsche Bahn will open up the potential to relevant corporate collaborations”.
The program includes mentorships with leading hardware designers, marketers and business experts, opportunities for collaboration with corporate partners, and of course, 24/7 access to the betahaus hardware lab. From business modelling to branding, from legal advice to design for manufacturing; hardware.co’s network of professionals will support and equip startups to take their production cycle to the next level.
Previous batches included startups such as Senic, Soundbrenner, LUUV, and Miito. Miito, a sleek, innovative and energy-saving alternative to tea kettles, has since raised over €800K from enthusiastic kickstarter backers. They also received excellent media coverage, won multiple prizes including the prestigious James Dyson award, and is soon to hit the market. Senic, who was also in the prestigious Y Combinator, is already in its second batch for pre-orders for its smart home interface Nuimo. They received backing through crowdfunding as well as investors in Europe and the US. As hardware.co alumni startups continue to grow rapidly, we’re excited to see what 2016 brings.
This summers’ batch will be in the accelerator program from July 11th to 20th. Hardware startups can apply to the program via F6S here. This accelerator program is made possible by Bosch Car Multimedia, Deutsche Bahn, Siemens, Hy!, Startup Safari, Kiwi.ki, and Alphaboard.
More upcoming events and announcements you can find here!