Hardware Investment Trends and Opportunities

HAX | HARDWARE TRENDS 2017 | PAGE 1
2017
HARDWARE
TRENDS
IT’SSTEAMENGINETIME
WWW.HAX.CO
JULY2017

FOREWORD Software is eating the world,  
and the world is hardware. 
You need both to make it smarter. 
This is our third report.
It started as new perspectives on hardware startups
were needed, beyond unicorns, Fitbit’s stock price, 
or the latest crowdfunding chaos. 
As investors focused on hardware for the past 5 years 
(>200 investments), we see the ongoing re-invention 
of every physical product category & industry.
 
We hope this report provides a broader perspective 
as to what is happening, and coming next.
AUTHORS
BENJAMIN JOFFE - WRITING LEAD 
VITALY VYAZOVSKY - CREATIVE LEAD 
 
KEY CONTRIBUTORS 
KATE WHITCOMB - CONSUMER 
DUNCAN TURNER - HEALTH,
ENTERPRISE, INDUSTRY 
ZONA LIU - CHINA 
CYRIL EBERSWEILER - FINANCING

WWW.HAX.CO
/ ABOUT HAX
HAX IS A PROGRAM-BASED
HARDWARE FUND 
THAT INVESTED IN OVER 
200 GLOBAL STARTUPS
/ OTHER HAX REPORTS
HARDWARE TRENDS 2016 
HARDWARE TRENDS 2015 
THE STATE OF ROBOTICS 2015
/ HAX TALKS
BUILDING HARDWARE FROM ZERO TO IPO (2017) 
THE RISE OF CONSUMER & SERVICE ROBOTS (2017) 
THE RISE OF GENERATION HEALTH (2017) 
HAX CROWDFUNDING GUIDE (2017)
CONTACT US: MAKEIT@HAX.CO

Many of the examples  
used in this report are 
SOSV / HAX investments. 
Notable exceptions are 
unicorns (it’s coming), 
crowdfunding failures, 
and Juicero :)
DISCLOSURE
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors thank:
• / The many founders  
we work with, for their insights,
• / Our creative team, for taking 
this report to new levels,
• / The many more participants 
in the hardware revolution.
/ It is 2017 and this is  
just the beginning.

AIRE
ALPHA GLASS
AMBER TECHNOLOGIES 
BABYBE
BARTESIAN
BBB
BEETL
BERKELEY ULTRASOUND
BLOOM
CARV
CIRCADIA
CRIAMTECH
DIABETO
DISPATCH
ELEPHANT ROBOTICS
FEEL
FEETME
FLAIR
FLICKTEK
FLOW NEUROSCIENCE
FROBOT
GARDENSPACE
HISENS
JAPET
JOY
KEEN
KINDARA
KNITERATE
KOKOON
LEAP
LIEF THERAPEUTICS
LILU
LIVIN FARMS
LOOKING GLASS
LOVELY
MAKEBLOCK
MILKSAFE
MINDSET
MINUT
MOJO
MOONA
MOUSR
NOMIKU
NURA
O2O2
ORENDA
PARTICLE
PETCUBE
PRYNT
PYCNO
RAY BABY
REVOLS
SANA
SIMBE ROBOTICS
SMARTFUSE
SMARTSHEPHERD
SONICAM
TRAINERBOT
VOLTERA
VUE
WAZER
YEELIGHT
HAX 
STARTUPS 
QUOTED 
INTHIS
REPORT
WWW.HAX.CO

02/
03/
04/
05/
06/
07/
01/
ENTERPRISE
CHINA
HEALTH
INDUSTRY
LATE STAGE FINANCING
CONSUMER
GENERAL TRENDS 8
/TABLEOFCONTENTS
59
120
153
186
203
226
08/ ABOUT SOSV & HAX 237

GENERALTRENDS
01
FROM CONSTRUCTION TO INSURANCE.
02
UNICORNS ARE HARDWARE STARTUPS, 11
ARE FROM CHINA.
03
COMPUTER VISION TO MACHINE
LEARNING AND BIG DATA.
04
AND DEVICES MIGHT BECOME TROJAN
HORSES FOR INSURANCE.
05
PLACE FOR HARDWARE
SECTORS
06
REINVENTED WITH DEEP TECH AND BIG
DATA.
07
DESPITE MEDIA REPORTS, MOST
CREATORS SHIP.
08
AND HEALS. DIGITAL THERAPIES
COMPETE WITH PHARMA.
09
WITH SENSORS, DATA AND ROBOTS.
EXECUTIVESUMMARY
12
INCLUDE MICRO-CAP IPOS, REG A+, RMS,
AND MORE.
10
DOMESTIC STARTUPS, WITH A FEW
GLOBAL-MINDED PLAYERS.
11/
“SILICON VALLEY FOR HARDWARE”
CHINA LATESTAGEFINANCING

GENERAL 
TRENDS
INVESTMENT, 
COMMUNITIES 
SECURITY & MORE01/

STEAM 
ENGINE 
TIME
ENTERING  
A GOLDEN AGE

STEAM ENGINE TIME 
NEWCOMEN
ATMOSPHERIC  
ENGINE 
1712
JAMES WATT 
STEAM ENGINE 
1781
STEAM ENGINES HAD BEEN AROUND
FOR A WHILE. BUT HIGH COST AND
POOR PERFORMANCE LIMITED ITS USE 
TO PUMPING WATER IN MINES
JAMES WATT MADE IT 
CHEAPER & MORE EFFICIENT. 
IT BECAME VERSATILE. 
 
STEAM THEN POWERED MANY
INDUSTRIES SUCH AS TEXTILE,
TRANSPORTATION, AND… THE TIMES
‘AEOLIPILE’ 
BY HERO OF
ALEXANDRIA 
1ST CENTURY A.D.
“PENNY”  
ROTARY PRESS 
1843
KOENIG  
PRINTING PRESS, 
1814
STARTED AS 
PENNY PRESS 
1851
KEY IMPROVEMENTS 
STARTED A REVOLUTION

APERFECT 
STORMIN 
HARDWARE
CHEAPER  
COMPONENTS
ONBOARD 
CPU
RETAILERS 
FOR HIGH-TECH
SMALL BATCH 
MANUFACTURING  
MICRO-CAPS, 
REG A+…
CLOUD CROWDFUNDING 
& PRE-SALES
SOCIAL MEDIA 
TO TEST DEMAND
SMARTPHONES
NEW & BETTER 
PROTOTYPING 
TOOLS

NEW
EXPECTATIONS 
PERSONALIZATION,  
SPECIALIZATION 
RISING
COMPLEXITY  
HIGHER
DEFENSIBILITY  
WITH DEEP TECH
CUSTOMERS KEEN  
BUT WARY  
WANT TO AVOID
DEPENDENCIES AND
DEVICE OBSOLESCENCE 
DIVERGENCE NOW 
NO UNIFYING HUB
OR TECHNOLOGY 
CONVERGENCE
LATER?
01/ 02/ 03/ 04/ 05/
SMARTDEVICESMULTIPLY 
THANKSTOLOWERBARRIERS
OFENTRY
SEGMENTATION 
LOWER BARRIERS  
& MARKET GROWTH
MAKE SOME NICHES
VIABLE FOR NEW
ENTRANTS

STARTUP AVERAGE 
FROM IDEA TO IPO 
8 YEARS
R&D PROTOTYPE PROTOTYPE PRODUCTION ONLINE GLOBAL IPOOFFLINE
PRODUCTIZING RETAIL
YEAR 01 YEAR 02 YEAR 03 YEAR 04 YEAR 05 YEAR 06 YEAR 07 YEAR 08
COULDWEDOITIN4ORLESS 
WITHTHERIGHTSUPPORT?
DISTINCT AND TIME-INTENSIVE PHASES
R&D IPO
HARDWARE SCALING  
IS MORE LINEAR 
THAN SOFTWARE

MANY ARE OVER  
10 YEARS OLD
2002
IPO
2007
IPO
2005
PRIVATE
2009
ACQUIRED
2009
ACQUIRED
2009
PIVOT
2009
PRIVATE
1994
IPO & PIVOT
2009
CHARITY
1999
BANKRUPT
SMARTDEVICES 
PIONEERS 
CELEBRATE 
ANNIVERSARY

FALLEN SOLDIERS  
OF THE INDUSTRIAL AGE
MANY NEW THINGS 
CAN BE MADE
DEMAND WILL DECIDE 
ON SURVIVORS

TEAM ALIGNMENT
& COMMUNICATION
POOR
POSITIONING TECHNICAL
FEASIBILITY
FEATURE
CREEP
NEGLECT PR
& MARKETING
LACK OF
DEMAND
HANDS-OFF
MANUFACTURING
SLOW
PROTOTYPING
UNPREPARED
FOR RETAIL
BAD TERMS
FOR CASH FLOW
POOR SKILLS
FOR FINANCING
LACK OF
GRIT
WHATKILLS 
HARDWARE 
STARTUPS?
MOSTLY,  
THEMSELVES 
 
MANY SNAKES 
FEW LADDERS

Clarify 
Responsibilities
One founder 
full time on business
Plan & Communicate
Internally
Cut features
Track runway
Find best resources 
at each step
Communicate externally
Ask for advice
Follow up
Validate demand
EXTERNALLY
Find leads
HOW 
HARDWARE 
STARTUPS 
SUCCEED
Show commitment

INVESTMENT

01/
02/
03/
MORE INVESTORS  
& KNOWLEDGE
INVESTORS 
GETSAVVY 
ABOUT 
HARDWARE
HARDWARE INVESTMENT SPREADING  
MANY FIRMS DEDICATE A PARTNER 
SPECIALISTS EMERGING  
FOR PRE-SEED, SEED, GROWTH…  
FOR ROBOTICS, HEALTH, ETC. 
INVESTORS EXPECT MORE 
CONSUMER = PREFERRED WITH SAAS 
HEALTH TECH = NEEDS PROOF OR FDA 
B2B = NEEDS CUSTOMERS

HARDWARE 
INVESTOR 
CHECKLIST 
UNDERSTAND MANUFACTURING CONSTRAINTS 
INTRODUCE OTHER HARDWARE FOUNDERS FOR GUIDANCE
BRING EXPERIENCE IN LAUNCHING A PRODUCT
INTRODUCE CUSTOMERS 
HELP ANTICIPATE COSTS & RUNWAY 
INTRODUCE RELEVANT FOLLOW-ON INVESTORS
“If your prototype is ugly, people think you have nothing. 
If it’s pretty they think you’re ready to ship. 
Yet you might still be a year away… if you know what you’re doing.”
ARE YOU ABLE TO…?
BENJAMIN JOFFE, PARTNER, HAX

HAX (SOSV) 
$150M ACCELERATOR  
& SEED FUND
BOLT
$80M SEED FUND
LEMNOS LABS
$50M SEED FUND
ROOT / VENTURES
$30M SEED FUND
HARDWARE CLUB
$28M SEED FUND
PLAYGROUND 
$300M FUND
ECLIPSE VC 
$433M FUND
SOME SPECIALISTS  
EMERGING
GRISHIN ROBOTICS
$100M SEED FUND

ASIA 
 
CHN - HAX 
HKG - BRINC, READWRITE LABS 
JPN - MAKERS BOOTCAMP 
KOR - SPARKLABS, N15 
IND - REVXX, IKP EDEN 
EUROPE
AUT - HARDWARE TRIBE 
EST - BUILDIT 
GBR - STARTUPBOOTCAMP 
GER - HARDWARE.CO 
ITA - INDUSTRIO
USA
SF - HAX 
SF - HIGHWAY1 
SF - READWRITE LABS 
LA - MAKE IN L.A. 
PGH - ALPHALAB GEAR
FROM PROTOTYPE TO PRODUCT
HARDWARE
ACCELERATORS
WANTTOSOLVE
THEFIRSTSTEPS
FROM BOOTCAMPS TO MONTHS-LONG PROGRAMS 
FROM FREE SUPPORT TO INVESTMENT

U.S.VCINVESTMENTINIOT
SOURCE: PITCHBOOK DATA, STEVE MYERS, CEO, MINDTRIBE
*AS OF NOV 2016
0
300
600
900
1,200
1,500
0
50
100
150
200
250
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016*
Deal Count
Invested ($M)
1,2731,106
822
560536
174
236
197
136
9090
136
197
236
174

INVESTMENTINROBOTICS
SOURCES: CB INSIGHTS, THE ROBOT REPORT, JUNE 2017
0
500
1,000
1,500
2,000
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
1,950
587
273176191155
Invested ($M)

0
250
500
750
1,000
1,250
1,500
Xiaomi
MagicLeap
Ofo
Nio
Mobike
Meizu
BloomEnergy
View
Peloton
ProteusHealth
Essential
Royole
SigFox
Zoox
Mobvoi
Carbon
Lytro
Roku
Ring
3DR
Razer
Njoy
TinkLabs
Anki
Velodyne
Devialet
Thalmic
Quanergy
RethinkRobotics
AeroFarms
UBTech
Sphero
Juicero
DJI
Roobo
QUADRUPLE NUMBER OF STARTUPS 
WITH >$100M FUNDING SINCE 2014  
CHINA DOMINATES THE TOP SPOTS
4X
‘SECONDWAVE’REACHESSCALE
X US$100 MILLION
Source: Crunchbase, media reports 
Note: Jawbone (raised $900M) filed for bankruptcy
THE NUMBER OF HARDWARE STARTUPS 
WITH OVER $100M IN FUNDING 
QUADRUPLED SINCE 2014 (8 TO 35)

XIAOMI  
& ‘MINI-MI’
ACQUIREDIPO
OTHER  
CHINESE
WESTERN
9%
2/3
HARDWARE 
UNICORNS
 
OFGLOBAL 
BLESSING 
FROM
CHINA
18

SOFTWAREGIANTS 
BUILD&BUY
HARDWARE

MOREMNCSINVEST 
INHARDWARE
STARTUPS
BEAM SUNTORY INVESTED IN COCKTAIL ROBOT BARTESIAN
SAMSUNG INVESTED IN SOUS-VIDE COMPANY NOMIKU

BY TECH COMPANIES
 
TECHNOLOGY IS OFTEN
THE #1 MOTIVATION
 
OTHERS CAN BE ADDING
SALES, OR ACQUIRING
DATA OR TEAM
SOFTBANK ACQUIRED BOSTON
DYNAMICS FROM GOOGLE 
New expectations?
Buyer Company Value
Amazon Kiva $775M
Apple Beats $3B
Apple PrimeSense $350M
Apple Beddit n.a.
Facebook Oculus $2B
Fitbit Coin n.a.
Fitbit Pebble $28M
Fitbit Vector $15M
Google Nest $3.2B
Google Dropcam $555M
Intel Mobileye $15B
Intel Recon $175M
Intel Basis $100M
Nokia Withings $191M
Omron Adept $200M
Samsung SmartThings $200M
Softbank Arm $32B
Softbank Boston Dynamics n.a.
Softbank Shaft n.a.
Stratasys Makerbot $400M
Teradyne Universal Robots $285M
Wanfeng Tech Paslin $300M
RECENT ACQUISITIONS
MORE 
M&A

RECENT ACQUISITIONS
BY NON—TECH  
COMPANIES
 
MOST SEEK 
PRODUCT LINES 
AND DATA SOURCES
MORE 
M&A
J&J BOUGHT ILLUMASK 
LIGHT THERAPY MASK FOR ACNE
Buyer Company Value
Electrolux Anova $250M
Fossil Misfit $260M
General Motors Cruise $1B
Johnson & Johnson IlluMask n.a.
Mars Whistle $117M
Mattel Fuhu $21.5M
Midea Kuka $3.9B
KUKA IS NOW 
PART OF CHINA’S MIDEA
MARS ACQUIRED WHISTLE 
FOR ITS DOGS ACTIVITY DATA

THREE EXOSKELETON COMPANIES 
WENT PUBLIC IN 2014SNAPSHOTOFSELECTPUBLIC
HARDWARECOMPANIES
FORTUNESVARY STOCK VARIATION SINCE IPO
-1
-0.5
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
Ekso Cyberdyne Rewalk
-88%
77%83%
-1
-0.5
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
iRobot Square GoPro Fitbit
-83%-75%
86%
176%

HARDWARE 
STARTUP 
CHALLENGES

CROWDFUNDING  
IS THE EXCEPTION  
YOU GET THE
MONEY FIRST!
DIRECT PRE-SALES 
MAINTAINS MOMENTUM 
WITH MARKETING UNTIL
YOU SHIP
MAKING THINGS 
COST MONEY 
NEGATIVE CASH FLOW  
SLOWS YOU DOWN 
(OR KILLS YOU)
PEOPLE, PAPERWORK 
& PATIENCE 
SELLING OFFLINE 
TAKES TIME
FINANCING&CASH
FLOWAREKEY 
FORHARDWARE
CASH FLOW IS KING 
WHEN ARE SUPPLIERS, 
RETAILERS… AND YOU, 
GETTING PAID?

“Manufacturing is capital intensive.  
Cash flow improves if you credit your assembly. 
Our manufacturer gave us special payment terms.”
FINANCING THE FIRST  
PRODUCTION RUNS IS  
ALWAYS A CHALLENGE
“ ALEX NESKIN, COFOUNDER / PETCUBE 
SMART DEVICES FOR PETS

STARTUPS  
GO HIGH-TECH, 
INCREASE DEFENSIBILITY
MAKERS  
KEEP FOCUS ON DIY, FUN 
& EDUCATION,
HAX SHIFTED
ATTENDANCE FROM
MAKERFAIRE TO CES
STARTUPS
&
MAKERS 
GROW
FURTHER
APART

GLOBALIZATION
FORCES ‘MAKER’
STARTUPS 
TO CHANGE
3DR DROPS D.I.Y. DRONES 
FOR CONSUMER DRONES. 
OUTPACED, THEY FOCUS NOW 
ON B2B DRONE SOFTWARE
NYC-BASED 3D PRINTING 
COMPANY GETS ACQUIRED 
THEN RELOCATES PRODUCTION 
FROM NYC TO CHINA

ECOSYSTEM

EXHIBITORS PER COUNTRY
STRONG: FRANCE & KOREA 
WEAK: JAPAN & GERMANY 
HAX: 83 STARTUPS!
USA
CHINA
FRANCE
TAIWAN
SOUTH KOREA
HONG KONG
HAX
CANADA
UK
JAPAN
GERMANY
ISRAEL
0 450 900 1350 1800
CES2017: 
APROXYFOR
HARDWARE
INNOVATION

STARTUPS ARE BOOMING
0
150
300
450
600
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
EXHIBITOR BOOTHS IN EUREKA PARK 
(EARLY STAGE STARTUP ZONE)
CES2017: 
APROXYFOR
HARDWARE
INNOVATION

02/
03/
04/
01/
FRENCH PRESIDENT EMMANUEL MACRON  
AT THE OPENING OF STATION F 
THE WORLD'S LARGEST INCUBATOR, 
WITH 1,000 STARTUP 
 
PROJECT FINANCED BY FRENCH TECH
BILLIONAIRE XAVIER NIEL FOR $280M
HOW FRANCE BECAME 
A TECH POWERHOUSE 
WITH “FRENCH TECH”
IN LESS THAN 5 YEARS!
ENTREPRENEURS LEAD 
INVEST IN & SUPPORT ECOSYSTEM
HARDWARE CHAMPIONS 
SIGFOX, DEVIALET, ETC.
‘FRENCH TECH’ 
GLOBAL BRANDING EFFORT
CORPORATES OPEN UP 
WELCOME STARTUP TALENT

BANGALORE, LONDON 
PARIS, TEL AVIV 
SF, NYC
OFFLINE
HARDWARE
COMMUNITIES
KEEPGROWING
APPLIEDSINGULARITY
IOTLONDON
SFHARDWARE
IOTPARIS
SFIOT
IOTCENTRALNYC
HARDWIREDNYC
IOTISRAEL
NYCHWSTARTUP
IOTSF/SV
11,757
10,720
6,657
5,942
5,941
5,596
5,481
4,799
4,373
3,421
Jun 2017
Jun 2016
Mar 2015
MEMBERSHIP OF THE WORLD’S TOP 10 HARDWARE/IOT MEETUPS

ONLINE
HARDWARE
RESOURCES  
MULTIPLY
POPULAR ONLINE 
RESOURCES ON
HARDWARE
HACKSTER.IO 
COMMUNITY OF 200,000 HARDWARE LEARNERS,
ENGINEERS & MAKERS (65% PRO, 35% HOBBYIST).
ACQUIRED BY AVNET. 
 
MAKE 
DIY PROJECTS AND IDEAS FOR MAKERS 
 
 
FICTIV 
ONLINE 3D PRINTING & CNC MACHINING SERVICES 
 
 
SILICON VALLEY ROBOTICS 
INFORMATION AND EVENTS 
ON THE LATEST IN ROBOTICS 
 
 
HACKADAY 
NEWS AND HACKS ABOUT HARDWARE 
 
 
HARDWARE TREK 
COLLABORATIVE PLATFORM FOR HARDWARE
INNOVATION 
 
 
HARDWARE MASSIVE 
GLOBAL COMMUNITY PLATFORM FOR HARDWARE
STARTUPS

DEFENDING 
INNOVATION 
WITHDATA 
&MORE

776.65.8
576.65
776.65.8
576.65
776.65.8
576.65
776.65.8
576.65
776.65.8
576.65
776.65.8
576.65
776.65.8
576.65
776.65.8
576.65
776.65.8
576.65
776.65.8
576.65
776.65.8
576.65
776.65.8
576.65
“HARDWARE: 
DATAACQUISITION 
TOOLFORA.I.
Hardware can be 
a data acquisition 
strategy for A.I. companies.” 
“Private data gives 
a competitive advantage 
over public datasets.”
NILS MATTISSON, CEO, MINUT 
CAMERA-FREE HOME SECURITY

DEALINGWITH 
COPYCATS 
SOFTWARE 
OFTEN THE STRONGEST DEFENSE
TRADEMARK 
A SIMPLE & COST-EFFECTIVE PROTECTION
PATENTS 
COSTLY & HARD TO DEFEND AT FIRST, USEFUL LATER
CERTIFICATIONS 
GIVES A STRONG LEAD IN AN AREA. ESPECIALLY FDA.
DATA 
A STRONG EDGE OVER PUBLIC DATA SOURCES
COMMUNITY 
CONTRIBUTE FAME, DATA OR CODE
REPUTATION 
A LONG-TERM DIFFERENTIATOR

It's easy to copy hardware. 
It's hard to copy software.” 
 
“Building a strong brand, 
acquiring an audience early, 
patents can also help defend  
against copycats.” 
 
Alex Neskin 
Cofounder, Petcube 
Smart Devices For Pets
“

MAR 2017 - CLOUDPETS
CONNECTED BEAR LEAKED
KIDS’S RECORDINGS +
INFO OF HUNDREDS OF
THOUSANDS 
OF CUSTOMERS.
SEP 2016 - MIRAI BOTNET
ATTACKS VIA MILLIONS OF
IOT DEVICES. 80% WERE
DVRS AND WEBCAMS STILL
USING FACTORY-SET
PASSWORDS.
2015 - CHRYSLER
HACK TRIGGERS
RECALL OF 
1.4M VEHICLES
JUN 2016 - INSULIN PUMP
VULNERABILITIES LEAD 
TO WARNING OF 
114,000 PATIENTS
JUN 2017 - 30,000 
SMART FRIDGES
INFECTED BY THE 
PIED PIPER VIRUS
HACKERSTHREATEN 
YOURCAR,YOURHOME… 
ANDYOURINSULINPUMP

TECH 
HELL?
OUR
FUTURE
HACKERS CONTROLLING  
OUR DEVICES AND RANSOMING 
WITH CRYPTOCURRENCIES?

INSURERS & IOT

NILS MATTISSON / CEO, MINUT 
CAMERA-FREE HOME SECURITY
“
CONNECTEDDEVICES 
ATTRACTINSURERS
All major insurers look at IoT. 
The focus is mostly on prevention of damages 
(and thereby increased margins) rather than
precise pricing»

DIFFERENT 
MOTIVATIONS
EXPLORATION OF 
BUSINESS MODELS
PREVENTION 
AVOID DAMAGES
PRECISION 
TAILOR TO NEEDS
PROOF 
VERIFY CLAIM
GIVEAWAYS 
 
 
DISCOUNTS 
 
 
RENTAL 
 
 
USAGE-BASED
CONNECTED 
DEVICES 
ATTRACT 
INSURERS

USAGE-BASED 
CAR INSURANCE
PROGRESSIVE 
 
USES OBD SYSTEM 
BY ZUBIE
SMOKE ALARM 
FOR FREE
LIBERTY MUTUAL 
 
FREE NEST PROTECT, 
AND 5% POLICY REBATE
HOME SECURITY 
DISCOUNT
AMERICAN FAMILY
$30 OFF THE RING 
SMART DOOR BELL, 
AND POLICY REBATES
SMART TOOTHBRUSH 
FOR FREE + USAGE-
BASED REBATES
BEAM DENTAL
FOR THE ENTIRE FAMILY,
OFFERS USAGE-BASED
REBATES
SOURCE: INTERNET OF BUSINESS
ACTIVITY TRACKER 
FOR FREE
JOHN HANCOCK
WANTS CUSTOMERS TO
STAY HEALTHY
CONNECTEDDEVICES 
ATTRACTINSURERS

2015
SMART TOOTHBRUSH
2016
. INSURANCE PLANS 
. FLOSS, TOOTHPASTE  
SUBSCRIPTION
. FIND & RATE
DENTISTS
THE BIRTH OF PURE 
IOT-POWERED 
INSURERS?
IOT: 
TROJANHORSE 
FORINSURANCE 
…ANDMORE

FUTURE
OPPORTUNITIES 
FORINSURANCE
01/ SELF-DRIVING VEHICLES 
02/ SHARING ECONOMY 
03/ SMART HOME 
04/ HOME ENERGY STORAGE SOLUTIONS

WHERETOBUILD A
HARDWARESTARTUP?
THE WORLD OF HARDWARE 
RESOURCES IS NOT FLAT 

ISSILICON
VALLEY 
HOSTILEFOR
EARLYSTAGE
STARTUPS?
HIGH SALARIES & COST 
OF LIVING, RECRUITING
DIFFICULTIES & LOW
RETENTION MAKE IT HARDER
“It's easier to start a company 
outside the Valley than in it.”
SERGEY BRIN 
PRESIDENT, ALPHABET 
CO-FOUNDER, GOOGLE
“

NON-VALLEY
LOCATIONSCAN
HAVENOTABLE
ADVANTAGES
LOWER RENTS, SALARIES,
EASIER HIRING AND TAX
ADVANTAGES CREATE
ARBITRAGE OPPORTUNITIES
STARTING ABROAD
 
CANADA: UP TO 35% TAX CREDIT ON R&D
FRANCE: 30% TAX CREDIT ON R&D
AUSTRALIA: UP TO 43.5% TAX CREDIT ON R&D
STARTING RURAL
SPRITE ROBOTICS RAN A YEAR  
WITH $1,000/FOUNDER/MONTH  
IN CHAMPAIGN, ILLINOIS.  
HIRED MSC & PHDS FROM
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS. Singapore, Malaysia, China, Hong Kong 
also offer various advantages to startups

ISSILICON
VALLEY 
SUITABLEFOR 
HARDWARE
STARTUPS?
COSTS, KNOW-HOW AND 
LACK OF SUPPLY CHAIN 
ADD TO THE CHALLENGE
“Founders should seek
world-class resources. 
Their R&D, prototyping,
production, financing 
and sales could take place 
in five different locations. 
 
For hardware, prototyping
and production often mean
Shenzhen.”
BENJAMIN JOFFE 
PARTNER, HAX
“

CONSUMER  
DEVICES
02/

PRODUCTS 
MORE SCIENCE & SOFTWARE FOR
DIFFERENTIATION & DEFENSIBILITY 
CROWDFUNDING  
STILL PATH OF CHOICE TO LAUNCH
CONSUMER HARDWARE 
INVESTORS  
OFTEN WAIT FOR PROOF OF DEMAND
& SALES. MOVING TO B2B
DISTRIBUTION  
RETAILERS GET SAVVY, DEDICATE
BUYERS & SHELVES 
 
 
CONSUMERS MATURING
QUESTION UTILITY, COMPATIBILITY,
DRMS, OBSOLESCENCE 
NEW BUSINESS MODELS
CONSUMABLES, SUBSCRIPTION.
SELLING DATA UNPROVEN
TRENDS  
IN CONSUMER 
TECH
EXPLOSION  
IN VARIETY & COMPLEXITY

WEARABLES
GO HIGH TECH OR DIE?

SMART 
DEVICE 
FEVER 
COOLING 
DOWN
Startups like Hello and Fitbit sold investors
on hardware as a data pool, but failed to
deliver. It's hard to find a model that
investors like.” 
“Negotiations with manufacturer are
tough, and retailers are more careful in
terms of sales in.” 
“More positive, tools to make decisions
with data for product and marketing have
multiplied.”
INVESTORS,
MANUFACTURERS,
RETAILERS
ARE MORE CAUTIOUS
CLEMENT PERROT,  
CEO, PRYNT 
TURNS PHONES INTO 
INSTANT CAMERAS
“

DEATHOF
WEARABLES: 
VASTLY
EXAGGERATED?
INVESTMENT SHIFTS 
FROM WELLNESS 
TO MEDICAL-GRADE DEVICES

THE FIRST
GENERATION  
OF SMART WATCHES  
AND BANDS IS ‘DONE’
THE WINNERS ARE 
APPLE, FITBIT, SAMSUNG 
AND… XIAOMI WITH 
ITS LOW-COST BANDS

FITBIT
IPO
MISFIT
ACQ. BY FOSSIL
$260M
WITHINGS
ACQ. BY NOKIA
$190M
PEBBLE
ACQ. BY FITBIT
$23M
BASIS
ACQ. BY INTEL
$100M
THE FIRST GENERATION OF 
SMART WATCHES & BANDS  
IS ‘DONE’
NO MAJOR INDEPENDENT PLAYER LEFT

PRODUCT
REINVENTION  
WITH 
DEEP TECH
01/
02/
03/
04/
05/
CONNECTED 
SMART 
PERSONALIZED 
SPECIALIZED 
INTELLIGENT 
FROM CONNECTED TO INTELLIGENT

RE-INVENTION  
WITH DEEP TECH
EXAMPLE:
AUDIO
PRODUCTS
PRODUCT DESCRIPTION IMPROVEMENT TECHNOLOGY FIELD
APPLE AIRPODS FULL WIRELESS EARPHONES CONNECTED TELECOM
BRAGI FULL WIRELESS AUDIO CONNECTED TELECOM
HERE AUGMENTED AURAL REALITY’ INTELLIGENT SIGNAL PROCESSING
KOKOON HEADPHONES FOR SLEEP SPECIALIZED NEUROSCIENCE + ML
MINDSET HEADPHONES FOR FOCUS SPECIALIZED NEUROSCIENCE + ML
NURA AUTO-TUNING HEADPHONES PERSONALIZED BIOLOGY + SIGNAL PROCESSING
REVOLS CUSTOM-FIT EARPHONES PERSONALIZED MATERIALS SCIENCE

ORENDA’S COFFEE MACHINE 
CAN ANALYSE YOUR TASTE
RAISED $157.5M
REVOLS CUSTOM FIT EARPHONES
RAISED $2.5M ON KS
NURA’S HEADPHONES 
TUNE TO YOUR HEARING
RAISED $5M + $1.8M KS
SENSING, SOFTWARE & MATERIALS 
AFTER-MARKET CUSTOM-FIT
USER PREFERENCE DATA 
DRIVES MORE REVENUE 
BETTER LTV FROM CUSTOMERS
01/
02/AFTER-MARKET CUSTOMIZATION
SOLVES BESPOKE PRODUCTION
PERSONALIZED 
IS THE NEW NORMAL

SMART  
HOME
DEVICE DIVERGENCE 
BEFORE CONVERGENCE?

SINGLE-
PURPOSE
DEVICES
DOMINATE
SMART PLATFORMS
ARE LAGGING Kate Whitcomb 
Program Director  
HAX Growth
Consumer hits today  
are all single-purpose products,  
not part of a suite.”“

EVERYTHING IS SMART BUT STANDARDS LAG
SMART 
HOME
WILL VOICE LIKE ALEXA 
BECOME THE NEW HUB 
FOR THE HOME?

VOICEASSISTANTS
WILL VOICE TIE UP ALL SMART DEVICES?

VOICEASSISTANTS 
AREBOOMING
AMAZON ECHO, TAP, DOT, 
SHOW, REMOTE & DASH WAND
APPLE HOMEPOD GOOGLE HOME
INVOKE BY HARMAN/KARDON 
WITH MICROSOFT CORTANA
TODAY 
AMAZON Alexa 
APPLE Siri 
GOOGLE Assistant 
MICROSOFT Cortana 
SAMSUNG Viv 
ALIBABA Genie 
BAIDU Little fish 
TENCENT Xiaowei
AMAZON LEADS WITH 
OVER 15M UNITS SOLD
 
NEXT 
SONY? 
NINTENDO? 
XIAOMI?

NEST 
THERMOSTAT
PHILIPS HUE 
LIGHT
ECOBEE 
SWITCH
BELKIN 
OUTLET
KEEN 
VENT
SAMSUNG 
HUB
AUGUST 
LOCK
RING 
VIDEO DOOR BELL
FITBIT 
FITNESS TRACKER
DROPCAM 
CAMERA
HYDRAO 
SHOWER HEAD
SAMSUNG 
ROBOTIC VACUUM
DEVICES
COMPATIBLE 
WITH ALEXA 
VOICE SERVICES
MULTIPLY
FROM APPS TO VOICE: 
A NEW PLATFORM
WILL IT HELP 
SMART DEVICES 
TAKE OFF?

HUAWEI MATE 9 PHONE HTC U11 PHONE LG FRIDGE
C BY GE SOL 
LIGHT
‘NATIVE’ 
ALEXA APP 
SPREADS 
TOO
BRANDS ADD 
THE ALEXA APP 
INTO PRODUCTS
DASHBOT BY NEXT THING CO. 
CAR ASSISTANT
FORD 
CAR ASSISTANT

DESIRE
FOR QUALITY 
 
PRO-LEVEL RESULTS 
AT HOME
LOOKING FOR 
RECURRING REVENUE 
 
WITH CONSUMABLES &
SUBSCRIPTIONS
01/ 02/
KITCHEN  
TECH
PROFESSIONAL
PREPARATION AT HOME

KITCHEN  
TECH
JUICERO
COLD-PRESS JUICER
RAISED $118.5M
BARTESIAN
COCKTAIL MACHINE
INVESTED BY BEAM SUNTORY
ORENDA
HOME BARISTA
NOMIKU 
SOUS-VIDE CIRCULATOR
INVESTED BY SAMSUNG

PHOTO: BLOOMBERG
JUICERO & PR
How A Dream For Investors 
Turned Into A PR Nightmare
A DREAM PITCH FOR INVESTORS 
COMBINE HIGH-TECH & CONSUMABLES
OVERSPEC FOR THE JOB? 
HAND-SQUEEZE IS ENOUGH
BACKLASH ON “DRM ON VEGS” 
DOUBLE LOCK-IN: 
CONSUMABLES & CONNECTIVITY 
 
EVENTUALLY 
BUSINESS MIGHT BE SOUND, BUT PR WAS BAD 
TIME WILL TELL IF JUICERO TURNS IT AROUND
01/
02/
03/
04/

CLICK AND GROW -  
HERBS & WALL FARM
RAISED $6.3M
LIVIN FARMS
EDIBLE INSECT FARM  
FOR CLEAN PROTEIN
GROWING… INTEREST  
HERBS, FOOD & MORE
MOTIVATIONS VARY 
SELF-SUFFICIENCY,
SUSTAINABILITY, EDUCATION...
01/
02/
HOME FARMING
GROWING FOOD EASILY
SAVING THE PLANET?

TOYS, 
STEAM 
&FAMILY 
TECH

LITTLEBITS = LEARN
ELECTRONICS
RAISED $62M
MAKEBLOCK
LEARN ROBOTICS
RAISED $36M
OSMO
EDUCATION GAMES
RAISED $38.5M
STEAM 
TECH
To Learn
& Play

ELECTRONICTOYSGETSMARTER
WITHONBOARDCOMPUTERS
COZMO BY ANKI 
A.I. ROBOT RAISED $157.5M
SPARK BY DJI 
CONSUMER DRONE WITH GESTURE CONTROLS
RAISED $105M

SPORT 
TECH
FROM TRACKERS  
TO COACH WARE

PELOTON
BIKES + VIDEO
COACHING
RAISED $444M
CARV
SKI SENSORS 
AND AUDIO COACHING
TRAINERBOT
PINGPONG ROBOT 
WITH VIDEO DRILLS  
& COMMUNITY
SPORTS 
TECHGETS 
SPECIALIZED
WITH REAL-TIME  
VIDEO, AUDIO  
& ROBOT COACHING

AR
A LITTLE  
OVER-HYPED?
VR&

01/
02/
03/
CHALLENGES
CPU
BATTERY LIFE
INSIDE-OUT TRACKING
…AND ‘KILLER APPS’ 
VIRTUAL
REALITY:
TOWARD
STANDALONE

SONICAM USES 
64 MICROPHONES 
FOR 3D SOUND RECORDING
VIRTUAL 
REALITY:
BRIDGINGTHE 
CONTENT 
GAP
3D CAMERAS WITH 
3D SOUND OFFER 
IMMERSIVE CONTENT

FOVE ADDS  
EYE-TRACKING  
TO VR CONTROL
APPLE ACQUIRED EYE-TRACKING
COMPANY SENSOMOTORIC
INSTRUMENTS IN JUNE 2017
FOVEATED DISPLAY BY VARJO
HIGH RESOLUTION IN AREA GAZED AT
STANDARD DISPLAY
VIRTUAL
REALITY:
EYETRACKING 
&FOVEATED
DISPLAY

LEAP BRINGS 
HAND GESTURES INTO VR
VIRTUALREALITY:
NATURALHAND
GESTURES

SPECTACLES BY SNAP
PHOTOS & SHORT VIDEOS
$130
VUE 
‘EVERYDAY SMART GLASSES’
VOICE CONTROL, NOTIFICATIONS,
BONE CONDUCTION AUDIO
$199 PRE-ORDER
ALPHAGLASS 
AR GLASSES WITH FULL-LENS DISPLAY,
BONE CONDUCTION AUDIO, ETC.
$899 PRE-ORDER
DISCREET,  
PRACTICAL
SMART 
GLASSES
SECOND 
COMING

We are going to  
make the camera 
the first augmented
reality platform”
AUGMENTED
REALITY:
STARTINGWITH
SMARTPHONES?
TARGETS:  
RECOGNIZE PEOPLE & OBJECTS, 
ADD ANIMATED OBJECTS,  
CREATE 3D SCENES  
FROM 2D PHOTOS 
MARK ZUCKERBERG,
CEO, FACEBOOK
“

MICROSOFT HOLOLENS 
$3,000
ATHEER 
AR GLASSES  
FOR INDUSTRY
DAQRI 
SMART HELMET & GLASSES 
FOR INDUSTRY
AUGMENTEDREALITY:
DEVICESONLYFOR
BUSINESSSOFAR?

LOOKING GLASS 
VOLUMETRIC DISPLAY
A.I. CHARACTER
HOLOGRAM
HOLOGRAPHIC
DISPLAYS
OR“REAL
VIRTUALITY”?
LATEST DEVELOPMENT 
FOR TRUE 3D DISPLAYS

CONSUMER 
ROBOTS
GROWING INTEREST 
AND CAPABILITIES

DJIRULES
CONSUMER
DRONES
PARROT, YUNEEC DOWNSIZED 
3DR ABANDONED HARDWARE 
LILY ROBOTICS WENT BANKRUPT 
GOPRO SUFFERED FROM DELAYS
SOURCE: GARTNER, 2017
0
1
2
3
4
Consumer Commercial
3.69
2.8
2.36
1.71
2016 2017
US$ BILLION

ROBOTS 
TAKEOVER 
THEHOME
2016
2022
SOURCE: TRACTICA, 2017
MARKET:
UNITS:
$3.6B
10M
MARKET:
UNITS:
$13B
50M

IROBOT 
SOLD OVER 15M ROBOTS
CHINA’S ECOVACS 
CLAIMS 65% OF LOCAL MARKET. 
FILED FOR IPO IN SHANGHAI
SWEDEN’S HUSQVARNA
SOLD OVER 1M ROBOT
LAWNMOWERS
01/  
02/
ROBOTS COVER BASIC TASKS 
INTELLIGENCE IS RISING
ROOMBA MAKER 
AT AN ALL-TIME HIGH. 
MARKET CAP = $2.5B (JUN 17, 2017)
THEFIRSTWAVE
OFCONSUMER
SERVICEROBOTS
ISMATURE

“Roomba, go clean
the kitchen floor!”
ROBOTSTOO
SIMPLE?
YOU CAN’T SAY (YET)

01/ 
02/
DEDICATED SHAPE
MORE (COST-)EFFECTIVE 
THAN HUMANOIDS 
 
CLOUD 
ONBOARD CPU 
LOW-COST SENSORS 
ALLOW MAPPING, 
ORIENTATION, 
OBSTACLE AVOIDANCE
XIAOMI’S 
ROBOT VACUUM 
MAPS A HOME
NEXTWAVE:
CLOUDROBOTICS
&ONBOARD
COMPUTERS

PR2 ROBOT 
BY WILLOW GARAGE 
YEAR: 2011 
COST: $400,000
BEETL 
CLOUD ROBOT 
YEAR: 2017 
COST: $400
EXAMPLE:
DOG POOP  
PICKER
FINDS TARGET 
MAKES MAP
NAVIGATES 
AVOIDS OBSTACLES
NOW 1,000X CHEAPER

PERSONAL 
MOBILITY

CHINA IS POISED 
TO DOMINATE 
MOBILITY DEVICES
NINEBOT SOLD 1M UNITS
(JAN’16~JUN’07, 50% OVERSEAS)
XIAOMI RELEASED AN E-SCOOTER
HOVERBOARDS ARE SO 2016 :)

RETAIL&
CROWDFUNDING
ROUTE TO MARKET

Big box retailers now have  
specialized buyers 
for Family Tech who manage
dedicated shelves. 
More products got on market,  
and most kids and parents
seem to love them.”
SAM HICKMANN 
CEO, JOY 
KIDS WATCH FOR GOOD HABITS
“

FASTER  
TO SCALE  
DIFFERENTIATE VIA 
UNIQUE VALUE PROPOSITION
ITERATIVE PROTOTYPING IN SHENZHEN
BUILD & ENGAGE COMMUNITY
VALIDATE VIA CROWDFUNDING 
(VALUE PROP, PRICING, FEATURES, ETC.)
ENGAGE RETAIL BUYERS BEFORE SHIPPING
01/
02/
03/
04/
05/
OCTOPUS: KID WATCH FOR GOOD HABITS 
FROM IDEA TO 1,500 TARGET STORES  
IN 18 MONTHS
5 STEPS  
TO SUCCESS

SELECTION OF HAX PRODUCTS ON AMAZON LAUNCHPAD
ONLINE RETAIL 
IS MOSTLY…  
AMAZON
AND AMAZON LAUNCHPAD
WELCOMES TECH
PRODUCTS

GOING  
FROM ONLINE TO  
BRICK-AND-MORTAR 
IS A CHALLENGE  
FOR MOST
STARTUPS NEED TO LEARN 
THE PROCESSES, MARGINS 
AND BUSINESS PRACTICES 
OF RETAILERS

SMART DOORBELL 
STARTUP RING 
SCALES ITS STRATEGY
01/
02/
03/
 
FAST GROWTH  
$209M FROM VC 
THANKS TO STRONG SALES
BROADER VISION  
FROM “NEVER MISS A VISITOR” 
TO “SAFER NEIGHBORHOODS”
EXPLORING NEW MODELS  
WITH INSURERS, ETC.

UPDATEON 
CROWDFUNDING
ECOSYSTEM MATURING

THIRD PARTY
WHITE LABEL
SELF-HOSTED
CROWDFUNDING, 
PRE-SALES 
&AMAZON 
MADEPRODUCTS 
FASTER 
TO“PROVE”
Crowdfunding
Pre-sales
1
2
3 Online retail

PRODUCT IN BETA 
= ENOUGH TIME 
FOR CHANGES
REPEAT BACKERS
KNOW THE RISKS
CROWDFUNDING 
REMAINSTHEBEST 
POSSIBLEFEEDBACK 
THATYOUCANGET
BACKERS ARE  
REAL CUSTOMERS

MOUSR 
SMART CAT TOY
 
INTERVIEWED EVERY
BACKER
TRAINERBOT
PING-PONG ROBOT
YOUTUBE 
COMMUNITIES
GUIDED SPECS
FLICKTEK
GESTURE-BASED
CONTROLLER
 
FULL RE-DESIGN 
FROM FEEDBACK
VOLTERA
CIRCUIT BOARD
PRINTER
 
BACKERS HELPED 
BETA-TEST
HOW HAX STARTUPS 
USED FEEDBACK

100 PROJECTS 30 PROJECTS 11 PROJECTS
SOURCE: HAX EVALUATION BASED ON
KICKSTARTER & INDIEGOGO DATA
FOCUS ON HIGH-PROFILE FAILURES  
HIDES THE BIGGER PICTURE
TRIVIA: 11 HAX STARTUPS RAISED 
OVER $1M ON KICKSTARTER
MILLION-DOLLARPROJECTS
CONNECTEDHARDWARE
CAMPAIGNSMOSTLYSHIPPED

LILY ROBOTICS | SELFIE DRONE
$15M FROM VCS
$34M PRE-ORDERS
BANKRUPT
HELLO SENSE | SLEEP TRACKER
$40M FROM VCS
$2.4M ON KICKSTARTER
BANKRUPT
PEBBLE | SMART WATCHES
$15M FROM VCS
$30M ON KICKSTARTER 
ACQUIRED (FITBIT) FOR $23M
SKULLY | AR BIKE HELMET
$12.5M FROM VCS
$2.5M ON INDIEGOGO
BANKRUPT
HIGH-PROFILE 
FAILURESWERE 
VCBACKED

TEAM COST TIME
 
PERCEPTION 
(ESTIMATE)
10 $2M 4YEARS
 
REALITY 
(2017)
2
 
$100KVC
+$250KKS
18MONTHS
MAKINGHARDWARE 
FASTER&FORLESS
ALEX &  
HARRISON CHEN 
CO-FOUNDERS 
FORBES ASIA 30
UNDER 30
E.G. PING-PONG ROBOT

1. The tech level is going up
2. Know your tech, costs & factory before launch
3. The best page from 2015 is today’s minimum
4. Journalists want to see proof
5. Viral videos are the new black
6. Advertising works once you have momentum
7. Build a community
8. It's a full-time job
9. You can’t predict a $1M result
10. The result doesn’t determine your future
WHAT IS SUCCESS? 
A. SHIPPING A GOOD PRODUCT 
B. BUILDING A PROFITABLE BUSINESS
HAX CROWDFUNDING GUIDE 2017 
WWW.SLIDESHARE.COM/HAXCO
10LESSONS 
FROM>80CAMPAIGNS 
BYHAXSTARTUPS

WHY 
PROJECTS 
GETDELAYED
Major problems during DFM/DFA
Major problems during beta testing
1
2
3 Stacking of frequent minor problems
Converting a design to a scalable supply chain.
A good DFM/DFA process mitigates a lot of the
problems that can arise with metals, plastics, fabrics,
digital electronics, Bluetooth, etc.
Major problems delay by months. 
Many minor ones (long certifications, negative tests,
plastic color problems, etc.) delay by weeks. Being on-
site saves time.
Source: Kickstarter research by Mindset, 2017

SOLVE
PROBLEMS
FASTER 
INCHINA  JACOB FLOOD 
COFOUNDER, MINDSET 
HEADPHONES FOR CONCENTRATION
“ When you're in China, you only need 
short discussions to fix small issues.
The time saved on back and forth 
can avoid months of delays.”

KICKSTARTER SUCCESS
JASEN WANG, CEO
A MAKER WITH PASSION 
FOR EDUCATION
450 STAFF,  
GLOBAL SALES…  
FROM SHENZHEN
MAKEBLOCK  
STEM  
ROBOTS
01/
02/
03/
HUMBLE BEGINNINGS  
SOLO FOUNDER 
LIMITED ENGLISH 
RAISED $185,000 IN 2012
 
FAST GROWTH  
400 STAFF, $MILLIONS
IN SALES, 
RAISED $36M FROM VCS 
INCLUDING SEQUOIA
CHINA
KICKSTARTER FANS 
LAUNCHED 6 PRODUCTS 
FOR MARKET
VALIDATION
DRONES, ELECTRONCIS
& MORE

HEALTH 
TECH
BEYOND TRACKING, 
TOWARD PREVENTION  
AND HEALING
MEDICAL  
DEVICES 
REGULATED
CONSUMER  
HEALTH 
NON REGULATED
03/

We have the opportunity 
to make the generation born now 
the healthiest in history.”
‘GENERATION
HEALTH’ 
IS COMING
ALEX GORSKY 
CEO, JOHNSON & JOHNSON
“

TODAY
TOMORROW
HEALTH IS BINARY
HEALTH CARE IS SICK CARE
YEARLY CHECK-UPS
BLANKET TREATMENT
WELLNESS IS A SPECTRUM
P4 MEDICINE
REAL-TIME DATA
CLINICAL STUDY OF ONE

/ 02
/ 03
/ 04
4p PREDICTIVE 
ANTICIPATE
/ 01
PREVENTIVE 
AVOID ONSET 
MEDICINE
WITHDATA 
FROMDEVICES PERSONALIZED 
TO EACH PATIENT 
PARTICIPATORY 
CONTRIBUTE DATA

DIGITAL
THERAPIES
THENEW 
PHARMA?
SANA SLEEP MASK
REPLACES SLEEPING PILLS
NEUTROGENA LIGHT MASK
IS A NEW ACNE TREATMENT

A.INEEDS 
HEALTHDATA 
FROMDEVICES
YOUR A.I. 
IS JUST AS GOOD  
AS YOUR DATA
OPPORTUNITY

PREVENT SICKNESS
OPTIMIZE WELLNESS
LONGER LIFE
GENETICIST MICHAEL SNYDER 
WEARS SEVEN BIOSENSORS 
 
HE DETECTED THE ONSET 
OF LYME DISEASE ON HIMSELF
WELLNESS 
AS-A-SERVICE
THE NEXT 10 YEARS:

DATA 
ISTHE
NEW
BLOOD
PRIVACY
CHALLENGES REMAIN
GATHERING OF DATA
A HUGE DATA MANAGEMENT ISSUE
PERSONALIZED OUTPUT
EXPLAINABLE FOR EACH CASE
INITIATIVES STARTING
E.G. IBM WATSON, 
EUROPEAN OPEN SCIENCE CLOUD
NORMALIZATION
OF TIME IS A CHALLENGE
PRIVACY
DATA ANONYMIZING IMPRACTICAL 
LEGISLATION ON USE NEEDED

DUNCAN TURNER 
MANAGING DIRECTOR 
HAX SEED
Donating your data 
might help more than
donating an organ”
“

60% 
BEHAVIOR  
& ENVIRONMENT
30% 
GENETICS
10% 
HEALTHCARE
BEHAVIOR 
ISAKEY  LONG TERM HEALTH

TECHNOLOGY 
IS A PROBLEM
TOO
DIGITAL ADDICTION,
BLUE LIGHT, 
LOCAL WARMING

TROJAN
HORSEFOR
HIGH-VALUE
DATA
NURA  
DATA ON  
HEARING CHANGES
RAY BABY
DATA ON BABY
BREATHING
CIRCADIA  
DATA ON LIGHT INFLUENCE ON SLEEP
KOKOON  
BRAIN DATA FOR  
AUDIO THERAPY
MINDSET  
DATA ON CONCENTRATION
HEALTHTECHDEVICES

A.I. FOR DISEASE
PREVENTION 
WILL BE DRIVEN 
BY HARDWARE DATA
ALARGENUMBER 
OFBLOODDIAGNOSTIC 
DEVICESAREENTERING 
THEMARKET
CRIAMTECH GEO-TAGS
DISEASE IDENTIFIED IN BLOOD
TO GIVE UP TO DATE INFO ON
POTENTIAL EPIDEMICS.
  BBB PROVIDES HISTORICAL
TRACKING OF KEY MARKERS
IN THE BLOOD

INVESTMENTREQUIRES ‘PROOF’

INTEREST 
INMEDICALDEVICESISUP
BUTDOWNINWELLNESS
PRE-FDA FUNDING GAP OFFERS OPPORTUNITIES
FDA/CE APPROVAL 
REQUIRED FOR
“SERIOUS”DEVICES 
PRE-APPROVAL FUNDING 
LESS CROWDED 
FOR INVESTORS
“WELLNESS” DEVICES  
LOWER INTEREST FROM
INVESTORS / CONSUMERS? 

INVESTORS 
WANT‘PROOF’ 
FORMEDICAL
DEVICES
Med-tech seed funding 
is very hard to find; we raised from
tech and consumer investors. 
It was tough due to regulatory risk:
everyone wants to see data first. 
So get the data. 
Nothing else really matters.” 
You need ‘proof’. Research
studies and our scientific
expertise helped a lot. FDA
policies are not set for
behavioral health devices, 
which makes it harder.”
GEORGE ELEFTHERIOU,  
CEO, FEEL 
EMOTIONS TRACKER
RICHARD HANBURY,  
CEO, SANA 
SLEEP INDUCING SMART MASK
“
“

Investors have lots of interest in mental health
with clinical applications, much less in
‘wellness’ applications.”
Since there are no winners in the space yet, 
it’s a big opportunity, but hard for 
early stage startups.”
“
GEORGE ELEFTHERIOU 
CEO, FEEL 
EMOTIONS TRACKER

SOLVING FOR  & BEYOND TRACKING
X

FEEL
EMOTION SENSOR 
RECOGNIZES JOY, SADNESS, 
STRESS, DISTRESS, AND CONTENT
BERKELEY ULTRASOUND
FOCUSED ULTRASOUND 
FOR BRAIN STIMULATION
TO TREAT DEPRESSION
FLOW NEUROSCIENCE
TRANS-CRANIAL DIRECT-CURRENT (TDCS) 
FOR BRAIN STIMULATION 
TO TREAT DEPRESSION
FROMTRACKING 
TOTREATMENT
SOLVING FOR DEPRESSION

LIEFTHERAPEUTICS
ANXIETYMONITOR
“We've chosen to do both 
consumer and clinical devices. 
Our practical way to do this was to use
Kickstarter for the consumer version, 
then use the learnings for the clinical one”
LIEF TRACKS ANXIETY,  
USES BIO-FEEDBACKTO TRAIN USERS
IT RAISED $400,000 ON KICKSTARTER
MAP HEALTH MANAGEMENT TEAMED UP WITH  
LIEF THERAPEUTICS TO PILOT ANXIETY-MONITORING  
WEARABLE IN ADDICTION RECOVERY PATIENTS
ROHAN DIXIT, CEO,  
LIEF THERAPEUTICS

FROMPREVENTIONTOREHABANDIMPLANTS
LUMO LIFT TRACKER
TRACKS POSTURE
JAPET BIONIC CORSET
RELIEVES PRESSURE ON SPINE
AND HELPS REHAB
SMARTFUSE SMART CAGE
INCREASES THE SUCCESS RATE 
OF SPINAL FUSIONS SURGERIES
SOLVING FOR BACK PAIN

SANA
INDUCES SLEEP WITHIN MINUTES 
USING LIGHT AND SOUND, BRAINWAVE
MONITORS & MACHINE LEARNING
CIRCADIA
POWERS LIGHT THERAPY WITH SLEEP
DATA FROM RADAR TECHNOLOGY AND
MACHINE LEARNING
MOONA
CONTROLS PILLOW TEMPERATURE 
TO INDUCE AND DEEPEN SLEEP, 
ADJUSTING WITH MACHINE LEARNING
DIGITAL 
THERAPIES 
&MACHINE 
LEARNING
SOLVING FOR SLEEP

“SLEEPTECH
GOESMEDICAL
For generic, unproven products, 
the sleep market is commoditized,  
with no proof actually helping anyone. 
We chose to go medical first, 
prove with data, get FDA, 
then go back to consumer, 
with that proof as the differentiation”
RICHARD HANBURY, CEO, SANA 
SLEEP-INDUCING SMART MASK
CONSUMER PRODUCTS  
REACHED THEIR LIMIT?

KEEN
GESTURE RECOGNITION,
BIOFEEDBACK AND MACHINE LEARNING 
TO TREAT BODY-FOCUSED 
REPETITIVE BEHAVIORS
D-FREE
ULTRASOUND DETECTION FOR
INCONTINENCE PREVENTION
RAISED $4.9M
FEETME
PRESSURE-TRACKING INSOLE 
FOR DIABETIC FOOT, AND 
INJURY PREVENTION FOR RUNNERS
AIRE
BREATHALYZER FOR DIGESTION 
TESTING AND IBS PREVENTION
OTHER PREVENTION DEVICES
NEWDEVICES 
PREVENTNUMEROUS 
CONDITIONS

INGESTIBLE 
SENSORS
PROTEUS DIGITAL HEALTH 
USES INGESTIBLE SENSORS 
TO INCREASE MEDICATION ADHERENCE
AND IMPROVE OUTCOMES
TRACKING 
FROM THE INSIDE

SENSIO AIR
ALLERGEN TRACKER
MY UV PATCH BY L’OREAL
 
NOTE: MOST UV TRACKERS HAVEN’T
SHIPPED, OR ARE INEFFECTIVE.
POLLUTION, 
ALLERGENS&UVS
O2O2
SMART POLLUTION MASK
SOLVING FOR ENVIRONMENT
AIR VISUAL
POLLUTION TRACKER

market-in-2016/
REAL PROOF OF TREATMENT
EFFECTIVENESS CAN REQUIRE 
MORE THAN FDA APPROVAL
IGROW, IRESTORE AND HAIR REPRO 
LASER HAIR GROWTH HELMETS
LIGHT THERAPY
ACNE MASK 
BY NEUTROGENA
GLOPRO NEEDLE 
MICRO-NEEDLE & RED LED LIGHT 
TO EXFOLIATE & BRIGHTEN THE SKIN
TRIA 
LASER HAIR
REMOVAL
SOLVING FOR SKIN & HAIR
ANTI-AGING, 
ACNE,HAIR
REMOVAL&
REGROWTH

LOVELY 
SEX TOY AND COACH  
FOR COUPLES
UNDER-
WEARABLES
SOLVING FOR SEX
ELVIE
PELVIC FLOOR TRAINER
WITH KEGEL EXERCISES
HISENS
TRACKER FOR ERECTILE 
DYSFUNCTION

TRACKINGFERTILITY 
&PREGNANCY
BLOOM
PREGNANCY TRACKER
SOLVING FOR CONCEPTION
MOJO
MEDICAL-GRADE HOME TEST
FOR MALE FERTILITY
WINK BY KINDARA 
FEMALE FERTILITY TRACKER

EASING
THEEARLY
MONTHS
SOLVING FOR PRETERMS
BABYBE
REMOTE PRESENCE  
FOR PRETERM BABIES
HUGSY
SMART BABY BLANKET

RAY BABY 
NON-CONTACT MONITOR
LILU 
BREAST PUMPING BRA
MILK SAFE  
HOME TEST FOR BREAST MILK
AND BABY FORMULA
EASING
THEEARLY
MONTHS
SOLVING FOR NURSING

GLUCOSEMONITORS,
FROMLOWTOHIGHTECH
VERILY
AN ALPHABET SPIN-OFF, IS DEVELOPING
A GLUCOSE MONITOR WITH ALCON
PROFUSA
MAKES A GLUCOSE SENSOR TO
PLACE UNDER THE SKIN FOR
CONTINUOUS MONITORING
DIABETO
CONNECTS TO GLUCOSE MONITORS
FOR MANAGEMENT AND REMOTE  
PATIENT MONITORING
SOLVING FOR DIABETES

PLENTYMORE!

REWIRING THE PHYSICAL WORLD  
WITH SENSORS AND ROBOTS,  
CHANGING THE WAY WE MAKE
ENTERPRISE 
ANDINDUSTRIAL04/

ENTERPRISES 
FINDING 
VALUABLEDATA
INDUSTRY PLAYERS 
HAVE DIFFERENT PACES 
ADOPTION SPEED MIGHT
SORT OUT WINNERS
HARDWARE-ENABLED
SOFTWARE 
HARDWARE USED MOSTLY
FOR DATA COLLECTION
DATA IS THE NEW OIL 
FOR ENTERPRISE 
INSIGHTS BRING 
NEW REVENUE
INDUSTRIAL IOT
OUTPACES CONSUMER IOT 
MORE SENSORS IN
BUILDINGS & CARS 
THAN HUMANS
WHERE IT HAS  
NEVER EXISTED

“SCALE: one deal = convince one person/org to say
yes, instead of many in B2C. It’s simpler and cleaner. 
ACQUISITION COSTS: invest time instead of money.  
Fly once instead of sacrificing margin for each sale.
CHANGING LANDSCAPE: your product might have
better use cases or economics for business. 
For instance, hotels and Airbnb operators showed
more interest than we expected.
GOING 
FROMB2C 
TOB2B
DANIEL MYERS
COFOUNDER, FLAIR 
SMART VENTS

BUILDING MANAGEMENT
LOGISTICS
RETAIL
TOPDATAGATHERINGENTERPRISES 
RECENTLYDISCOVERINGNEWVALUE
MINING
UTILITIES
AGRICULTURE

FROM$3.8BILLIONIN2015 
TO$10BILLIONBY2020
CONNECTED MINING MARKET:
REDUCE 
PRODUCTION COSTS
ENHANCE 
PRODUCTION EFFICIENCY
PROTECT 
WORKERS
COMPUTER VISION SURVEYING, SENSING, 
REMOTE-CONTROLLED ROBOTIC MACHINERY

TRUCKS DROVE 
4 MILLION KILOMETERS 
AUTONOMOUSLY
RIO TINTO USED HUNDREDS 
OF CONNECTED SENSORS SINCE 2011
MONITOR, CONTROL, AUTOMATE 
REMOVAL & PROCESSING OF ORE 
WITH REAL-TIME R/C EQUIPMENT 
FROM REMOTE CONTROL CENTERS.
MININGCOMPANIES 
AMONGFIRSTMOVERS 
INMASSDEPLOYMENT 
OFINDUSTRIAL 
IOTSENSORS
“WE JUST DIDN’T
KNOW THIS WAS
CALLED IOT.” 
 
JOHN MCGAGH 
HEAD OF INNOVATION 
RIO TINTO

ELECTROMAGNETIC SENSING 
FROM THE SURFACE,  
TO OPTIMIZE DIGGING OPERATIONS
LIAR SCANS ROCK MECHANICS TO
MAXIMIZE ORE OUTPUT AND REDUCE
EXPLORATION TIME.
MOBILE SCANNING TOOL FOR
STRUCTURAL MAPPING FOR
TUNNELS, ROCKS AND ROADS
EXAMPLESOF 
MINETECHSTARTUPS

ENERGY SAVING
GRID MANAGEMENT
EXTRA REVENUE
UTILITY 
COMPANIES 
SEEVALUE 
INIOTSTART-UPS

CONNECTED
HOMETECH
HELPSUTILITY
COMPANIES
UTILITIES PAY OWNERS 
$30-$50 / YEAR / NEST 
TO LEVEL LOAD THE GRID.
VOLTCLOUD
VOLTSTORAGE USES
VANADIUM REDUX FLOW
FUEL CELLS FOR SAFE,
HIGH EFFICIENCY 
& SMART STORAGE
VOLTSTORAGE SMART
GRID CAN RESPOND 
TO NETWORK DEMAND

BREEZI
SMART MONITOR FOR  
AC EFFICIENCY
ELECTRICITY
FOR RESIDENTIAL A/C
FLAIR
SMART AC USAGE
SAVINGSOF1-2% 
INWIDE 
ENERGYAREAS 
ISMEANINGFUL
$29BN

“ Utilities are shifting to dynamic pricing, generation and usage and struggle
to keep up internally. Investing in solutions for demand response avoids the
need of ‘peaker plants’, and stabilizes the grid.
 
The AC industry doesn’t have the skillset for apps, cloud systems 
and algorithms. This creates opportunities for startups.
 
For distribution, contractors can use our solution for thermal audits.  
They can thus bill hours and recommend systems based on real data.”
DANIEL MYERS
COFOUNDER, FLAIR 
SMART VENTS

AGTECHNEEDED 
TOBETTERFEED 
AGROWING 
POPULATION
LAND SHORTAGE 
CALLS FOR 
MORE INPUTS 
& BETTER YIELD

RISINGFOODNEEDSREQUIRE 
70%GROWTHINOUTPUT 
BY2050
SOURCES OF GROWTH 
IN GLOBAL AGRICULTURE
OUTPUT = TIME TO
IMPROVE PRODUCTIVITY
TOTAL OUTPUT GROWTH RATE
PRODUCTIVITY IMPROVEMENTS
MORE INPUTS PER AREA
EXPANSION OF IRRIGATION TO CROPLAND
EXPANSION OF AGRICULTURAL LAND
1961-70 1971-80 1981-90 1991-2000 2001-13
2.30
2.10 2.13
2.52
2.88

LIVESTOCKMONITORING 
ISEXPECTEDTOCONTRIBUTE20% 
OFTHEOVERALL80%PRODUCTIVITYGAINS 
EXPECTEDINAGRICULTUREBETWEEN 
2015AND2025 
 SOURCE:FROSTANDSULLIVAN

CERES IMAGING RAISED $5MGAMAYA RAISED $4.3M
SENSINGTECHNOLOGY
BOOSTSPRODUCTIVITY
GARDENSPACE
HYPERSPECTRAL SENSORS 
SIMPLE AND AFFORDABLE 
BRING ACTIONABLE INFORMATION
TO FARMS AND GARDENS

PYCNO  
SHIPPED 150 LOCATIONS
SECROP ROLLING OUT 
ACROSS FRANCE
 
NUTRIENTNEEDS 
REDUCEWASTE 
&SAVERESOURCESEDYN IRRIGATES 
BASED ON SOIL DATA
SENSORS INFORM HARVEST TIMES

FARMERS MAXIMIZE REVENUE, USING 
LOW COST MOISTURE  
AND SPOILAGE SENSORS
DISTRIBUTORS  
PREDICTS VOLUMES
TRADERS  
BUY/SELL COMMODITIES
SENSING CROP AFTER HARVEST  
CREATES NEW ECONOMIES  
AND NEW MARKETS
AMBER TECHNOLOGIES CROP SENSORS
SENSORS 
FORCROPSILOS 

SENSORS CAN HELP TRACK, TRACE & PRESERVE GRAIN 
LIKE CORN, SOYBEAN AND BARLEY.  
 
FARMERS WANT TO KEEP THEIR DATA, BUT ALSO SEE THE
BENEFITS OF SHARING WITH THEIR BUYERS. 
 
EVENTUALLY, IT WILL HELP AVOID SPOILAGE AND IMPROVE 
FOOD TRACEABILITY” 
LUCAS FRYE, COFOUNDER 
AMBER TECHNOLOGIES 
CROP SENSORS
“

VERTICALFARMINGRECEIVED 
MOSTAGTECHINVESTMENT
FOUNDED 2004  
RAISED $90M
FOUNDED 2011  
RAISED $58M
FOUNDED 2011  
RAISED $12M
FOUNDED 2017  
RAISED $28M

“HOME SYSTEMS 
ARE BECOMING LARGER
AND CAN GROW MORE PLANTS. 
 
YET, MOST CAN STILL 
ONLY GROW BASIC GREENS 
AND HERBS.”
BJORN DAWSON 
CEO, GROBO 
HOME GROWING SYSTEM 

“ADULT CONTENT” OF URBAN FARMING
DRIVING IMPROVEMENTS & USER ADOPTION. 
LEGALIZATION SPREADING
COUNTRIES + STATES IN NORTH AMERICA LEGALIZING. 
INVESTMENT BOOM
IN PHARMA/BIOTECH & CULTIVATION.
CANNABISTECH
ISSETTOBOOM 
IN2018
01/
02/
03/
THANKS TO BETTER GROWING SYSTEMS
& BROAD LEGALIZATION

PICKERS
PLANTERS
AGTECH 
ROBOTS 
ALLOWFOR
DENSECROP
SPACE

LOGISTICS
AUTOMATION

ROBOTS 
AREJOINING 
THEWORKFORCE
INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION TRIVIA
HAND SPINNING WITH A WHEEL WOULD TAKE A WORKER 
50,000 HOURS FOR 100 LB OF COTTON
BY THE 1790S, 100 LB COULD BE SPUN IN 300 HOURS BY MULE.
ONE WORKER WITH A SELF-ACTING MULE TOOK JUST 135 HOURS.
SOURCE: A SHORT HISTORY OF THE BRITISH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

SMARTER VERSION OF
CONSUMER DEVICES TO
OPTIMIZE TIME AND COSTS
LOGISTICS:  
WAREHOUSES,  
INVENTORY 
SERVICES: SECURITY, ROOM
SERVICE, FLOOR & WINDOW
CLEANING, INVENTORY, ETC.
ROBOTS 
AREJOINING 
THEWORKFORCE
01/
02/
03/

AMAZON 
DEPLOYS 
45,000 
ROBOTS 
ALSO CREATES 
100,000 JOBS
NOV 2014 
15,000  
ROBOTS
SEP 2015 
30,000 
ROBOTS
JAN 2017 
45,000 
ROBOTS
INWAREHOUSES

RELAY BY SAVIOKE 
EXPANDS ITS INDOOR
DELIVERIES BEYOND HOTELS
TALLY BY SIMBE 
AUTOMATES RETAIL INVENTORY
LOCUS 
WAREHOUSE ROBOTS
FETCH 
WAREHOUSE ROBOTS
STANDALONE 
ROBOTSSPREAD

I don’t think people are investing in automation 
because of a near-term labor shortage. 
It’s about improving productivity. 
Fundamentally, that means people will be replaced.”
KARL SIEBRECHT 
CEO, FLEXE 
(ON-DEMAND 
WAREHOUSE SPACE)“

BURGERS  
BY MOMENTUM MACHINES
FROZEN YOGURT  
BY FROBOT 
COFFEE 
BY A MITSUBISHI ROBOT ARM
SERVICEJOBS 
AUTOMATION
MCDONALD’S ORDER KIOSK ROBOT WAITER
FAST FOOD FIRST IN LINE

DELIVERIES
SMALL DRONES 
SMALL PARCELS, 
DESIGNATED ROUTES
01/
02/ LONG-DISTANCE DRONES 
FIXED WING REACHED 
100 MILES
AMAZON PRIME AIR
JD.COM
TEAM ROADRUNNER
DRONE ‘BEEHIVE’ 
CONCEPT PATENT 
BY AMAZON

LEGS
STILL EXPENSIVE 
…UNTIL IT'S NOT
02/
DISPATCH BOSTON DYNAMICS
DELIVERIESWHEELS
SEVERAL STARTUPS 
RUNNING PILOTS
01/

CAR MAKERS 
BATTLE WITH SOFTWARE GIANTS
AUTONOMOUSCARS 
ISALL-OUTWAR?

With billions of smart devices, 
connectivity is in the spotlight. 
No-one seems financially
motivated to deploy LoRa
nationally. Carriers developed
Narrowband-IoT to crush Sigfox.
Lower costs might 
leave it a chance”
THEBATTLE 
FORTHE 
NARROW 
BAND
WILL POLITICS  
& ECONOMICS
PREVAIL?
ZACH SUPALLA,  
CEO, PARTICLE 
FULL-STACK IOT DEVICE PLATFORM
“

INDUSTRY05/
MICRO-MANUFACTURING,  
SMART FACTORIES 
& PERSONAL FABRICATION

LABOUR ECONOMICS  
MOVED PRODUCTION  
FROM SUPERPOWER  
TO SUPERPOWER.
MANUFACTURING
MOVEDFORTHE
LASTTIME? IT LEFT BEHIND 
ENGINEERING KNOW-HOW  
AND INNOVATION
GREAT BRITAIN
1780 1830
CENTRAL EUROPE
1870
JAPAN
1890
USA
1950
CHINA

GREAT BRITAIN
NOW NEXT
CENTRAL EUROPE
NEXT
JAPAN
?
USA
?
CHINA
ROBOTICS 
WILLDOMINATE 
HIGH-VALUE 
PRODUCTION 
REGARDLESS OF LABOR COSTS

JAPANESE
ROBOTS
DOMINATE 
…SOFAR 100,000
200,000
300,000
400,000
500,000
Fanuc
Yaskawa
ABB
Kawasaki
Nachi
Kuka
Denso
Epson
Adept
25,000
45,000
80,00080,000
100,000110,000
250,000
300,000
400,000
ROBOTS INSTALLED BASE 
WORLDWIDE
SOURCE: ROBOTICS & AUTOMATION NEWS, 2016

ROBOTS / 10,000 WORKERS  
OF LARGER COUNTRIES 
(SOURCE: IFR, 2016)
CHINA 
LAGSIN
INDUSTRIAL
ROBOTSUSE 150
300
450
600
SouthKorea
Japan
Germany
USA
France
UK
China
4971
127
176
301305
531

CHINA LEADS NEW PURCHASES
INDUSTRIAL 
ROBOT 
SPENDING 
ISRISING
0
1
2
3
4
'08 '09 '10 '11 '12 '13 '14 '15
China Japan North America
US$ BILLION

ROBOTS 
PURCHASED BY COUNTRY 
(SOURCE: IFR, 2015)
AUTOMATION
HASTAKEN
OFFINCHINA
20,000
40,000
60,000
80,000
China
SouthKorea
Japan
USA
Mexico
Canada
2,7004,700
27,000
35,00038,000
69,000
SALES 2015: 248,000 (+12%YOY)
+20%YOY

CHINA 
PLANSTOAUTOMATE 
MUCH,MUCHMORE
2011: FOXCONN PLANNED TO REPLACE 
500,000 WORKERS WITH 1 MILLION ROBOTS BY 2016 
2016: ONLY 40,000 ROBOTS WERE INSTALLED SINCE 2011 
“We want to automate 
dangerous, dirty and dull work first.” 
 
We plan to keep only 
a minimal number of workers 
assigned for production, logistics, 
testing, and inspection processes.”
JIA-PENG DAI 
GM OF AUTOMATION COMMITTEE,  
FOXCONN

ROBOTS 
BYTHE 
NUMBERS
HOME APPLIANCES TRANSPORTATION MACHINERY
KEY INDUSTRIES USING ROBOTS
CHINESE  
ROBOTICS  
COMPANIES
3,000
ROBOTS  
PER 10,000  
WORKERS
50 150In 2015 Goal by 2020
>
COMPUTERS & ELECTRONIC GOODS

ROBOTS 
BYTHE 
NUMBERS
AVERAGE PAYBACK PERIOD 
FOR ROBOTS IN CHINA (YEARS)
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
2008 2010 2015 2017 *
GLOBAL UNIT MARKET SHARE  
TARGET (2025)
50%
ROBOT PRODUCED IN CHINA  
TARGET (2020)
100,000
AUTOMATION 
THRESHOLD: 
<2YEARS

CHANGYING'S 
UNMANNED FACTORY 
HAS 60 WORKERS 
INSTEAD OF 600
‘DARK 
FACTORIES’ 
RISING
IT RUNS 24/7 
PRODUCTIVITY IS UP 250%  
DEFECTS DOWN 80%

SPECS&PRICE 
MATTERMORE 
THANMAKING 
HUMANFRIENDS
COBOTS 
NOT POPULAR YET 
DESPITE PROMISING PHOTOS

“Our vision system  
allows our robots 
to locate objects to pick up,  
and avoid collisions with workers.  
It can save factories a lot of trouble.”
INDUSTRYNEEDS 
LOW-COST 
&FLEXIBLE 
ROBOTS
JOEY SONG, CO-FOUNDER 
ELEPHANT ROBOTICS (COBOTS) 
FORBES ASIA 30 UNDER 30

SOFTWARE AUTOMATES DESIGN 
BASED ON CONSTRAINTS
3D PRINTING DREAM  
TRUE SOON?
FINALLYA 
VIABLEOPTION 
FORPRODUCTION 
OFSOMEPARTS

JULIO TERRA 
DIRECTOR OF TECH & DESIGN,  
KICKSTARTER
THEMAKER
MOVEMENT 
GETSNEW 
TOOLS
“Though the consumer 3D printer
bubble has burst, we enjoy seeing a
wave of new personal fabrication tools.” 
“Desktop water jet cutters, vacuum
formers, robotic arms, and circuit board
printers form the next generation.”
CROWDFUNDING SUPPORTS 
INNOVATION

OTHERMILL  
MILLING MACHINE
VOLTERA  
CIRCUIT BOARD PRINTER
WAZER  
WATERJET CUTTER
DESKTOPMANUFACTURING 
SHRINKFACTORYTOOLS
DESKTOP METAL 
METAL 3D PRINTER
KNITERATE 
KNITTING MACHINE
MATTHEW NOWICKI 
COFOUNDER & CTO, WAZER
“The maker revolution starts with D.I.Y. and tools for
hobbies & education. But consumers are very 
price-sensitive, and most cheap tools do not offer
accuracy, reliability, maintenance & serviceability.”

Desktop fabrication companies  
tend to target prosumers who either make
money from what the tools make or use
tools to support their core activities.
An ecosystem of tools is forming, 
as it exists for industry. Next up might be
desktop EDMs, metal printing and fiber
laser cutters. Soon, the only limit 
will be creativity.
DESKTOP
FABRICATION
TOOLS
EMPOWER
PROSUMERS
“
MATTHEW NOWICKI,  
COFOUNDER & CTO, WAZER 
DESPTOP WATERJET CUTTER
TO BE SUSTAINABLE, TOOL CREATORS 
MIGHT SELL PEACE OF MIND SERVICES 
(EXTENDED WARRANTEES, SERVICING PLANS),
CONSUMABLES, OR ACCESSORIES 
TO AID WORKFLOW.

COPYCAT AND INNOVATOR 
AT HIGH SPEED
CHINA06/

WORLDLEADER
INPATENTS
SOON? 
2016 NUMBER OF APPLICATIONS BY COUNTRY (‘000)
SOURCE: WORLD INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ORGANIZATION
WORLD’S #1 & #2 
IN PUBLISHED APPLICATIONS  
TOP 10: 7 FROM ASIA, 3 FROM U.S.
4,123 PATENTS 3,692 PATENTS
USA
Japan
China
Germany
South Korea
France
UK
Netherlands
Switzerland
Sweden
0 15,000 30,000 45,000 60,000
-1%
+3%
+40% IN 2017?+45%

USA 
$14.5B
CHINA 
$10.6B
EUROPE 
$3B
US & CHINA DOMINATE, INDIA
RISING, JAPAN FAR BEHIND
1Q2017
3%
35%
4%
10%
48%
USA
Europe
India
China
RoW
SOURCE: DOW JONES VC EDGE 1Q 2017
EQUITY INVESTMENT BY REGION 
INTO VENTURE-BACKED COMPANIESCHINAVC 
INVESTMENTIS 
#2GLOBALLY

01/
02/
03/
04/
HEATEDMARKET
REQUIRESNEW
APPROACHES
CHINA’S VC FUNDING IS MASSIVE 
~2/3 OF USA, 80% OF ASIA. 
FUNDING FEVER 
COMPETITIVE AT EVERY STAGE. 
WINNER TAKES ALL 
MASSIVE ROUNDS TO WIN MARKET, 
OR M&A WITH LEADER. 
CHINESE INVESTORS LOOK ABROAD 
FOR HIGH-TECH STARTUPS 
USA, CANADA, EU, ISRAEL…
MEGA-ROUNDS, MERGERS,
OVERSEAS INVESTMENTS

RISING 
VALUATIONS 
INCHINA MEDIAN PRE-MONEY VALUATIONS ($M)
0
5
10
15
20
25
1Q17 1Q16
0
25
50
75
100
1Q17 1Q16
0
250
500
750
1,000
1Q17 1Q16
FIRST ROUND SECOND ROUND LATER ROUND
3X
2.5X
US CN EU US CN EU US CN EU
SOME VCS LOOKING OVERSEAS
SOURCE: DOW JONES VC EDGE 1Q 2017

There’s an overflow 
of funding in the market, 
especially angel funding”
MEGA-ROUNDS, MERGERS, 
OVERSEAS INVESTMENTS
 
CAPITAL CONTROLS 
ON OUTBOUND INVESTMENTS 
FUEL DOMESTIC FEVER
“
XU XIAOPING 
FOUNDER OF ZHENFUND 
MOST ACTIVE SEED FUND IN CHINA
HEATEDMARKET 
REQUIRESNEW 
APPROACHES
Source: The Information Interview, April 2017

RENTALSTARTUPS
FRENZY
>$2.2B 
INVESTED
$127M INVESTED
$145M INVESTED
$1.4M INVESTED

INVESTED IN 77 COMPANIES 
INCLUDING 4 UNICORN
ECOSYSTEM 
30 SHIPPED PRODUCTS 
16 REVENUE >$15M 
3 REVENUE >$150M
XIAOMIZATION 
CONTINUES

LENOVO 
ALEXA ASSISTANT
LINGLONG 
DINGDONG ASSISTANT 
JV OF JD.COM (CHINA’S ‘AMAZON’) 
& IFLYTEK (VOICE EXPERT, 
MARKET CAP: $8.2B)
BAIDU & INEMO 
LITTLE FISH 
TENCENT 
QROBOT 
(2ND GENERATION) 
USES TENCENT’S 
XIAOWEI CLOUD
ASUS 
ZENBO SMART
COMPANION
ROKID 
MELODY 
RAISED $50M
SERIES B
VOICEASSISTANTS 
BOOMWITH 
LOCALTECH MOBVOI 
TIC WATCH 
RAISED $252M
ALIBABA 
TMALL GENIE
XIAOMI 
MI BUNNY 
DESIGNED FOR KIDS 

HARDWARE PLATFORMS SKILL PLATFORM
2) BAIDU, MOBVOI, OTHER???
VOICECONTROL 
NEXT“XIAOMIZED”?
SELECT MEMBERS OF TENCENT’S 
XIAOWEI VOICE CLOUD
DIDI (RIDE HAILING) 
MIDEA (APPLIANCES) 
SOGOU (SEARCH ENGINE) 
PHILIPS (SMART HOME) 
XIAOMI (SMART DEVICES)
China will have dozens of Echo-like products  
by the end of the year. We hope this will help smart
home products sell.”
ERIC JIANG, CEO, YEELIGHT
“

VOICEASSISTANTS: 
TIPOFTHEA.I.ICEBERG…
CHINA IS #2 
FOR TOTAL A.I. PATENTS 
REGISTERED SINCE 2006
CHINA WAS #1 
IN ’14 & ’15 FOR 
A.I. PATENTS FILED
UNIVERSITIES DOMINATE A.I.
RESEARCH IN CHINA 
(FOR NOW)

 
CAR MAKERS (12 CHINESE + 2 WESTERN) 
SUPPLIERS (DELPHI, BOSCH, ETC.)
COMPONENT PROVIDERS (INTEL, NVIDIA…)
RIDE-SHARING FIRMS (UCAR, GRAB)
MAPPING (TOMTOM)
BAIDU 
SELF-DRIVINGCAR
ALLIANCE
BAIDU’S APOLLO PLATFORM  
GAINS MOMENTUM
50 
MEMBERS

A.I:TIPOF 
MUCHDEEPER
INFORMATION
ASYMMETRY
China has a fairly deep awareness
of what’s happening in the
English-speaking world, but the
opposite is not true.”
ANDREW NG 
FOUNDER, COURSERA 
FOUNDER, DEEPLEARNING.AI 
FORMER CHIEF SCIENTIST, BAIDU 
FOUNDER & LEAD, GOOGLE BRAIN
“

MAGNET FOR LEADERS 
CORPORATIONS & TOP
UNIVERSITIES OPEN BRANCHES
IN SHENZHEN
01/ 02/
SHENZHEN 
THESILICONVALLEY 
OFHARDWARE
SHENZHEN’S REPUTATION RISE 
WORLD’S BEST PLACE FOR
“PRODUCTIZATION”

SCOTTY ALLEN ASSEMBLED 
AN IPHONE 6S IN CHINA 
FROM SPARE PARTS 
HIS VIDEO PASSED 7M VIEWS
THE WIRED DOCUMENTARY 
ON SHENZHEN GATHERED 
OVER 1M VIEWS
THE ECONOMIST REPORTS 
ON THE PEARL RIVER DELTA
SHENZHEN 
THESILICONVALLEY 
OFHARDWARE

“In Shenzhen, making is either 
product development if you are an adult, 
or a structured curriculum if you are a child.
There are almost no Chinese makers 
in Shenzhen doing it purely as a hobby.
 
However, if you are working 
on a hardware startup 
or just want to get stuff made, 
Shenzhen is pretty unbeatable.”
CHINA’SMAKER 
MOVEMENT
创客
LOST IN TRANSLATION?
A DIFFERENT MEANING 
FOR ‘MAKER’ 
AND A DIFFERENT PATH 
FROM THE WEST
EVERYONE IS A MAKER!
NAOMI WU “SEXYCYBORG” 
SHENZHEN HOBBYIST MAKER
Source: Exolymph News Interview, July 2016

PRODUCT
CROWDFUNDING 
INCHINA
ISMOSTLY 
MARKETING 
&PRE-SALES
PRODUCTS OFTEN SHIP 
WITHIN 60 DAYS
JD IS #1 PLATFORM 
$670M RAISED IN TOTAL
61 TECH PROJECTS OVER $1M 
ON ALIBABA’S TAOBAO
XIAOMI’S PLATFORM 
WELCOMES STARTUPS
POWEREGG 
DRONE 
 
RAISED $15M ON JD
KAADAS 
FINGERPRINT SMART LOCK  
 
RAISED $4.5M ON TAOBAO
MOVEIT 
SMART HOME GYM 
 
$115,000 ON INDIEGOGO 
$975,000 WITH XIAOMI
E-COMMERCE GIANTS DOMINATE CROWDFUNDING

 
SOME TEST THE WATERS. SOME ARE GLOBAL-FIRST. SOME WANT SALES 
SOME HAD VC FUNDING. MOST COVER THEIR ORIGIN. MOST SHIP FAST!
TICWATCH 2 BY MOBVOI 
VOICE-CONTROLLED ANDROID
WATCH
$2.1M ON KICKSTARTER 
RAISED $72M FROM VC
BEFORE
AIRBLOCK BY MAKEBLOCK 
MODULAR DRONE
$830,000 ON KICKSTARTER 
LAUNCHED 6 PRODUCTSOMNICHARGE 
AC/DC & USB CHARGER
$3.2M ON INDIEGOGO
ALPHA 2 BY UBTECH 
SMART FAMILY ROBOT
$1.4M ON INDIEGOGO
RAISED $20M FROM VC BEFORE
CHINESESTARTUPS
CROWDFUNDABROAD

CHINA 
LEADSIN 
VRARCADES
VR ARCADES
2016: 35,000 VR ARCADES OPENED 
2017: 12,000 STILL OPERATING 
VERY FEW TURN A PROFIT 
VR HEADSETS
2016: >200 FIRMS PRODUCING HEADSETS 
2017: <20 FIRMS STILL FUNCTIONING 
(SOURCE: IHEIMA, FEB ’17)
BUT IT’S HARDLY 
GOOD BUSINESS

NEXTGLOBALLEADERS
“BORN GLOBAL” STARTUPS ARE COMING
INSTA360
NINEBOT
MAKEBLOCK
DJI
UBTECH
For innovation,  
China Today is like Japan in the 80’s”
SEAN O’SULLIVAN, FOUNDER, SOSV“

SONICAM
360 4K CAMERA WITH 
360 HD SOUND 
(64 MICROPHONES)
ELEPHANT ROBOTICS
LOW-COST ROBOT ARM 
WITH COMPUTER VISION
MOBVOI 
CHINESE-FOCUSED 
VOICE A.I.
CUTTING-EDGE 
CHINESESTARTUPS 
EMERGE

BUYING 
INNOVATION
CHINESE APPLIANCE MAKER MIDEA 
BOUGHT GERMANY’S KUKA FOR US$4B

BUYING 
DESIGN
PHILIPPE STARCK  
DESIGNED THE MI MAX

ATTRACTIVE OPTIONS  
FOR HARDWARE STARTUPS
LATESTAGE 
FUNDING 
ALTERNATIVES
07/
HAX | HARDWARE TRENDS 2017 | PAGE 226HAX | HARDWARE TRENDS 2017 | PAGE 226

VENTURE CAPITAL IS NOT THE ONLY OPTION
HARDWARE 
ISATTRACTIVE 
TOPUBLICMARKETS
VCS STILL CAUTIOUS ON HARDWARE 
 
HARDWARE HAS ADVANTAGE OF REVENUE 
01/
02/
03/
04/
GROWTH AND PROFIT ATTRACT 
TRADITIONAL INVESTORS 
 
PUBLIC MARKETS & NEW FUNDING 
OPTIONS ARE OPEN TO HARDWARE
HAX | HARDWARE TRENDS 2017 | PAGE 227HAX | HARDWARE TRENDS 2017 | PAGE 227

MICRO-CAPS AS FIRST STEP TO
UNICORNHOOD?
TRADITIONAL IPO 
NASDAQ OR OTHER EXCHANGES
UP-LISTING 
INCUBATE ON SMALLER EXCHANGES
EQUITY CROWDFUNDING 
“MINI-IPO”
HYBRID IPO 
COMBINING WALL STREET & MAIN STREET
REVERSE MERGER 
PUBLIC SHELLS & OTHERS
ICO 
THE NEXT FRONTIER?
01/
02/
03/
04/
05/
06/
ALTERNATIVESTO
VCFUNDINGGAIN
POPULARITY

B2BHARDWARE
STARTUPSNEED
CREDIBILITY 
TOGROW
To grow in the enterprise sector it can be essential to be public. 
When a contract is $1 million it is not a joke anymore: clients
make reference calls.”
CYRIL EBERSWEILER 
FOUNDER, HAX

FORKLIFT ROBOTS
EURONEXT IPO 
JUN 2017 
 
2016 SALES: $5.9M 
RAISED FROM VC: $11.2M 
RAISED FROM IPO: $45M 
MARKET CAP (IPO): $122M
IPO
SMALLER
EXCHANGES 
WELCOME 
STARTUPS
UNDERWATER DRONES
ASX IPO 
APR 2017 
 
2016 SALES: $800,000 
RAISED FROM IPO: $5.5M 
MARKET CAP (IPO): $21M
TIMING, STORY, PROMOTION, 
FIT WITH THE EXCHANGE 
ALL MATTER TO SUCCESS

CYBERDYNE 
TOKYO STOCK EXCHANGE
2016 SALES: $15M 
2016 LOSS: $7M
MARKET CAP: $2.9B 
= 190X SALES
FITWITH
EXCHANGE

FROM ETC TO NASDAQ 
RAISED $20M ON OTC (2014)
RAISED $11.7M ON NASDAQ (2015)
PROCESS TO UP-LIST WAS 
3 MONTHS ONLY
UP-LISTING
EKSO BIONICS

JOBS ACT 
REGULATION A+
STARTED JUNE 2015 
RAISE UP TO $50M 
FROM THE PUBLIC
KNIGHTSCOPE 
SECURITY ROBOTS
RAISING $20M 
$80M PRE-MONEY
MINI-IPO

HYBRID IPO
FIRST REG A+ IPO 
ON NYSE (JUN 2017)
MYOMO
MEDICAL ROBOTICS
RAISED FROM IPO: $4M
PRE-MONEY: $35M
REVENUE: ~$1M
WALLSTREET
MEETS
MAINSTREET

WITH FUNDRAISE OPTION
BORQS - IOT DEVICES &
SOLUTIONS
PREPARING NASDAQ
MERGER IN 2017
FASTBRICKS ROBOTICS 
BRICK-LAYING 
CONSTRUCTION ROBOT
MERGED ON ASX IN 2015 
RAISED AU$5.75M 
MARKET CAP: AU$92M
REVERSE 
MERGER
FASTER (4 MONTHS VS. 6~12) 
CHEAPER (OFTEN < $500K) 
KEEP GREATER OWNERSHIP

ICO - INITIAL COIN OFFERING
NEXTSTEPAFTERCROWDFUNDING?
FITWITHHARDWAREUNCLEARYET

WORLD’S MOST ACTIVE EARLY STAGE INVESTOR IN HARDWARE
ABOUTSOSV&HAX

776.65.8
576.65
776.65.8
576.65
776.65.8
576.65
776.65.8
576.65
776.65.8
576.65
776.65.8
576.65
776.65.8
576.65
776.65.8
576.65
776.65.8
576.65
776.65.8
576.65
776.65.8
576.65
776.65.8
576.65
№1 EARLY STAGE INVESTOR
№1 FEMALE FOUNDERS №1 CROWDFUNDING№1 IOT
№2 SEED INVESTOR GLOBALLY

70% 30%
HARDWARE LIFE SCIENCES FOODSOCIAL & MOBILE
INVESTEDACROSS4DEEPTHEMES

$150M
SOSV FUND III
$300M
ASSETS UNDER
MANAGEMENT
Q12018
FIRST CLOSE  
FOR FUND IV

68 
GROWTH 
STAGE
155 
SEED 
STAGE

INDUSTRIAL
CONSUMER
HEALTH
ENTERPRISE
10
20
30
40
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
HAXSEED 
INVESTMENTS 
PERYEAR

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HAX 
REPORTS

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