Roughly 90 p.c of hard tech startups fail resulting from funding constraints, longer R&D timelines for growing {hardware}, and the complexity of producing their merchandise, in accordance with quite a lot of research.
Typically, these startups require as much as 50 p.c extra investor financing than software program ones, in accordance with a Medium article. Usually, they want no less than US $30 million, in accordance with a Lucid article. That’s double the funding wanted by software program firms on common.
To assist them join with buyers, IEEE Entrepreneurship in 2024 launched its Hard Tech Venture Summits. The 2-day occasions join founders with potential buyers and different entrepreneurs. Attendees embody producers, design engineers, and intellectual property legal professionals.
“Though there are loads of startup investor conferences, it’s arduous to search out these targeted on arduous tech,” says Joanne Wong, who helped provoke this system and is now the chair. She is a basic companion at Redds Capital, a California-based venture capital agency that invests in world early-stage IT startups.
The IEEE member can be an entrepreneur. She based SciosHub in 2020. The corporate’s software-as-a-service and informatics platform automates the data-management course of for biomedical analysis labs.
“Many buyers are targeted on AI software program—which is nice,” she says. “However for arduous tech firms, it’s nonetheless arduous to search out help.”
The summit additionally features a workshop to assist founders navigate manufacturing processes and regulatory compliance. The occasion is open to IEEE members and others.
IEEE is a pure match for this system, Wong says, as a result of arduous tech is synonymous with electrical engineering.
“A number of the domains we’re overlaying are robotics, semiconductors, and aerospace technology. IEEE has societies for all these fields,” she says. “Due to that, there are a lot of sources inside the organizations for startups, whether or not it’s mentors or guides on the right way to commercialize merchandise.”
There are a number of enterprise summits deliberate for this 12 months. Two are scheduled in collaboration with the IEEE Systems Council: this month in Menlo Park, Calif., and in October in Toronto.
On 10 and 11 June, a 3rd summit is scheduled to happen in Boston on the IEEE Microwave Theory and Technology Society’s International Microwave Symposium.
Extra occasions are being deliberate for subsequent 12 months in Asia, Europe, Latin America, and North America.
Networking and a pitch competitors
Every summit consists of keynote audio system, adopted by networking roundtables. Every desk consists of individuals from three to 5 startups, one or two buyers, and a service supplier.
That association helps founders construct relationships, which is the summit organizers’ precedence, Wong says. Buyers at previous occasions have included i3 Ventures, Monozukuri Ventures, and TSV Capital.
“The reference to the group was incredible, particularly buyers and founders in robotics.” —Mark Boysen, founding father of Naware
Startups current their pitch, which quite a lot of buyers consider earlier than rating the marketing strategy and product. The highest 10 startups pitch their enterprise to all of the buyers.
On the second day, the startup founders take part in a half-day engineering design–to–manufacturing workshop, at which manufacturing engineers educate them the right way to navigate the method and meet rules.
In an exhibition space, members can see demonstrations from the startups and join with service suppliers.
The 2025 occasion’s half-day engineering design–to–manufacturing workshop was led by Liz Taylor, president of DOER Marine. The corporate manufactures marine gear.Larissa Abi Nakhle/IEEE
Constructive suggestions from attendees
In a survey of previous summit attendees, startup founders stated the occasion linked them not solely with buyers but in addition with different entrepreneurs having related struggles.
“The reference to the group was incredible, particularly buyers and founders in robotics,” stated Mark Boysen, who based Naware. The corporate, primarily based in Edina, Minn., developed a robotic that makes use of AI to detect and take away weeds from golf programs, parks, and lawns.
“I liked getting the buyers’ views and understanding what they’re in search of,” Boysen stated.
Jeffrey Cook, who attended a summit in 2024, stated he met “loads of nice contacts and noticed what the arduous tech enterprise local weather is like.”
Attendees of the Arduous Tech Enterprise Summit spend the primary day networking and presenting their pitch to buyers. IEEE Entrepreneurship
“These in the neighborhood would profit from coming to the summit,” stated Cook dinner, who based Gigantor Technologies in Melbourne Seashore, Fla. It develops {hardware} techniques for AI-powered gadgets.
Greater than 90 p.c of attendees on the 2025 occasion in San Francisco stated they might extremely suggest the summit to others, in accordance with a survey.
Buyers and repair suppliers even have discovered the occasions profitable.
Ji Ke, a companion and the chief know-how officer of deep tech VC agency SOSV, attended the 2025 summit.
“I met loads of younger entrepreneurs tackling some large challenges,” he stated. “This is likely one of the finest occasions to fulfill some very-early-stage firms.”
Making necessary connections in arduous tech
Startup founders who wish to attend a summit should apply. Applications for this year’s events are open. Individuals should be founders of preseed, seed, or Sequence A startups.
Preseed founders are looking for small investments to get their companies off the bottom. These within the seed stage have already secured funding from their first investor. Sequence A startups have obtained funding and are growing their product.
Candidates are reviewed by a committee of buyers to make sure the startups could be a superb match. Those that are authorized are matched with buyers and repair suppliers primarily based on their specialty.
“The journey for a tough tech startup could be very lengthy and arduous,” Wong says. “Founders want to fulfill as many buyers as attainable and different individuals who help arduous tech techniques in order that they’re in a position to attain out to them for recommendation or assist.”
These fascinated about studying extra about an upcoming occasion can ship a request to entrepreneurship@ieee.org.
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