Top VC Investors in Hard Tech

Carter Lathrop -

The 21st century has seen the rise of technology, and as the world continues to evolve and grow, there is also a demand for technology to evolve and grow as well. For that reason, hard tech is currently on the rise, and more individuals have taken it into themselves to start a hard tech company.

But managing a hard tech company requires so many things in order to succeed. One of the essential things that hard tech startups need to have is funding. Luckily, there are several VC investors interested in financing and helping hard tech companies launch off the ground and thrive in the market.

Here are 20 hard tech VC investors that you should look out for.

Top 20 VC Investors in Hard Tech

HAX

HAX is a program that aims to help hard tech startups that are transforming the industry by investing in them. To apply for this program, startups from all over the world will need to have initial prototypes, customer understanding, and an aspirational vision. Once chosen, the startups will receive a $250,000 investment and 180 days of hands-on collaboration.

Startups will also have access to HAX’s in-house team of engineers, designers, and entrepreneurs. They will also be a part of the global founder community for early-stage founders that are managing hard tech startups.

Ever since 2012, HAX has helped over 250 hard tech startups, and they are looking forward to helping more in the future.

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The Engine

The Engine is an enterprise built by MIT that is designed to support new companies dealing in hard tech. In particular, this program backs founders who aim to solve the world’s problems through science, engineering, and leadership.

Even though the Engine was launched by MIT, they are not exclusive to MIT teams and technologies. Instead, they invest in any company, so long as it is based in the Greater Boston region. All chosen startups have access to the Engine Room, which is a network of equipment and labs in Greater Boston. Aside from that, they also have a maker space, a bio lab, and a chem lab.

Congruent Ventures

Congruent Ventures is an early-stage venture fund for entrepreneurs who are determined to build companies that address sustainability challenges. This investor’s primary sectors are mobility, urbanization, energy transition, food and agriculture, industrial, and supply chain. But in addition to all of these, Congruent Ventures also invests in hardware and IoT, machine learning, software and services, and many more.

Some of the well-known startups that Congruent Ventures has invested in are Bellwether Coffee, Blue Print Power, Fervo Energy, and many more.

Riot Ventures

Founded in 2017, Riot Ventures is a venture fund that invests in startups that deal with deep technology. In particular, this VC’s areas of interest are intelligence, communications, sensing and control, security, and mobility.

The startups that Riot Ventures has chosen to invest in are those that aim to scale emerging technologies to bring the future to reality. Some of the well-known companies that they have invested in include Desktop Metal, Sentenai, Simbe Robotics, Subspace, and Alloy Enterprises.

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HardTech Round

HardTech Round is a program offered by GoTech, and this is a global industrial high-tech startups competition. HardTech Round focuses on deep technology, especially robotics, drones, IoT solutions, B2B software, security solutions, communication equipment, microelectronics, energy efficiency solutions, and special communications systems.

All startups from the stage of industrial prototyping to the stage of scaling are allowed to apply. The only application rules are that they have unique and protectable technologies, export potential, concrete commercial results, strong team, and scalability. The startup that wins the competition will receive up to $10 million investment for their business.

Y Combinator

Y Combinator is a venture capital that provides seed funding for startups from various sectors. Their primary focus is software development, but they also fund companies that deal with hard tech.

The way that YC works is that twice a year, they invest a small amount of money in a large number of startups. The first YC program will be held from January to March, and the second will be from June to August. During these three months, chosen founders will participate in group office hours every two weeks.

There will also be a weekly talk, which features guest speakers who are experts in the field, and near the end, there will be a demo day where all startups can present their products and services to investors and the press.

Carbon Ventures

Carbon Ventures invests in startups that deal with advanced technologies that reduce carbon footprint. In order to achieve a sustainable future, the company aims to support technologies that transform the top five carbon-emitting industries, namely transportation, energy, agriculture, manufacturing, and waste management. They also love to focus on robotics, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and natural language processing.

Some of the companies that Carbon Ventures has aided in the past are Smarter Sorting, Fortify, Idelic, Transit Screen, WastePlace, and Mobius.

mHUB

mHUB is a leading independent hard tech and manufacturing innovation center. This company aims to help startups and founders create breakthrough products in several sectors, especially robotics, connected devices, sensors, energy tech, medical devices, and other cutting-edge innovations.

Startup companies that are chosen as members have access to resources, mentorship, and communications with manufacturing industry insiders. As of right now, mHUB has over 270 active and alumni startups and small businesses in their repertoire.

Defy

Defy is an early-stage venture that focuses exclusively on startups with emerging high-potential opportunities. The entrepreneurs that this company works with are those who have the skills and dedication to create real change in the world.

Some of the companies that Defy has helped and invested in are Airspace, Capchase, Nifty Games, Visor, and WhyLabs.

Lemnos

Lemnos is an early-stage venture fund that invests in pre-seed and seed startups in the transportation, energy, agriculture, aerospace, manufacturing, and hospitality industries. In particular, they love to invest in startups that produce products in industrial automation, embedded systems, sensor platforms, applied robotics, and intelligent machines.

Lemnos has helped countless startups throughout the years, and some of these companies include Arcbyt, Blossom, Built Robotics, Bumblebee Spaces, Camp Six, Ceres, Compology, Dishcraft Robotics, and Drop Labs.

Grit Ventures

Grit Ventures is a venture capital specializing in the clean machine revolution. Located in Silicon Valley, this VC invests in technologies that will progress the world’s economy at a rapid pace while increasing overall productivity at the same time.

Because of this, Grit’s investments tackle massive market opportunities that result in enormous exit potential. In other words, they love to invest in deep tech, especially in AI, hardware, and robotics.

General Catalyst

General Catalyst is a venture capital firm that invests in early-stage startups that create transformational products. In particular, this VC backs entrepreneurs who are building innovative technology companies and market-leading businesses.

When chosen, startups receive a seed-stage investment ranging from $500,000 to $2 million. They will also receive assistance from General Catalyst in scaling their companies until they reach about $10 million in revenue.

Lux Capital

Lux Capital is a venture capital firm that invests in emerging science and technology ventures. They back seed- and early-stage entrepreneurs who aim to constantly create breakthroughs that would change the pace of the world. In particular, Lux specializes in the following sectors: 3D printing, machine learning, robotics, synthetic biology, genomics, IoT, connected hardware, and many more.

The startups chosen for their program will receive training, assistance, funding, connections, and long-term support from Lux Capital. Lux will also serve as your partners, direct investors, and early customers for the startups once they have scaled their businesses already.

Next47

Backed by Siemens, Next47 is a global venture firm that is committed to turning today’s impossible ideas into tomorrow’s indispensable industries. Next47 has locations in eight key countries all over the world, and they back entrepreneurs who think big and will create products that will change the way the world works.

Some of the sectors that Next47 specializes in are deep technology, cybersecurity, IoT, robotics, advanced manufacturing, and automation technologies. They have worked with several companies throughout the years, including Built Robotics, Armorblox, Avidbots, Bizzabo, Cohesity, and Markforged.

Eclipse Ventures

Eclipse Ventures is a firm that aims to back entrepreneurs who build companies that will transform the industries and propel economies. In particular, Eclipse takes advantage of opportunities of connectivity and hardware.

The companies that Eclipse has worked with in the past couple of years come from various different industries and sectors. These sectors are automotive, semiconductor, manufacturing, networking, materials, and communications. Eclipse continues to contribute to many more industries.

ABB Technology Ventures

ABB Technology Ventures (ATV) is the venture capital unit of ABB Group. Focusing on charging the future of industrial digitalization, ATV aims to back startups that create breakthrough industrial technologies.

In particular, ATV specializes in the following sectors: robotics, industrial IoT, machine learning, cybersecurity, electric mobility, smart buildings, and distributed energy. Currently, they have invested more $200 million to countless startups.

Mayfield Fund

Mayfield Fund is a venture capital firm that invests in early-stage startups that focus on iconic enterprise, consumer, and engineering biology companies. Mayfield has been in the industry for over 50 years, and currently, they have served more than 500 companies.

The chosen startups will receive assistance from Mayfield in scaling and growing their business. They also get funds, ranging from $500,000 to $3 million.

Some of the companies that Mayfield has helped throughout the years are Alchemy, Alignable, Amgen, Oliver Space, Pulse, SanDisk, Volterra, and many more.

Greylock

As a venture capital firm, Greylock aims to help and invest in entrepreneurs who are building disruptive, market-transforming consumer and enterprise software companies. When chosen, startups will receive assistance and funding from Greylock, and the venture capital will also accompany the startups throughout their journeys — from idea to IPO and onwards.

Some of the companies that Greylock has partnered with in the past include Facebook, LinkedIn, Okta, Rubrik, Palo Alto Networks, and Sumo Logic.

DCM

DCM’s primary goal is to partner with inspired entrepreneurs who are passionate about building high-impact, global technology companies. Founded in 1996, DCM invests in seed-, early-, and mid-stage startups, and they specialize in mobile, consumer internet, software, and services.

The startups chosen by DCM will get hands-on operational guidance, financial resources, and a global network of connections. For almost three decades now, DCM has invested in more than 400 technology companies across the United States and Asia.

Techstars Ventures

Techstars is a firm that empowers entrepreneurs to bring new technologies and accessible innovation to the market. The firm was founded in 2006, and since then, they have invested in more than 2,500 companies. Today, they now have a market cap of $27 billion.

Some of the companies in Techstar’s portfolio are SendGrid, DigitalOcean, Zipline, Outreach, PillPack, DataRobot, SalesLoft, Remitly, ClassPass, and SendBird.

Conclusion

Hard tech is widely needed in the world, but it can be a challenge to bring hard tech products and services without help from an investor.

To help you in this matter, this post has listed 20 venture capital firms that are willing to back hard tech startups. Check these VCs out, see which ones you like, and contact them or apply to their programs. When a VC offers to help you in your journey, your dream of building a hard tech company will soon come to fruition.