The Zapier Blog

JUNE 26, 2025

Of course, there are some that are scary good, but until recently, they were resource-intensive to develop, in terms of time, tokens, or even the hardware required. It's been launching AI offerings for every major category (think Firebase Studio for vibe coding), and Veo is its answer to AI-generated videos.

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Dream It

FEBRUARY 14, 2020

About 25% of our portfolio and roughly the same amount of our time is related to construction, which includes some combination of hardware, robotics, machine learning and new materials. We have noticed that many interesting opportunities in this space require hardware. How much time are you spending on construction robotics right now?

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construction investment investing opportunity 261

TechCrunch

JANUARY 25, 2021

Though, like many companies primarily known for hardware solutions, Latch says it’s more, offering a connected security software platform for owners of apartment buildings. And the company has seen solid growth over the past year — not something every hardware or hardware adjacent company can say about the pandemic.

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TechCrunch

SEPTEMBER 19, 2022

The highlighted showcase categories. These rising-star startups represent the innovation taking place across these tech categories: Hardware, Robotics, AI + ML. Literally months in the making, TechCrunch editorial staff read, vetted and debated every application.

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Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 5, 2010

cheap accessible digital hardware]. ones were enhanced because they coincided with hardware that allowed us to capture more content instantly – namely images and video – otherwide Web 2.0 This will take a few years but players such as Meebo are already innovating in this category though their toolbar.

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networking mix-use innovation development 319

TechCrunch

NOVEMBER 18, 2021

To software developers, the process of creating a hardware product can seem distinctly 1980s. I got frustrated with how much of my time was being spent managing the most fundamental elements of hardware development: CAD files, your bill of materials and your supply chain data,” explains Duro’s CEO Michael Corr.

development 86

development SaaS culture ventures 86

TechCrunch

DECEMBER 14, 2021

I knew the organization primary through its consumer hardware companies — a primary focus when it was founded, back in 2014. Seems it’s set to continue expanding its reach, going forward with eyes on categories like web3 and NFTs. Hong Kong-based Animoca Brands appears to be playing a big role in the move.

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accelerator startup accelerator health sustainability 80

TechCrunch

AUGUST 24, 2023

Bringing Modular’s total raised to $130 million, the proceeds will be put toward product expansion, hardware support and the expansion of Modular’s programming language, Mojo, CEO Chris Lattner says. ” Ambitious much? But none of what roughly-70-employee Modular is proposing is out of the realm of possibility.

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frameworks accelerator sustainability communities 79

TechCrunch

MAY 9, 2023

Hardware Stage: Uncovers the mechanics and code powering our smart world, featuring topics like articulated robots, autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), commercial hardware, humanoids, IoT hardware, and interstellar technologies. Sessions will include Google and Citizen Lab. Sessions will include Alphabet and Magic Leap.

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disruption funders peer-to-peer networking 96

TechCrunch

OCTOBER 26, 2022

Others in the same category include Standard Cognition (last year valued at over $1 billion), Shopic , Caper , Zippin , and Grabango , to name a few. The plan will be to use the funding to expand its engagement with these, and to add more to the roster, amid a strong slate of competition in the market.

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technology real estate enablement disruption 90

TechCrunch

JULY 19, 2022

Back when we started, around 2012, there was a lack of VC investors who [were] willing to invest very early stage in hardware technology, particularly in 3D printing. We have four categories that we’re scouting for. They are hardware, software, materials, and applications. Today we are a team of 10 people.

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support ventures VC sustainability 84

TechCrunch

MARCH 15, 2022

This makes a lot of sense, when you consider how, for example, Apple will sell Apple Care alongside its hardware.) . “Underwriting cyber insurance for SMEs is a more dire prospect than for large enterprises,” he said. These sell the product alongside a channel network of 14,000 brokers.

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collaboration opportunity board networking 104

TechCrunch

APRIL 7, 2021

Launched last year, Retail Watch uses a combination of computer vision, machine learning and hardware like cameras and autonomous robots, to gather real-time data about the shelf availability of products. Singapore is poised to become Asia’s Silicon Valley.

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innovation data collection enablement strategy 74

TechCrunch

JULY 25, 2021

Working With A Chinese Factory, Hardware Entrepreneur Edition. Even today, garnering a top spot in one of the category leaderboards remains a surefire way to build brand awareness, investor interest, as well as sales records. Rui Ma is a partner with 500Startups based in Beijing. More posts by this contributor.

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Jason Malki

MARCH 24, 2023

Walking down the aisle of some of the largest hardware retailers in the world, our category of goods is confusing, noisy, and stale, and consumers’ and associates’ education in these categories is very low. A little bit of ignorance and a little bit of arrogance while looking at opportunities in the US market.

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founder accelerator creativity culture 52

TechCrunch

FEBRUARY 24, 2023

Deus Robotics specializes in full-cycle projects, including hardware engineering, software development, and integration, focusing on automating warehouse and logistics operations. Howly “You choose a category where you need professional advice and type your question in the chat form.

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startup sustainability VC support 105

American Entrepreneurship

APRIL 18, 2024

For the 2024 Innovation Challenge, CharmHealth will accept proposals in the following categories: Hardware Accelerated AI, Generative AI, Tech Led Innovations, Mobile Health Apps, Healthcare Accessibility, and Social Change Solutions. 23-25, 2024, in Washington, D.C. .”

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creativity innovation mentorship health 59

TechCrunch

AUGUST 27, 2021

For The Exchange, Alex Wilhelm examines the S-1 filing from Warby Parker, “a consumer hardware company with two main sales channels, largely attractive economics, falling losses and rising adjusted profitability. billion in 2019, but in Q1 2021, companies in the category raised $1.1 D2C specs purveyor Warby Parker files to go public.

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Andreessen Horowitz

SEPTEMBER 25, 2023

I think there are 3 categories. What types of technology abstract away different hardware devices? If we take a step back and say immersive 3D will, with market forces, follow the phone system, video communication, and SMS, then the influences are just massive. What’s the future of running inference cheaply at mega-volume?

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advice mix-use accelerator creativity 86

Andreessen Horowitz

SEPTEMBER 25, 2023

AI is just like a new and interesting piece of infrastructure that lets you solve a new category of problems or solve an old category of problems in better ways. That square root basically means that the model itself does not get that much bigger, and the hardware is getting faster while you’re doing it.

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development technology creativity accelerator 139

TechCrunch

SEPTEMBER 7, 2021

Most investors are generalists, focusing on all three Baltic countries and doing mostly seed investments in software (some hardware) B2B companies. Of course, some of the investors have a better-proven record in some categories than others. STAY and MOVE IN — no question there!

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startup health venture capital capital 103

OurCrowd

DECEMBER 4, 2022

Among its many capabilities, the hardware-agnostic system allows medical professionals to design and 3D print patient-specific surgical tools and implants. It also allows managers to implement policies that automatically collect approvals or deny expenses that fall into certain categories. More than 4,200 high-tech jobs worldwide.

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FundersClub

JUNE 12, 2017

The next one, the most recent company prior to FundersClub, was a touchscreen hardware business. It's like partnering with people who go on create categories or redefine them in business that move the world forward. I had either the fortune or misfortune of raising a lot of venture capital for myself. These are angels and VCs.

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VC venture capital founder networking 93

TechCrunch

SEPTEMBER 9, 2022

And while the accelerator says it only looks at founders when investing in startups, not sector, category or idea, more money in the pipeline may be empowering enough to attract a different cohort of founders. Solving optimization problems with bespoke hardware. – Harri Weber. – Kyle Wiggers. Also, it has a great website.

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incubation hospitality enablement founder 97

TechCrunch

JANUARY 26, 2021

Digital media delivered with differentiated experiences: Peloton may not immediately jump to mind as a digital-media company but they are one of the best at producing a high-value experience using extremely high-quality content that goes far beyond simple fitness or even the need for hardware. This pattern will emerge in other categories.

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media networking ventures board 101

TechCrunch

MAY 7, 2021

Forerunner’s Eurie Kim and Oura’s Harpreet Rai discuss betting on consumer hardware. Forerunner’s Eurie Kim and Oura’s Harpreet Rai discuss betting on consumer hardware. As he looked back on the one-year mark, Klein sat down with TechCrunch to discuss all that has happened and the unique set of challenges he faced. Probably not.

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SaaS mix-use health peer-to-peer 98

TechCrunch

FEBRUARY 22, 2022

The old saying, “build a better mousetrap, and the world will beat a path to your door,” does not apply to startups in the sexual wellness category. Not a future in which one company owns the VR hardware market. Image Credits: OsakaWayne Studios (opens in a new window) / Getty Images. Big Tech Inc.

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advice health VC accelerator 89

TechCrunch

AUGUST 23, 2022

From hardware to hard science, some startups take more time to build income streams. For growing startup categories like robotics and climate, these are not idle questions. We love a competitive startup category here at TechCrunch. Not every startup can generate revenue from day one.

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disruption pitching VC ventures 81

David Teten VC

NOVEMBER 23, 2020

– Interaxon Muse sells a brainwave-controlled computing technology and applications, and a hardware/software platform that converts brain waves into digital signals for meditation, games, sleep improvement, and disability assistance. Concentration in consumer/branded products startups. What should VC leaders do to eliminate such biases?

venture capital 52

venture capital VC capital ventures 52

David Teten VC

NOVEMBER 23, 2020

– Interaxon Muse sells a brainwave-controlled computing technology and applications, and a hardware/software platform that converts brain waves into digital signals for meditation, games, sleep improvement, and disability assistance. Concentration in consumer/branded products startups. What should VC leaders do to eliminate such biases?

venture capital 40

venture capital VC capital ventures 40

TechCrunch

MARCH 9, 2021

Skyfall focuses on software companies, marketplaces and hardware companies with a recurring software revenue bundle. Nomono is a software and hardware solution to capture and intelligently process voice recordings and spatial audio. Espen Malmo, founding partner, Skyfall Ventures. What’s your latest, most exciting investment?

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opportunity mix-use advice investment 115

Both Sides of the Table

FEBRUARY 9, 2014

My partner Steven Dietz is an auto enthusiast and more than just an admirer of amazing cars he has worked around the auto industry for 20 years and backed a couple of billion-dollar startups in the category. True Ventures with hardware startups. Whenever somebody has a car startup I send it straight his way.

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Tomasz Tunguz

JANUARY 17, 2021

From time to time, I chart the fastest growing categories of startup investment in the US for seed through Series C. Here are 2015 , 2017 , This year, I was certain the categories would have been influenced by COVID19. Quantum computing topped the list with a doubling of rounds. If you have a hypothesis, send me a tweet at @ttunguz.

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startup accelerator financing finance 144

Both Sides of the Table

DECEMBER 5, 2010

cheap accessible digital hardware]. consumer companies were enhanced because they coincided with hardware that allowed us to capture more content instantly – namely images and video. This will take a few years but players such as Meebo are already innovating in this category though their toolbar. We all wanted intros.

networking 297

networking innovation development opportunity 297

TechCrunch

OCTOBER 20, 2020

The reasons are plentiful, but all tend to circle around the idea that it’s too early for software and too expensive to try to take on Apple or Facebook on the hardware front. On the hardware side, the ghost of Magic Leap’s formerly hyped glory still looms large. What do you want to see before you make a play here?

opportunity 119

opportunity startup VC ventures 119

Tomasz Tunguz

APRIL 23, 2023

Devices will be the only category to decline. CDW, a $20b distributor of software & hardware, announced earnings last week & their results echoed these. SMB revenues decreased 13% Education declined 9% with a 68% drop in hardware sales Government grew 13.5% Why doesn’t it feel that way?

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accelerator education 116

This is going to be BIG.

FEBRUARY 21, 2021

I do seem to be the absolute worst at figuring this out on my own as I can think of at least three founders that I’ve backed that turned out to fall into this category that I would not have assumed. This seems to be a trend in the rest of my life, too, not that one should ever make assumptions.

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