Y Combinator is the best place for startups, regardless of what they're making.
We don't target specific types of companies for Y Combinator, and we don't break out our companies into different groups by industry. We help all of our startups make things people want. We're particularly beneficial to startups making hardware.
Who Should Apply
Hardware startups arrive at YC having progressed to varying degrees, from little beyond a sketch to shipping thousands of units. We have funded everything from meal replacements through smart watches to fusion. Contrary to popular belief, there is no ‘ideal time to do YC'. If you're a team of smart people working hard to make something world-changing, you should apply.
What We Do
We help hardware companies quickly create prototypes, test with potential customers, iterate their product, launch in a way that maximizes the likelihood of success, and scale production in response to demand.
Unlike some other programs, we will not perform these tasks for you: we have no staff engineers and own zero factories, because we've found that there is simply too much variation in what companies want for a one-size-fits-all solution to work. Instead, we've built an ecosystem of partners to support our hardware startups throughout their product development lifecycle (though of course, you're not obligated to work with any of them). Many offer expedited support and deals to our startups.
When YC hardware companies are ready to launch a product, every major crowdfunding platform, many payment processors, and the world's biggest retailer provide extra support.
Where we've found gaps in the hardware startup ecosystem, we've funded companies to try and fill them.
Alumni
We have funded over 100s startups making physical things. From the moment you enter Y Combinator, they become your advisors. Here are more hardware companies we've funded.
Preorders
The following YC companies have products available for preorder:
- Acre Designs: Zero-energy Homes
- Enflux Smart Clothing: 3D Workout Tracking
- Exo360: 4K VR Drone
- Hykso: Punch Tracking Technology
- Magic Instruments: Pick-up-and-play Guitar
- Revl: Fully-stabilized Action Camera
- Soundboks: The Loudest Battery-Powered Speaker
- Tovala: The Smart Oven
- Toymail: Toys That Connect People
Shipping
You can currently purchase these products made by YC companies:
- Automatic: Connect Your Car
- Bellabeat Smart Jewelery
- Bluesmart Smart Luggage
- Boosted Boards: Electric Skateboards
- Click and Grow: Robot Garden
- Coin: Smart Device For All Cards
- Double Robotics: Telepresence Robots
- Edyn: Smart Garden Sensor
- Eight Sleep: Smart Mattress
- Estimote: Bluetooth Beacons
- FlowCommand: Pipeline Volume Sensing
- Function of Beauty: Personalized Shampoo and Conditioner
- Gecko Robotics: Boiler-inspecting Robots
- iCracked Phone Repair Kits
- Kuna Smart Security Light
- L. Condoms
- Lully: Night Terrors Solution
- MadeSolid Advanced 3D Printing Materials
- Markhor: High Quality Handcrafted Shoes
- Mason: Custom Android Devices
- Myo: Gesture Control Armband
- NetBeez: Network Monitoring
- Nomiku Sous Vide
- OpenTrons: Personal Liquid Handling Robot
- Pantelligent Smart Pan
- Pebble Smartwatch
- Petcube: Remote Pet Camera
- Pluot: Big Screen Videoconferencing
- Protonet: Secure Private Cloud Servers
- Soylent Meal In A Bottle
- Spire: Wearable Respiration Tracking
- Trac: Race Timing
- Vanhawks Smart Bike
Quotes
"There's a new way to create hardware. YC is using years of experience and knowledge about building companies, distribution and marketing to apply those success patterns to building sustainable hardware startups." – Urska Srsen, Bellabeat
"The YC Hardware listserv is the SWAT team for your hardware startup. It's the easiest way to get un-stuck when it comes to dealing with vendors, supply chain, regulatory issues, complex technical issues, or even packaging." – Kyle Vogt, Cruise