From cuttin-edge consumer electronics to groundbreaking industrial technologies, these companies are pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with physical products. In this list, we’ll explore some of the top hardware startups poised to make a significant impact this year.
These companies are not just creating new gadgets; they’re reimagining how we interact with technology, addressing critical challenges, and potentially reshaping entire sectors.
Best Hardware Startups to Watch
Every year, new startups pull to the forefront of their industry through exciting innovation, tech, and industry-disrupting business models. We’ve rounded up the best hardware startups of 2025 that startup lovers, investors, and aspiring entrepreneurs should follow.
Disclaimer: With so many exciting hardware startups launching and growing, we aren’t able to cover them all. Furthermore, the startups listed below are not officially ranked and appear in no particular order.
1. Sense
- Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts
- Founded In: 2013
- Founder(s): Christopher Micali, Mike Phillips, Ryan Houlette
- Funding: Series C, $174.6 Million
- Investors Include: Blue Earth Capital, Japan Energy Fund, Volery Capital Partners
Sense developed a smart home energy monitor that attaches to a home’s electrical panel. Using machine learning (ML) algorithms, the Sense device can identify and track individual appliances and devices in the home to provide detailed energy usage data and insights that help homeowners reduce their energy consumption and costs.
2. Rabbit
- Location: Los Angeles, California
- Founded In: 2021
- Founder(s): Cheng Lu, Dan Ferris, Justin Oren, Peiyuan Liao
- Funding: Series A, $30 Million
- Investors Include: Khosla Ventures, J17 Capital, Kakao Investment
Rabbit is a tech startup focused on revolutionizing consumer electronics. The company has developed two key technologies: the Large Action Model (LAM) and rabbit OS. Rabbit’s debut product, the rabbit r1, is a personal assistant device that operates similarly to a smartphone. The device is powered by artificial intelligence (AI), however, making it capable of serving as a universal controller for all of a user’s applications.
3. Formlabs
- Location: Somerville, Massachusetts
- Founded In: 2011
- Founder(s): David Cranor, Maxim Lobovsky, Natan Linder
- Funding: Series E, $253.7 Million
- Investors Include: SoftBank Vision Fund, New Enterprise Associates, Vintage Investment Partners
Formlabs is a 3D printing technology company that specializes in developing and manufacturing high-resolution, desktop 3D printers using stereolithography (SLA) and selective laser sintering (SLS) technologies. Formlabs’ products, including the popular Form series printers, are known for their precision, ease of use, and affordability compared to traditional industrial 3D printers. The company has expanded its offerings to include a range of materials and post-processing solutions, making professional-grade 3D printing accessible to a wider audience of designers, engineers, and manufacturers across various industries.
4. Oxide Computer Company
- Location: Emeryville, California
- Founded In: 2019
- Founder(s): Bryan Cantrill, Jessie Frazelle, Steve Tuck
- Funding: Series A, $134 Million
- Investors Include: Intel Capital, Eclipse Ventures, Counterpart Ventures
Oxide Computer Company is on a mission to reinvent the server market by developing fully integrated, rack-scale computers. Oxide aims to create a new class of server systems that are more efficient, secure, and manageable than traditional enterprise servers. The company’s approach involves designing both the hardware and software as a cohesive unit, focusing on modern cloud-native workloads. Oxide’s systems are built with open firmware and emphasize transparency and customer control.
5. Mason
- Location: Seattle, Washington
- Founded In: 2015
- Founder(s): Jim Xiao
- Funding: Series A, $25.1 Million
- Investors Include: Y Combinator, Notable Capital, Coatue
Mason specializes in creating customizable smart devices for enterprise and industrial applications that allow businesses to quickly design, deploy, and manage purpose-built Android devices tailored to their specific needs. Mason’s approach combines custom hardware with a cloud-based device management system, enabling clients to create specialized devices for various sectors like healthcare, retail, and logistics. The company’s solution aims to streamline the process of developing and maintaining custom Android devices, reducing time-to-market and operational complexities for businesses that require dedicated smart devices.
6. Pano
- Location: San Francisco, California
- Founded In: 2019
- Founder(s): Sonia Kastner
- Funding: Series A, $45 Million
- Investors Include: January Ventures, Valor Equity Partners, Salesforce Ventures
Pano combines advanced hardware and software to create a comprehensive wildfire monitoring system. The company’s primary product is a network of AI-powered cameras that provide continuous, 360-degree surveillance of high-risk areas. The Pano system uses ML algorithms to analyze visual data in real time, detecting smoke and fire at early stages. This information is then relayed to a cloud-based platform, allowing fire departments and other relevant authorities to respond quickly to potential wildfires.
7. ParkHub
- Location: Dallas, Texas
- Founded In: 2010
- Founder(s): George Baker Sr.
- Funding: Private Equity, $214 Million
- Investors Include: Arrowroot Capital, LLR Partners
ParkHub develops products designed to streamline parking operations for various venues and events. ParkHub’s solutions include mobile point-of-sale (POS) devices, real-time analytics tools, and a cloud-based management platform. These tools help parking operators improve efficiency, increase revenue, and enhance the customer experience by enabling multiple payment options, providing data-driven insights, and optimizing parking inventory. ParkHub’s technology is used by a wide range of clients, including sports stadiums, entertainment venues, universities, and municipalities, to modernize their parking operations and adapt to changing consumer preferences in the digital age.
8. MatX
- Location: Silicon Valley, California
- Founded In: 2022
- Founder(s): Mike Gunter, Reiner Pope
- Funding: $24.8 Million
- Investors Include: AIspace Ventures
MatX was founded by former Google employees on a mission to build processors, or computer chips, for Large Language Models (LLM) that enable AI models to run as efficiently as possible. One of the primary goals of the company is to empower developers and programmers by increasing the speed and affordability of AI applications.
9. Tobii
- Location: Stockholm, Sweden
- Founded In: 2001
- Founder(s): Henrik Eskilsson, John Elvesjo, Marten Skogo
- Funding: Post-IPO Equity, $121.8 Million
- Investors Include: Intel Capital, Northzone, Amadeus Capital Partners
Tobii specializes in eye-tracking and attention computing. The company has become a global leader in developing hardware and software solutions that use eye movement and gaze interaction for various applications. Tobii’s technology is used across multiple sectors, including healthcare, research, gaming, virtual reality, and assistive technology for people with disabilities.
10. FightCamp
- Location: Costa Mesa, California
- Founded In: 2013
- Founder(s): Khalil Zahar
- Funding: Series B, $98.5 Million
- Investors Include: Mike Tyson, Connect Ventures, Y Combinator
FightCamp brings boxing and kickboxing workouts into the home through innovative sports tech hardware. The company offers an interactive, at-home boxing gym experience that combines smart boxing equipment with on-demand workout classes. The FightCamp system includes punch trackers that fit inside boxing gloves, a free-standing punching bag, and a subscription-based app that features a variety of boxing and kickboxing workouts led by professional trainers.
11. Mira
- Location: Pleasanton, California
- Founded In: 2015
- Founder(s): Bin Miao, Sylvia Kang, Zheng Yang
- Funding: Series A, $4.6 Million
- Investors Include: Launchpad Digital Health, HaiBang Ventures, CSC UpShot Ventures
Mira is a health tech startup that develops innovative fertility tracking solutions. The company’s flagship product is a hormone monitoring system that allows women to measure their fertility hormone levels at home with a small, portable device and a smartphone app. This system provides personalized insights into a woman’s ovulation cycle, helping users better understand their fertility and make informed decisions about family planning. Mira aims to make advanced fertility tracking technology more accessible and user-friendly, empowering women with accurate, real-time data about their reproductive health.