Roughly 90 % of laborious tech startups fail attributable to funding constraints, longer R&D timelines for creating {hardware}, and the complexity of producing their merchandise, in line with quite a few research.
Typically, these startups require as much as 50 % extra investor financing than software program ones, in line with a Medium article. Sometimes, they want a minimum of US $30 million, in line with a Lucid article. That’s double the funding wanted by software program corporations on common.
To assist them join with buyers, IEEE Entrepreneurship in 2024 launched its Onerous Tech Enterprise Summits. The 2-day occasions join founders with potential buyers and different entrepreneurs. Attendees embody producers, design engineers, and mental property attorneys.
“Though there are a variety of startup investor conferences, it’s laborious to seek out these targeted on laborious 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 enterprise capital agency that invests in international 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 laborious tech corporations, it’s nonetheless laborious to seek 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 laborious tech is synonymous with electrical engineering.
“A number of the domains we’re masking are robotics, semiconductors, and aerospace know-how. IEEE has societies for all these fields,” she says. “Due to that, there are numerous assets throughout the organizations for startups, whether or not or not it’s mentors or guides on how you can commercialize merchandise.”
There are a number of enterprise summits deliberate for this 12 months. Two are scheduled in collaboration with the IEEE Techniques 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 Idea and Expertise Society’s Worldwide 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 contains 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. Traders at previous occasions have included i3 Ventures, Monozukuri Ventures, and TSV Capital.
“The reference to the group was unbelievable, particularly buyers and founders in robotics.” —Mark Boysen, founding father of Naware
Startups current their pitch, which quite a few 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 how you can navigate the method and meet rules.
In an exhibition space, individuals 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 mentioned the occasion linked them not solely with buyers but additionally with different entrepreneurs having related struggles.
“The reference to the group was unbelievable, particularly buyers and founders in robotics,” mentioned 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 beloved getting the buyers’ views and understanding what they’re searching for,” Boysen mentioned.
Jeffrey Prepare dinner, who attended a summit in 2024, mentioned he met “a variety of nice contacts and noticed what the laborious tech enterprise local weather is like.”
Attendees of the Onerous 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,” mentioned Prepare dinner, who based Gigantor Applied sciences in Melbourne Seashore, Fla. It develops {hardware} programs for AI-powered units.
Greater than 90 % of attendees on the 2025 occasion in San Francisco mentioned they might extremely suggest the summit to others, in line with a survey.
Traders 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 a variety of younger entrepreneurs tackling some huge challenges,” he mentioned. “This is likely one of the finest occasions to satisfy some very-early-stage corporations.”
Making essential connections in laborious tech
Startup founders who wish to attend a summit should apply. Functions for this 12 months’s occasions are open. Individuals have to be founders of preseed, seed, or Collection A startups.
Preseed founders are in search of small investments to get their companies off the bottom. These within the seed stage have already secured funding from their first investor. Collection A startups have obtained funding and are creating their product.
Candidates are reviewed by a committee of buyers to make sure the startups can be a great 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 satisfy as many buyers as doable and different individuals who help laborious tech programs in order that they’re capable of attain out to them for recommendation or assist.”
These involved in studying extra about an upcoming occasion can ship a request to entrepreneurship@ieee.org.
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