The first venture capital firm with a focus on consumer robotics, Grishin Robotics has announced its investment in Boston-based hardware incubator Bolt, says azorobotics.com.
Bolt assists in helping hardware startups, robotics and connected devices.
Next to Grishin Robotics are also Logitech and Autodesk, partnering with Bolt to support its startups by contributing capital, as well as parts and other services. Prominent investors include Mick Mountz and Brad Feld.
Over the next two years, Bolt will accept some 25 hardware setups as parts to its program. The application for the initial run opened on February 21, and will remain open for the following two months and found on Bolt’s website, www.bolt.io.
Ten to 15 companies will be accepted for the program, which will last six months.
"The key to the upcoming consumer robotics revolution, I believe, is in the startup ecosystem. Talented hardware entrepreneurs, dreaming about a new generation of smart devices, do not have today a supporting community around, that is as developed as software developers do. That's why we have decided to invest in Bolt – this is an investment into the market's future," claims Dmitry Grishin, founder of Grishin Robotics.
"Hardware startups are typically at a major disadvantage compared to their software counterparts," said Ben Einstein, Bolt's Managing Director. "But this disadvantage means it's ripe for disruption. We've built a model that changes the equation and enables startups to get capital-efficient hardware to market at unprecedented speed."
The projects will have access to office and prototyping facilities in addition to seed capital, a staff of full-time engineers and designers and a variety of mentors specializing in hardware. The program has a focus on key aspects of ideation, as well as the development of mass-market hardware products of any kind, manufacturing and commercialization.
Edited by
Braden Becker
