Top 10 Hardware VCs and excellent Startup Accelerators

Hi all!

... did you miss us in January? We were changing our newsletter setup a bit and decided to start in February.

Since NPA loves commercializing Hardware Products, let's start off with some other folks that like hardware too.

The State of Manufacturing

The Manufacturing PMI Index is not off to a good start in 2023, specifically in new Orders and Production Output but there are some positive trends.

Some Supplier Lead times are finally decreasing, and the trend of increased inventories will ease some supply chain constraints.

However, a few commodities continue to report price increases, specifically in the Metals and Semiconductor Industry.

The United States, Mexico, and Canada will take further steps to strengthen North America's semiconductor industry. This would mean coordinating semiconductor supply chain mapping to identify needs and investment opportunities.

Boston-area startups raised an incredible $558.85 million in January, while much of the global funding has sharply contracted. Biotech companies continue to lead the way with $303 million in funding, followed by Greentech companies Boston Metal (Decarbonizing Steel Production) and Sublime Systems (Low Carbon Cement Production) with $160 million.

Massachusetts is, unfortunately, no longer among the top 10 states for women-led startups. The report released by Merchant Maverick showed that Mass. ranked #14 this year after ranking #7 in last year's report.

Massachusetts needs to do more to foster more diversity and offer attractive solutions to retain it.

See the 10 Mass. companies that became a unicorn in 2022.

Cambridge-based robotics startup Tutor Intelligence Inc. (AI Cobots and 2022 NPA Startup to watch) raised approximately $4.2 million from 30 investors in January.

The applications to the Cleantech Open annual accelerator are open!

Cleantech Open is the world’s largest cleantech accelerator, providing innovators the resources they need to launch and grow successful cleantech businesses. Click here to learn more and apply.

Apply to the 2023 MassChallenge Early Stage Program.

The MassChallenge accelerator is a 3-month mentor-based program that provides intensive support in order to drive startup business traction. Apply by March, 1st here.

For 2023, we decided to switch up our process and provide Startup Spotlights each month of the best Startups with Hardware content in Boston.

If you know an exciting Startup that should get a Spotlight, please send a brief message to Hello@newpageassociates.com, and we will consider them.

We have followed Cleo for the past five years, and a lot has already been covered by the various large news outlets covering Technology and Robotics, but Cleo's Dronut X1 is a true engineering masterpiece with tons of industrial and security/defense use cases.

It weighs less than a pound, fits in the palm of your hand, and uses a sophisticated sensor suite to manage obstacle detection while recording images and data. Did we mention it does NOT REQUIRE TRAINING to use, thanks to the advanced software Cleo developed.

The ducted propulsion technology (bi-propellers inside the donut shape) is incredible. Any engineer with an understanding of aeronautics will fully understand the incredible technology feat Cleo solved with their hardware and highly advanced software package to develop such an easy to use drone. This clever approach allows the Dronut X1 to enter places no other drone can.

It's currently used by Fortune 500 companies for inspections and by the US Army to provide lifesaving intelligence in challenging environments.

Cleo continues to advance their product and expects in the future to capture data and provide progress updates, such as mapping an entire space in 3D and identifying areas that need maintenance while increasing its flight time.

For more info, you can contact Cleo Robotics at contact@cleorobotics.com

2022 will be remembered in the IT and tech worlds for a spike in ransomware attacks and a corresponding rise in cybersecurity issues.

Mark Brown, global managing director of digital trust consulting at the British Standards Institution, said that the growth in cyber issues over the past decade is something companies and people 20 years ago would barely have conceived of. 

Companies are finding that managing cybersecurity threats as one of many business risks better prepare them against a rising number of attacks, including potentially damaging ransomware incidents.

Don't have the time to plan your next vacation? This chatbot will help by telling you where to go and generating local recommendations for hotels, restaurants, and attractions. JustPackAndGo

(Source: Vacay Chatbot)

Wind turbine blades could soon be recycled into gummy bears, scientists say. ImpressedAndHorrified (Source: The Guardian)

With recent progress in robotics and neuroscience, roboticists will probably be able to give humans a third arm.

ImagineAllTheExtraHighFives (Source: IEEE)

Cheers,

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