HAXLR8R Unveils 10 New Hardware Startups That Will Make Us Better Humans
SAN FRANCISCO (PRWEB) November 25, 2013 -- HAXLR8R, the world’s most active hardware accelerator program, announced 10 new consumer and prosumer hardware companies at its third Demo Day in San Francisco last night. Products from the 10 new hardware companies span markets such as wearables, gaming, entertainment and medical devices.
“This is the third group of hardware startups from HAXLR8R that has benefited from the know-how accumulated in taking numerous projects from prototype to production during the two years our program has been running,” said Cyril Ebersweiler, founder of HAXLR8R and venture partner at SOSventures. “The companies revealed at Demo Day show how quickly ideas can become functional and beautiful products that are manufacturer and consumer ready.”
HAXLR8R’s third class includes:
• BabyBe: A bionic baby mattress that sends bio-signals of mothers to their premature babies when they are isolated in an incubator; helping to improve their development and health. See BabyBe’s campaign on Indiegogo, for more information visit babybe.org.
• Curio: An interactive and hackable toy character that interacts with an iPad. For more information visit curiobots.com.
• The Dustcloud: An urban gaming platform that brings offline gaming online by integrating a Duster, a physical controller that fires an electronic bullet called a Spek, with location-based iPhone and Android apps and a social media website, where all gameplay statistics are collated and stored. For more information visit thedustcloud.com
• Everpurse: A purse that charges smartphones wirelessly, for customers who demand more interconnectivity from the products and brands they love. Everpurse successfully launched on Kickstarter, for more information visit everpurse.com.
• Notch: A wearable sensor that tracks movement in three dimensions to help sport practitioners, dancers and anyone who needs to track movement understand and improve their movement. Notch is launching on Kickstarter, for more information visit notchdevice.com
• Palette: A freeform hardware interface that offers consumers hands-on control of their favorite software. Palette assembles a physical user interface to any software by connecting elements like buttons, knobs and sliders. Initially targeting image editors, it is expanding to musicians and many other applications, and replaces the traditional mouse and keyboard. Palette is launching on Kickstarter for more information visit paletteui.com
• Petcube: A home gadget that makes sure pets will never be lonely again. With Petcube, pet owners can watch, talk and play with their pets from anywhere using their smartphones. Petcube successfully launched on Kickstarter, for more information visit petcube.net
• Roadie Tuner: A handheld device that automatically tunes and diagnoses any stringed instrument in seconds. Roadie Tuner is a pioneer of the “quantified instrument” movement. The company is launching on Kickstarter, for more information visit bandindustries.com
• Vigo: A wearable device that helps users to avoid dosing off. Vigo monitors blinking patterns in order to detect signs of drowsiness and give users a nudge when they need it. For more information visit wearvigo.com.
• WearPoint: A touch interface for any device that uses Bluetooth low energy. In particular WearPoint targets Google Glass, eliminating the need for users to tilt their head or touch Glass ever again. With WearPoint, swipes and clicks allow for many different controls, and it is programmable at will. For more information visit wearpoint.com
“The common theme among many of these products is that they are all about improving the human experience, getting technology out of the way and enhancing our ability to connect with other people," said Sean O'Sullivan, founder of HAXLR8R and managing director of SOSventures.
HAXLR8R provides hardware-based startups from around the world with the support needed to turn their concepts into a reality. During the 15-week program, 10 startups are given access to the best advice in product design, interactive manufacturing, business and venture funding through more than 50 top-tier mentors, in the heart of Shenzhen, the world’s manufacturing capital. At the end of the program, many of the companies launch on Kickstarter or Indiegogo to get the funds needed to start production. Current and past HAXLR8R Kickstarter campaigns can be viewed at http://www.kickstarter.com/pages/haxlr8r. HAXLR8R is taking applications for its fourth class, which will start in January, until November 30. Apply at http://www.haxlr8r.com/apply.
Cyril Ebersweiler and Sean O'Sullivan founded HAXLR8R as a spinoff of China.axlr8r. Managed by Cyril along with Zach Smith, the program has more than 50 entrepreneurs and industry mentors that include Brad Feld, Nolan Bushnell, Mitch Altman and the newest mentor Bunnie Huang. For a full list of HAXLR8R mentors, visit haxlr8r.com/mentors.
About HAXLR8R
HAXLR8R (“Hack-celerator”) is a mentor-driven seed accelerator designed to identify, invest in, and support entrepreneurs who are solving world issues by blending hardware and software technologies. HAXLR8R selects the best companies from around the world to take place in a 111-day intensive program based in the mecca of electronics: Shenzhen, China. To date, HAXLR8R has presented 30 companies to the world and is considered to be the poster child of the 'hardware renaissance'. For more information, visit http://www.haxlr8r.com, follow us on Twitter @haxlr8r and follow the HAXLR8R companies on Kickstarter http://www.kickstarter.com/pages/haxlr8r
Angela Lestar, Schwartz MSL, +1 (415) 817-2559, [email protected]
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