Hardware startups have steadily increased in number over the past few years, and San Francisco has been at the heart of this particular tech revolution. The city’s rising hardware pioneers are creating products that are designed to impact people’s daily lives through simplicity and innovation. As people continue to opt for speed and efficiency when it comes to almost everything, hardware startups are gaining in popularity.
Throughout San Francisco, there are numerous hardware startups redefining various aspects of everyday life. While some are developing affordable WiFi and high-tech air purifiers, others are crafting smart security systems and advanced neurotechnology. Through reinvention and ingenuity, these hardware startups in San Francisco are making people’s lives simpler, healthier and safer.
Hardware Startups in San Francisco To Know
- Zipline
- Vicarious
- Planet
- Eero
- Ouster
- Molekule
- Density
- Orion Labs
- Particle
Location: SOMA
Founded: 2010
Focus: Aerospace
What they do: Planet designs, builds and launches satellite technology that is instrumental to monitoring and collecting data on Earth. Driven by the expertise of former NASA scientists, Planet maintains over 200 satellites in orbit while they collect geographical information that is shared with organizations in the agriculture, conservation and government industries.
Location: Mission District
Founded: 2013
Focus: Electronics
What they do: Tempo Automation is a low-volume electronics manufacturer powered by proprietary automation software. The company merges data, analytics and automation to deliver new levels of speed, quality and insights necessary for rapid prototyping. Tempo makes it possible for engineers to explore and realize ideas faster, whether they’re building rockets or autonomous cars.
Location: The East Cut
Founded: 2012
Focus: IoT
What they do: Particle creates tools for engineers and designers to develop new experiences through IoT hardware. The company provides a suite of hardware and software tools to help clients prototype, scale and manage their IoT products. Particle’s hardware is designed to connect devices in minutes, while their Device Cloud offers a secure, scalable and reliable gateway between devices and the web.
Location: South San Francisco
Founded: 2014
Focus: Drones + logistics
What they do: Zipline utilizes innovative drone technology to deliver medication and healthcare supplies instantly to those in need. The company’s fixed-wing drones circles the equivalent of the Earth’s equator in just 2.5 days, making them capable of quickly and efficiently delivering supplies to areas like Rwanda, Ghana and the United States.
Location: Union City
Founded: 2010
Focus: Robotics
What they do: Vicarious designs robotic technology by combining human and AI principles with neuroscience expertise for enhanced capabilities that allow robots to take on numerous tasks. The company’s artificial intelligence technology has been developed for over a decade to reach “human-level” intelligence within robots, leading to versatility and less errors regardless of application.
Location: SoMa
Founded: 2014
Focus: Air Filtration
What they do: Molekule has created its own patented technology, Photo Electrochemical Oxidation (PECO), to eliminate indoor air pollution. Providing air purifiers for both large and small spaces, the company’s app allows customers to track filter usage and control fan speeds as they set up and manage multiple devices.
Location: SoMa
Founded: 2014
Focus: Home Security
What they do: Latch is a fully integrative system of both hardware and software that provides smart access through thoughtful and intuitive design. Their devices are designed to work with every door in a building, enabling users to open doors seamlessly, gain access securely and manage doors digitally. Latch has partnered with companies like UPS and Walmart’s Jet.com to offer smart deliveries directly inside apartment building lobbies.
Location: San Francisco
Founded: 2015
Focus: Fitness
What they do: Tonal is dedicated to helping its users stay in shape easier than ever, offering a wall-mounted display, attachable tools and on-demand classes that offer the best of a traditional gym and more. The system allows its users to fully integrate themselves within instructor-led workouts, personal stat and fitness tracking and exciting activities while resistance bands and additional equipment allow for customization and fine-tuning to achieve the perfect workout every day.
Location: SoMa
Founded: 2009
Focus: Payments
What they do: Square develops various types of hardware to help sellers of all sizes start, run and grow their businesses. The company’s collection of hardware includes a fully integrated point-of-sale terminal, an all-in-one credit card machine for payments and receipts and a simple reader for contactless payment and chip cards. Square also enables customers to sync their data and manage apps from their Square Dashboard.
Location: South Park
Founded: 2015
Focus: Internet
What they do: Eero provides fast, reliable home WiFi. Accompanied by an app, Eero walks customers through the installation process and allows users to check device usage and diagnose and fix issues. Using TrueMesh software, Eero optimizes for a customer’s space, devices and network usage, providing a seamless, reliable connection for all devices. The WiFi also automatically updates its encryption and security protocols, so customers don’t have to worry about installing security patches.
Location: Mission District
Founded: 2015
Focus: Sensor Hardware
What they do: Backed by a team of hardware, software, business and manufacturing experts, Ouster develops advanced sensor hardware and vision algorithms for autonomous vehicles, trucks, robots and drones. The company has transformed lidar from an analog device with thousands of components to a digital device powered by one-chip scale laser array and one CMOS sensor, resulting in lidar sensors that offer superior imaging at a lower price. Ouster’s lidar is designed for a wide range of long, short and mid-range applications.
Location: Chinatown
Founded: 2014
Focus: Computer Vision
What they do: Density has developed a sensor platform that accurately and anonymously counts people in real-time using proprietary depth sensors and deep learning algorithms. The company helps organizations improve efficiency and enhance the occupant experience in buildings, workplaces and real estate. For privacy reasons, Density’s platform doesn’t capture personally identifiable information as a camera would and is built to accurately measure how people use space.
Location: Mission District
Founded: 2013
Focus: IoT + Wearables
What they do: Orion Labs provides cloud-based enterprise services like alert workflows, indoor positioning, language translation, geofencing and compliance checklists. The Orion Voice Platform enables real-time communication and voice-activated business automations. Orion’s connected devices are compatible with AI workflows and bots, Orion Dispatch Console and other solutions.
Location: Palo Alto, Greater San Francisco Bay Area
Founded: 2015
Focus: Internet
What they do: Plume has created an intelligent WiFi services platform for smart homes, enabling ISPs to provide their customers with unparalleled WiFi performance, personalization and security. In addition to offering self-optimizing, whole-home WiFi, the company provides AI security for smart homes and personalized guest access with HomePass.
Location: Potrero Hill
Founded: 2015
Focus: IoT
What they do: Samsara offers a suite of IoT solutions that combine hardware, software and cloud to bring real-time visibility, AI and analytics to operations. The company’s IoT gateways securely connect sensor data to the Samsara cloud and include WiFi and built-in cellular connectivity, storage and flexible interfaces. Samsara also sells camera modules designed to help businesses reduce vehicle accident rates and lower costs, as well as environmental monitors ideal for quality control, loss prevention and compliance monitoring.
Location: Mountain View, Greater San Francisco Bay Area
Founded: 2019
Focus: Digital Interaction
What they do: Formed out of Leap Motion and Ultrahaptics, Ultraleap has united advanced hand tracking with haptic technology to create the sensation of touch mid-air. The company’s hand tracking software captures the complexity of natural hand movements and works on almost any computer.
Location: Jackson Square / Embarcadero
Founded: 2016
Focus: Air Filtration
What they do: Vitesy builds IoT-powered air purifiers intended for use in homes, schools and offices. The company’s Natede purifier analyzes indoor air quality and removes air pollution, amplifying plants’ phytoremediation to eliminate toxic pollutants. Vitesy will also soon be launching Eteria, a compact diffused indoor air purifier that can connect to smart home devices like Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant, providing indoor air quality updates in real-time.
Location: Lower Nob Hill
Founded: 2011
Focus: Bioinformatics
What they do: Emotiv is a bioinformatics company using electroencephalography to advance understanding of the human brain. The company provides a complete neurotechnology ecosystem to measure and leverage brain data at scale, powered by portable, affordable and accessible hardware and cloud-based technology. Emotiv’s technology and interface are applied to a wide range of industries including gaming, market research, psychology, robotics, medicine and transportation safety.
