Leaving 2020 in Style, see which Hardware Startups

The State of Manufacturing

The overall PMI Index of 57.5% in November dropped by 1.8%, which is mostly attributed to continued challenges due to the pandemic. Short-term shutdowns to sanitize facilities, delays in returning employees, and hiring workers remain the key inefficiencies.

Employment registered almost 5% lower, but the overall industry trend remains positive, which should increase hiring again in the next quarter.

Inventory volumes remain constrained due to global supply shortages and delivery challenges.

Average production material lead time is creeping up to 67 days.

Occasionally losing containers at sea is nothing new but ONE Apus is definitely getting the gold crown by losing nearly 2000 containers in one transit.

Not that air freight is much better these days. The pandemic and political changes continue to impact global supply chains. Shipping prices have also substantially increased over the past 12 months. If you want to learn more about logistics prices and what causes the delays, read here.

The annual release of Deloitte's Technology Fast 500 just dropped, and yup, 36 Boston area companies made the cut, with 4 of them in the Top 10. All showed incredible growth last year, and the top-ranking Boston company had a ~46,000% growth!

Also good to see that 47 Hardware companies (Electronics, Medical Device, Communication & Energy Tech) made the list next to the much more frequently seen Software/SaaS and Biotech/Pharma firms.

The fantastic news is that the Hardware sector has the largest growth rate with 683%, followed by Energy Tech with 525% over the past 3 years.

Dive in more here: Winner List, Winners by Industry, and Infographic.

Moosejaw announced its Outdoor Accelerator.

If you have a Startup that develops an Outdoor enthusiasts product, it's a Must Apply to this mostly expense paid 8-wk Accelerator. The best part is that you get to launch your product at Moosejaw.

Moosejaw was a startup itself when it was acquired in 2017 by Walmart. Apply here between Dec 14 to Jan 14.

In similar news, innovation works put up over $100k to win in the 2021 Hardware Cup and Healthcare Safety Challenge. Apply by January 5, 2021

$3.2B in November funding rounds for Boston Startups

Read more about which companies received funding last month here. (Source: BOSTINNO)

Harvard Innovation Lab released its 2020 Year in Review Report with tons of cool innovative Startups. Shout out to our friends at Smoodi and Metalmark Innovation! Check out all the Harvard Tech here.

Desktop Metal (DM) went IPO and started trading on Dec 10th at the NYSE via a reverse merger with Trine Acquisition, and adding $580M in funding. As of Dec. 22, Desktop Metal traded with a Market Cap of $4.53B. More on this here. (Source: 3D Printing Industry)

Figur8 raised $6.2M in equity in an $8M funding round to accelerate their wearable fitness sensors' growth. More on this here. (Source: SEC)

Optimus Ride appointed Sean Harrington as new CEO, replacing co-founder Ryan Chin who will be responsible for policy and sustainability initiatives. Read more about this here. (Source: Optimus Ride)

RightHand Robotics won the Readers' Choice Award with their RightPick 2 Solution in the Modern Materials Handling Magazine. More details here. (Source: MMH Magazine)

Rize 3D announced that they achieved Greenguard Certification for their 5th product, Rize's 2XL printer. This makes Rize the number-one provider for Greenguard certified products in the 3D printing industry. More on this here. (Source: 3D Printing Media Network)

SparkCharge raised $1M in equity to continue rolling out its portable electric vehicle charger. Find out more here (Source: SEC)

Superpedestrian secured an additional $60M in funding and bringing its total funding to $135 million to secure permits to operate its electric scooters in New York City. More on this here. (Source: BBJ)

Starry won big at the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) auction and secured $269M to bring Internet service to rural areas in various States. Find out more here. (Source: Light Reading)

WiTricity filed a patent infringement suit again Momentum Dynamics Corp in Pennsylvania. Seven patents related to wireless energy transfer are the center of this federal suit. More on this here. (Source: Electrive)

Zippity, which provides on-site car maintenance, raised an additional $1.9M in additional funding. More on this here. (Source: SEC)

We will see ya at the next snowstorm. We placed our order for this classy English Monster Truck. I think we'll look good at Mt. Wachusett. ArrivingInStyleAtTheSkiSlopes

For all you that always wanted a fly in a cool Lear Jet. Comes with personalized service. FastAsF#$k (Source: IG)

Hyundai acquired Boston Dynamics for $1.1B and all their crazy cool tech. Can you see Atlas as a Warehouse Robot? AtlasIsLearningKoreanInAHurry (Source: All About Circuit)

P.S. Contact us we are looking for support in Purchasing, Quality & Engineering. Most assignments are great for part-time and remote work!

Sign up HERE