Limited spots
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Hard Tech Venture Summit
Silicon Valley
February 2027
Menlo Park
Stay Tuned!
Applications will open soon
Free to apply. Limited spots.
Applications reviewed by hard-tech investors.
Where the Hard Tech ecosystem comes together. A premier, IEEE curated event connecting early-stage Hard Tech founders with pre-seed, seed, and Series-A Hard Tech investors and critical service providers from the Hard Tech innovation ecosystem.
Hard Tech = Startups building technology rooted in hardware innovation.
Summit Chairs
Bruno Jafelice, TVLP Institute
Joanne Wong, REDDS Capital
Cassandra Carothers, Departure Capital
Investors’ Committee
Muffi Ghadiali, i3 Ventures
Lisheng Wang, TSV Capital
Alex Fries, Ecosystem Ventures
Sabrina Sasaki, Monozukuri Ventures
Omar Zahr, TandemLaunch Ventures
We connect Hard Tech startups with selected investors and resources to accelerate growth.
Bridging the Hard Tech Funding Gap
Who Should Attend
Hard Tech Startups
Hard Tech founders raising pre-seed to Series A funding who need specialized pitch frameworks and direct access to investors with hard tech expertise.
Hard Tech Investors
VCs, Corporate VCs, and Angels seeking curated Hard Tech deal flow with deep technical context, early insight into the path to commercialization, and opportunities to gain visibility and network with other Hard Tech investors.
Who Should Also Attend
Service Providers
Select providers supporting Hard Tech startups in manufacturing and commercialization.
Talent & Experts
Industry experts and professionals seeking roles with Hard Tech startups—as board members, advisors, or hands-on team members.
Enterprise Innovation Teams
Corporate innovation teams seeking partnerships or acquisitions with Hard Tech startups to drive growth and innovation.
Curated,
vetted event
Backed by IEEE’s 500,000+ engineers and technologists
One of the best in Hard Tech
Ji Ke, SOSV Capital
The Summit Vibe
Ecosystem building
All attendees are vetted by Hard Tech investors, ensuring a community of innovators who understand and can share the Hard Tech realities and challenges.
Meaningful engagement
We keep the audience limited to ensure meaningful interactions. At the 2025 Summit, a 2:1 startup-to-investor ratio enabled great networking.
Collaborative Network
Hard Tech innovators—IEEE and non-IEEE—connect with peers and resources, accelerating startup growth and technology development.
Join Us in
Menlo Park
Event Fee
2027 Edition is coming up!
Applications will open soon.
$455 Early Bird sold out
$665 Today's Rate
$555 Today + IEEE member discount
Last seats (don't wait!)
Agenda
Check out last year's agenda to see what to expect.
Day 1
Morning:
8:30 AM – Attendee Check-in
Opening & Welcome – Don Tan, VP, Technical Activities, IEEE & Peter Marcotullio, Senior VP, SRI
Keynote Address – Bilal Zuberi, Managing Partner, Red Glass Ventures
STARTUP PITCHES
ROUNDTABLE NETWORKING DISCUSSIONS
Curated matches of startups, investors, and providers.Lunch
Afternoon:
Keynote Address – Daniel Renner, Principal, Atacama Optics
ROUNDTABLE NETWORKING DISCUSSIONS
Curated matches of startups, investors, and providers.STARTUP PITCHES
ROUNDTABLE NETWORKING DISCUSSIONS
Another round of curated matches and discussions.5:00 PM – Closing
Roundtable networking discussions are curated matches of Hard Tech startups, investors, and service providers, organized by our Investors Committee based on domain and funding stage.
Visit booths in the summit expo area to see the startups demos and service providers kiosks.
Day 2
Engineering Design to Manufacturing Workshop
For Hard Tech startups scaling beyond prototyping. Learn essential information to successfully navigate vendor relationships, manufacturing challenges, and regulatory compliance on the path from prototype to production with guidance from experienced manufacturing experts.
Morning:
8:30 AM – Attendee Check-in
Keynote – Troy Helming, 6x Serial Founder
ROUNDTABLE MENTORING SESSION
Keynote – Daniel Theobald, Robotics & Automation Pioneer
ROUNDTABLE MENTORING SESSION
GROUP SESSION
12:30 PM – Closing
Visit booths in the summit expo area to see the startups demos and service providers kiosks.
Mentors:
Jason Umhoefer
Sarvesh Karkhanis
David Viera
Rui Xu
Brogan Miller
Miklos Szegedi
Daniel Renner
Ted Larson
Agenda subject to change.
FAQs
Definition of
Hard Tech
Startups building technology rooted in hardware innovation, including:
Communications • Electronics • Photonics • Sensors • IoT • Robotics • Semiconductors • ClimateTech • SpaceTech • Defense
Can IEEE and non-IEEE members attend?
YES! The entire Hard Tech community — IEEE and non-IEEE — is welcome to participate and engage with investors and startups. IEEE members get a discount.
Which investors attended in 2026?
Confirmed investors included: Intel Capital, Yamaha Motor Ventures, Bosch Ventures, At One Ventures, Samsung Next, Sony Semiconductor Solutions, TSVC, Monozukuri Ventures, i3 Ventures, Departure Ventures, REDDS Capital, Ecosystem Ventures, Corelabs Capital, Althing Ventures, Navis Capital, güil Mobility Ventures, Red Glass Ventures, VU Venture Partners, and various angel investors.
Willing to attend this year? Stay Tuned!
Is the Summit about pitching to investors?
No. The pitch sessions are just a brief “Hi, I’m here” — a way to introduce yourself and provide context. The real value is the full day of interaction, where a group of carefully vetted startups and investors spend the day chatting and sharing opinions in structured roundtables, plus informal networking during coffee breaks and lunch.
The Summit a full day building key relationships, not transactional pitching.
Summit history and global presence
Silicon Valley:
Feb 2027 - Silicon Valley
Apr 2026 - SRI, Menlo Park
Jun 2025 - Moscone Center, San Francisco
Other editions:
2027: Boston, India, Brazil
2026: Toronto, Boston
2025: New Mexico
QUESTIONS?
Email:
[email protected]
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