Hax

Check that HAX fits your product

• HAX says it invests only in hardware companies. Software-only products are outside its focus.
• It names three areas: climate and energy transition, healthcare and medical devices, and manufacturing and supply chains.
• It lists a company still at concept stage, with no demo of a working prototype, among its common reasons for rejection.

How applications work

• Apply through the HAX application form on SOSV's site. Choose the HAX location you are applying to.
• The form asks for a short company description, a pitch deck link that the reviewers can read, and a percentage breakdown of your cap table.
• HAX says it tries to read all applications within two weeks. If you have not heard back within a month, you can ask for feedback.

How selection works

• If you reach the final stage there are a minimum of three and a maximum of four interviews, mostly held remotely.
• HAX says it tries to finish the interviews within two weeks of the first one. Some diligence goes to people outside HAX, which can lengthen the process.

What reviewers look for

• A large problem, discovered by talking to many potential customers or from your own experience.
• Strong engineering combined with a clear focus on the customer.
• A working hypothesis for how the problem would be solved. The prototype does not need to be polished.
• A defensible product, with a technology, network or process advantage.

HAX is the hardware startup development programme of SOSV, a multi-stage venture investor. It backs pre-seed and seed teams building hard tech products, and it works with them from its headquarters in Newark, New Jersey, alongside offices in Pune, Shenzhen and Tokyo.

How the programme works

HAX admits teams on a rolling basis and typically admits two to three teams every month. Admitted founders receive a six-month residency at the Newark facility. There they work with HAX's in-house team of mechanical, electrical and chemical engineers, industrial designers, sourcing staff, creative team and business development specialists.

HAX says its help covers prototyping cycles, design for manufacturability, sourcing production-grade parts, branding and sales assets, pilot customers and introductions to investors. HAX says the aim within the programme is to reach engineering validation testing and to finish an industrial version of the hardware.

The investment is made through a Post Money SAFE, which converts into an equity stake at a later date. HAX says it pays the investment out at regular intervals over the programme, partly in cash and partly as in-kind support from its own staff and facilities, and that it can pay early if a team runs short.

Who can apply

HAX says it only invests in hardware companies. It looks for technical teams building products for validated problems in three areas: climate and energy transition, healthcare and medical devices, and manufacturing and supply chains. Its application form asks applicants to confirm that the company is building a hard tech product.

HAX looks for a large, urgent problem found by speaking with many potential customers, and for strong engineering combined with a focus on customers. It wants to see a working hypothesis of how the problem would be solved, and it says the prototype does not need to be polished. Its own list of common reasons for rejection includes a concept-stage company with no demo, a crowded market, weak defensibility and a sole founder working with contracted engineers. The programme and its FAQ do not state a country restriction for applicants.

Facilities

The Newark headquarters is a 35,000 square foot facility with hands-on workshop and lab support. HAX describes its labs there as chemistry, analytics, electrical engineering and mechatronics labs. Founders can continue to use the workshops, labs and coworking spaces after the programme until they raise a Series A, subject to availability.

HAX also describes a Plasma Forge in Princeton, New Jersey, for high-energy and advanced materials research, which it says will soon bolster its facilities. Its Shenzhen and Pune teams focus on supply chain and manufacturing, and an admitted team is introduced to all four offices, including Tokyo.

Scale

HAX says it has invested in and supported over 300 companies. Its case studies include Neptune Robotics, whose co-founder and chief executive says HAX helped the team speed up prototyping. SOSV, which runs HAX, says it gives founders access to a network of more than 7,700 global investors.

HAX's pages give different figures for the size of its initial investment and for its follow-on financing, so this page does not repeat either number. Read the current terms on the programme page and in the application before you apply.

Who runs it

HAX is the investment and programme team of SOSV. SOSV describes its managing general partner, Sean O'Sullivan, as the founder of SOSV in 1995. HAX's team page lists general partners, a chief science officer and engineering directors for mechanical and electronic engineering.

Locations

HAX's headquarters are in Newark, New Jersey. Its offices are in Newark, Pune (India), Tokyo and Shenzhen. Its Plasma Forge is in Princeton, New Jersey. SOSV itself is headquartered in Princeton. Most admitted teams join the Newark facility to work with on-site staff, and their day-to-day contact runs through Newark to the Shenzhen and Pune teams.