HAXLR8R Is the Accelerator Program for Hardware Startups

Hardware or Software, which is the more important driven force for the internet industry? I’ve been thinking of this question for quite a while. Every day, we see new startups bringing new services and applications which keep the industry fresh and exciting, however,

1. Thanks for the 3G infrastructure and new generation of smart phone, we see the booming of mobile internet;

2. Everyone now talks about Location-based Service (LBS), but remember GPS is there for years and LBS comes alive because people finally managed to make the GPS chip cheap and small enough for a phone;

3. We now use QR code more or soon we may see more Augmented Reality (AR) applications, as smart phones all come with auto-focus cameras and powerful core chips;

4. If you may ask what could be the next in mobile industry, one of the answers could the NFC, only if we see more phone manufacturers makes more NFC-enabled phones in 2012.

So we may need more hardware-focus startups which could be truly disruptive and more likely change the world?! I don’t know what’s your take on this, but anyhow, the issue we have right now is that we seldom see these types of startups. We know you can NOT make a hardware by just sitting before the screen and hitting the keyboard, as doing a hardware startup definitely needs more support and resources.

So I am very excited to hear the launch of HAXLR8R, the Accelerator Program for Hardware Startups.

HAXLR8R is a 111 days accelerator program, which is focused on providing hardware-focused startups from all over the world with the appropriate support to deliver their concept into a competitive reality.

Told by Cyril Ebersweiler from Chinaaccelerator and SOSVentures, HAXLR8R plans to run from March through June 2012, with a first stop in Shenzhen (a ideal place to find local hardware manufacturers), and ends in Silicon Valley for the HAXLR8R demo day. In Shenzhen, startups will finalize their prototype or work on scaling their businesses if they have a working unit. Every week, startups will meet with mentors that will offer feedback on the team’s concepts and prototypes, as well as provide valuable insight about scaling a company in terms of manufacturing, supply chain management and distribution.

Chinaaccelerator incubated OrderWithMe, the winner of the Startup Battlefield at TechCrunch Disrupt Beijing, which just closed its $3m Serial A funding from Infinity Ventures and SOSVentures, which may give you more reasons to apply for the program now.

I really love this propaganda, by the way.