$100,000
INITIAL INVESTMENT
30+
STARTUP GRADUATES
$62M+
RAISED BY PORTFOLIO COMPANIES
What startups we want to see
Sectors
Clean technology, medical devices, agtech, IoT wearables, and robotics.
Stage
Angel, pre-seed or seed. Consider applying if you have raised anywhere between $2k and $1 million.
Location
We prefer to invest in companies located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the US.
Deal Terms
Full Investment: Accepted startups receive an initial investment of up to $100,000. This is broken up into $60,000 in cash and $40,000 in in-kind support. We are using a post-money SAFE note, which converts to 6% equity in your company when you raise a qualified round of financing.
If your startup is in the middle of a round, we might consider joining on those terms.
10+10 Program: For startups that are too early to receive our standard deal described above, we have the 10+10 program that offers up to $10,000 in cash and $10,000 in in-kind support to jumpstart the development of your venture. The co-development period for this program is 3 months. To be considered for this opportunity you simply complete our standard application form.
The 10+10 program is designed to help us deploy a modest amount of capital and resources very quickly into a startup, which helps us get to know the team and understand the opportunity better. The successful completion of the 10+10 program puts a startup in a great position to unlock a much larger follow-on investment from NextFab Ventures.
Incorporation: We prefer to invest in Delaware C-corporations. Not a C-corp yet? We recommend Gust Launch.
Ideal Candidates
We invest at the intersection of hardware and software. While we’re open to receiving applications from anyone, our ideal team would have 2 co-founders, a physical prototype, a patented technology, and a good estimate of the market size.
Application & Program
We accept applications on a rolling basis. The duration of our 10-10 program is 90 days. For the full investment program, the co-development period is 180 days.
Resources
Selected teams receive membership to NextFab's state-of-the-art facilities. You’ll gain access to experienced engineers and a community of hardware entrepreneurs. Joining our portfolio makes you eligible for follow-on funding.
What differentiates us from other investors?
We are entirely focused on working with hardware startups and our state-of-the-art makerspace facility in South Philadelphia serves as a one stop shop for all their prototyping needs. The selected teams will get funding and direct access to NextFab’s Product Development staff. Think of them as an extension of your team. We’ll offer you advice, make introductions, and fill skill gaps or relieve bandwidth constraints that are preventing you from reaching development milestones. In addition to all of this, we’ll introduce you to mentors and experienced advisors, as well as our broader community of talented designers, artists, engineers, and entrepreneurs.
What are some common reasons for rejection?
We review every application we receive, but due to the large number of submissions, we do not have the bandwidth to provide feedback to companies that apply for funding. With that said, some of the most common reasons for rejection include the following: an application that is not hardware-specific (e.g., a social media app, SaaS application, etc.), solution where we don't have expertise (e.g., drones, artificial intelligence, machine learning, IT, medical and non-medical cannabis products, crypto, NFTs, etc.), small market size, no physical prototype, no intellectual property or product defensibility, not located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the US, solo-founder or a company that doesn’t have people working on the problem full-time.
Let’s Build Something—Together
Ready to share your idea with us? Tell us a few details about your hardware product. Whether you’re in the early stages with your startup or already have a functioning prototype, let’s talk!
