Hardware Club expands size of first fund to $50 million

Hardware Club announced today that it has increased the size of its first investment fund to $50 million as the community-driven platform seeks to expand its early-stage investing impact.

Originally launched in Paris almost four years ago, Hardware Club also has offices in San Francisco and Tokyo. Hardware Club builds a networked community of hardware startups that can help each other. It then brings in large partners — like Foxconn for manufacturing and distributors like Amazon and Target — to help club members with every facet of development.

It moved into investment last year with a fund of $28 million, but has now expanded that to $50 million. The firm says new investors include Isomer Capital and Draper Esprit. Original investors include Foxconn and Arkéa.

Hardware Club will use the funding to back 20 hardware startups in Europe and the United States from pre-seed to series A rounds over the next 18 months.

“The future lies in startups that combine software, hardware and data to solve major problems,” said Alexis Houssou, cofounder and CEO of Hardware Club. “The good news is that many entrepreneurs are no longer afraid to launch ambitious hardware projects, and we hope to support many in Europe and the United States.”

Read more: Inside Hardware Club’s community-driven approach to venture capital and building startups

Hardware Club was cofounded by Houssou and Barbara Belvisi, though the latter left the firm earlier this year. Other partners include Jerry Yang and Aymerik Renard.

The firm now has 470 startups across 39 countries in its networks. On the corporate side, it counts 150 partners, including Foxconn, Amazon, and Honda.

Investments so far include Cowboy Bike, Alcatraz AI, Automata, and Left Hand Robotics. Those are among the 28 startups backed so far by Hardware Club.