I'm surprised this isn't at the top of the frontpage. This is big vindication of all hardware startups. Will VCs go big in this category after this series of exits?
I don't think this validates this space at all. If your only exit strategy is to get acquired by a big 5 you're already in trouble.
Hardware is pretty freaking hard. Just look at recent examples of public hardware companies: FitBit / GoPro. Both doing like crap, struggling to maintain their grab on the market and looking for acquirers.
Honestly, I think this is a very unattractive sector, at least in this side of the world. Most serious hardware contenders are and will keep coming from China (DJI, Xiaomi, Yi, etc).
Business is hard, whether it's hardware or software. I think a lot of software-based companies wish they were "doing like crap" the way Fitbit is -- navigating through a couple years of unprofitability using a large pile of cash gained through years of profit.
Disclaimer: I work for Fitbit but speak only for myself.
I've generally been impressed of FitBit's business savvy. They get hw well (keep BOM/per-unit costs under control). It was particularly instructive to see the fate that befell Pebble (glad that fitbit hired a lot of those folks, etc.).
Hardware startups have been bought before. This isn't a unique event.
I worked for a hardware startup for a couple of years and VCs being cautious about the category is very well deserved.
It is easily an order of magnitude harder to develop a successful hardware product than a success software product. And even after you've sold a million of them a design defect could show itself that makes all million of them break and destroys your entire company overnight.
Looking at that it looks like at least $200 million in funding was raised. The kinds of exits for software companies that have raised over $200 million generally look very different.
They push their monitoring plans pretty hard right after the user is done with the installation https://shop.ring.com/pages/protect-plans so it’s possible they’re more of a monitoring-service-by-subscription business than hardware business at this point.
Hardware is pretty freaking hard. Just look at recent examples of public hardware companies: FitBit / GoPro. Both doing like crap, struggling to maintain their grab on the market and looking for acquirers.
Honestly, I think this is a very unattractive sector, at least in this side of the world. Most serious hardware contenders are and will keep coming from China (DJI, Xiaomi, Yi, etc).