The Full List of 20 Hardware Unicorn Startups (2026)
The global hardware startup scene is led by companies with significant financial backing and high valuations. AI computing company Cerebras Systems is valued at $8 billion, while quantum computing firm PsiQuantum has raised $2.3 billion.
The industry also includes startups in areas like 3D printing, with Carbon reaching a $2.4 billion valuation.
Below is the full list of 20 Hardware unicorn startups at this time.
Top 10 Most Valuable Hardware Unicorns
Cerebras Systems builds wafer-scale processors to power a new class of AI supercomputers. Their systems are designed to dramatically accelerate training for the largest deep learning models.
| Valuation | $8B (Joined November 2018) |
| Headquarters | Sunnyvale, California, United States |
| Year Founded | 2016 |
| Founders | Andrew Feldman, Gary Lauterbach, Jean-Philippe Fricker, Michael James, Sean Lie |
| Funding Amount | $1.8B |
| Company Size | Large Team (251-1,000) |
| Last Funding Status | Series G |
| Top Investors | Benchmark, Coatue, Valor Equity Partners, Sequoia Capital, Eclipse Ventures |
PsiQuantum builds fault-tolerant quantum computers designed to solve problems beyond the scope of today's supercomputers. They use a photonics-based approach, which allows them to leverage existing semiconductor manufacturing to create a machine with one million qubits.
| Valuation | $7B (Joined July 2021) |
| Headquarters | Palo Alto, California, United States |
| Year Founded | 2016 |
| Founders | Jeremy O'Brien, Mark Thompson, Peter Shadbolt, Terry Rudolph |
| Funding Amount | $2.3B |
| Company Size | Large Team (251-1,000) |
| Last Funding Status | Series E |
| Top Investors | Blackbird Ventures, Temasek Holdings, BlackRock, Founders Fund, Playground Global |
Xiaodu develops a line of smart speakers and other consumer hardware as part of the Baidu ecosystem. Their products provide users with voice-controlled access to Baidu's extensive suite of services and content.
| Valuation | $5B |
| Headquarters | Beijing, Beijing, China |
| Year Founded | 2016 |
| Founders | — |
| Funding Amount | — |
| Company Size | Enterprise Organization (5,001+) |
| Last Funding Status | Series B |
| Top Investors | Baidu Ventures, China Structural Reform Fund, CITIC Limited, IDG Capital |
Plume Design builds a SaaS platform that enables communication service providers to deliver new smart home services. They are known for providing a suite of tools, from adaptive WiFi to AI-powered security, that personalizes and secures the connected home experience.
| Valuation | $3B |
| Headquarters | Palo Alto, California, United States |
| Year Founded | 2015 |
| Founders | Adam Hotchkiss, Aman Singla, Fahri Diner, Sri Nathan |
| Funding Amount | $722.4M |
| Company Size | Large Team (251-1,000) |
| Last Funding Status | Venture Round |
| Top Investors | Spark Capital, Comcast, Charter Communications, Insight Partners, Qualcomm |
DriveNets builds cloud-native networking software that allows service providers to construct networks with greater flexibility and scale. Their Network Cloud solution is known for disaggregating network functions from proprietary hardware, enabling them to run on standard equipment.
| Valuation | $3B (Joined January 2021) |
| Headquarters | Ra'anana, HaMerkaz, Israel |
| Year Founded | 2015 |
| Founders | Hillel Kobrinsky, Ido Susan |
| Funding Amount | $1.2B |
| Company Size | Large Team (251-1,000) |
| Last Funding Status | Series C |
| Top Investors | Atreides Management, C4 Ventures, Pitango VC, Bessemer Venture Partners, AT&T |
Carbon developed a comprehensive 3D printing platform used for designing, prototyping, and manufacturing polymer parts. Their process combines proprietary hardware, software, and materials to enable on-demand production for various industries.
| Valuation | $2.4B (Joined August 2015) |
| Headquarters | Redwood City, California, United States |
| Year Founded | 2013 |
| Founders | Joseph M. DeSimone, Philip DeSimone, Steve Nelson |
| Funding Amount | $683.4M |
| Company Size | Large Team (251-1,000) |
| Last Funding Status | Venture Round |
| Top Investors | Sequoia Capital, GV, Temasek Holdings, Fidelity, Autodesk |
Biren Technology develops general-purpose GPUs and other intelligent processors for the high-performance computing market. Their custom AI chips are built to accelerate demanding workloads like AI training and inference.
| Valuation | $2.32B (Joined August 2020) |
| Headquarters | Minhang, Shanghai, China |
| Year Founded | 2019 |
| Founders | Jiao Guofang, Zhang Wen |
| Funding Amount | $785.2M |
| Company Size | Mid-Size Team (51-250) |
| Last Funding Status | Venture Round |
| Top Investors | Qiming Venture Partners, IDG Capital, Hillhouse Investment, BAI capital, Walden International |
Formlabs develops and manufactures professional 3D printers and software for engineers, designers, and manufacturers. They are recognized for making industrial-grade printing technology accessible through a complete ecosystem of hardware, software, and materials.
| Valuation | $2B (Joined August 2018) |
| Headquarters | Somerville, Massachusetts, United States |
| Year Founded | 2011 |
| Founders | David Cranor, Maxim Lobovsky, Natan Linder |
| Funding Amount | $253.7M |
| Company Size | Large Team (251-1,000) |
| Last Funding Status | Series E |
| Top Investors | Founder Collective, Shenzhen Capital Group, DFJ Growth, Kima Ventures, New Enterprise Associates |
Opentrons develops pipetting robots that automate experiments for life science labs. Their open-source platform is designed to be accessible, allowing scientists to easily run complex protocols and speed up their research.
| Valuation | $2B (Joined September 2021) |
| Headquarters | Brooklyn, New York, United States |
| Year Founded | 2014 |
| Founders | Eva Boratto, Nicholas Wagner, Will Canine |
| Funding Amount | $240M |
| Company Size | Mid-Size Team (51-250) |
| Last Funding Status | Series C |
| Top Investors | SOSV, Khosla Ventures, Fifty Years, SoftBank Vision Fund, Y Combinator |
NextSilicon creates novel processing hardware for the high-performance computing industry. They are known for a unique architecture that rethinks how software runs on hardware to accelerate complex workloads.
| Valuation | $2B |
| Headquarters | Tel Aviv-yafo, Tel Aviv, Israel |
| Year Founded | 2017 |
| Founders | Elad Raz |
| Funding Amount | $202.6M |
| Company Size | Large Team (251-1,000) |
| Last Funding Status | Series C |
| Top Investors | Heroic Ventures, Third Point Ventures, Amiti Ventures, Aleph, Playground Global |
The Remaining 10 Hardware Unicorns
The most valuable unicorns only tell part of the story. This next group of companies comes from all over the world, with a strong showing from China.
Together they have raised over $5 billion, building everything from quantum computers to smart farming tools. Here’s a look at the other hardware unicorns shaping the industry.
| Unicorn Startup | Country | Year Founded | Amount Raised | Valuation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Vital Thin Film Materials | China | 2017 | CN¥5.7B | $2B |
 Rebellions | South Korea | 2020 | $457.7M | $1.4B |
 XPANCEO | United Arab Emirates | 2021 | $290M | $1.35B |
 JMGO | China | 2011 | $378.6M | $1.26B |
 Xanadu | Canada | 2016 | $268.3M | $1B |
 Ayar Labs | United States | 2015 | $374.7M | $1B |
 IQM Quantum Computers | Finland | 2018 | $569.1M | $1B |
 Halter | New Zealand | 2016 | $198.8M | $1B |
 Moore Threads | China | 2020 | CN¥3.5B | $1B |
 Bitfury Group | The Netherlands | 2011 | $170M | $1B |
 Origin Quantum | China | 2017 | CN¥1B | $1B |
 New Leshi Smart Home | China | 2012 | CN¥11.3B | $1B |
