Hardware development requires a lot of spare resources, it doesn't pair well with startups. The development cycles are much less predictable compared to softw

Hardware development requires a lot of spare resources, it doesn't pair well with startups. The development cycles are much less predictable compared to software, you never know how many prototypes you have to burn through until you reach the production stage. Small changes become hugely expensive once you've finalized the designs, and even a minuscule error like a tolerance mismatch can cause hundreds of thousands in damage and ruin a startup almost instantly. I'm always wary of a HW startup, unless the lead engineer is well known and has experience.