Hard tech doesn’t move at the speed of software. To change the physical world, hard tech founders need labs, highly specialized machinery, engineering and design support, supply chain expertise and, of course, capital. These startups typically don’t ship an MVP in a sprint, and they can’t pivot in a week. That’s why we call this “hard tech.”
We built SOSV’s HAX program and 35,000 square-foot facility in Newark, NJ specifically for hard tech founders. In addition to up to $550K in pre-seed funding, the program provides a unique, six-month residency that includes on-site access to multiple labs, an extensive machine shop, in-house technical experts, and remote engineering and supply chain support from HAX teams in Pune and Shenzhen.
HAX helps hard tech founders iterate incredibly fast from lab to prototype to pilot to get traction with customers, establish product-market fit, and win that next round of investment.
Building at HAX
HAX’s industrial-grade workspace suits pre-seed and seed stage startups building everything from advanced robotics to new industrial chemical processes.
“Before joining HAX, we had promising technical results at the lab level, but we needed multiple fume hoods and heavy-duty power infrastructure to scale,” said Jon Vardner, CTO and co-founder of Still Bright, a copper extraction company that spun out of Columbia University. “Most biotech and university labs aren’t built for startups, growing teams and scaling hard tech processes. We needed state-of-the-art lab space and facilities to test at a meaningful scale to make the leap from concept to pilot readiness.”
Get a tour & see HAX’s full list of machines here
What Still Bright discovered at HAX was 35,000 square-feet of industrial space equipped with just what they needed, including a chemistry lab with a range of analytical tools, a machine shop, a 3D printing lab, an electronics lab, and a co-working space.
The Still Bright team used the fume hoods and lab bench space to scale copper production from grams to kilograms. “Without HAX,” said Jon, “finding suitable lab space would’ve been a nightmare.”
“Without HAX, finding suitable lab space would’ve been a nightmare.”
The Still Bright team designed and built a novel electro chemical process to continuously extract copper. It mirrors real-world operating conditions and will help them scale up to the pilot they’re currently developing. “This was a major milestone and marked a major turning point for us,” said Jon. “It also put us in a position to start working more closely with potential customers and raise our $18.7M seed round which we announced this July.”
Cocoon Carbon, a startup decarbonizing steel and cement, used the HAX lab to tackle a very different challenge: rapidly and safely iterating super hot processes.
“The process we built at HAX involved very high temperature furnaces and transfer of molten steel slag at >1600 degrees celsius,” said CSO and co-founder Dr. William Knapp. “We knew that prototyping and experimenting quickly would be key, but doing it safely above all else was the priority. The team at HAX helped us build this capability, allowing us to run multiple tests a day with our high-temperature rigs in a safe way.”
That was key to Cocoon prototyping quickly, demonstrating proof of concept, and assembling the data for a techno-economic analysis. Cocoon raised a $5.4M round in May 2024 after just 6 months in the HAX program.
Hard tech also encompasses many health categories, including medical devices, advanced diagnostics, and robotics for healthcare. Level Zero Health‘s founders, CTO Irene Jia and CEO Ula Rustamova joined HAX in May 2024 to push the boundaries metabolic monitoring with a wearable, continuous hormone monitor – an ambitious plan that required ground-breaking chemistry as well as sophisticated hardware design.
Susan Schofer, HAX Chief Science Officer, helped the founders source key chemicals, navigate complex protocols in the chemistry lab, and review foundational experimental data. Meanwhile, the HAX engineering team worked closely with Irene to iterate quickly on device designs and refine early prototypes. In February 2025, Level Zero closed a $6.9M round.
Meet the HAX Experts
The founders of Princeton Critical Minerals joined HAX with a big vision: revolutionize lithium extraction from brine ponds with superior selectivity and significant energy savings. As PhDs in environmental engineering, CEO Sean Zheng and his co-founder Z. Jason Ren, a Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering at Princeton, understood the mechanics of the lithium extraction but had no experience building real-world prototypes.
“HAX stood out to us for two reasons,” said Sean. “First, the team has real experience with prototyping and manufacturing. It really impressed us that Ji Ke, HAX’s CTO, had previously led design and electrical engineering at several startups. And second, the team consists of engineers who we were able to utilize for free as part of the HAX program, meaning we didn’t have to commit to the overhead of hiring full-time engineers ourselves. That engineering firepower and flexibility was exactly what we needed in the early days.”
The Princeton Critical Minerals team built their first lithium-extraction prototype, named LilyPad, at HAX. The frisbee-sized device extracts lithium while floating in brine ponds. The brine runs over a specially coated surface that separates lithium from other components. As the concept took shape, the team ran into a practical problem: How could they recover the LilyPads once they were out on the pond?
“Joe Oliveira, the HAX workshop manager, helped us brainstorm a recovery system,” said Sean. “In the spirit of fast, scrappy testing, we duct-taped Nerf bullets to form a barrier in a bucket of water. That evolved into tests in a larger sink and then a pool in the HAX basement. Each one of these steps helped us validate the concept and quickly improve the design.”
Joe, an industrial designer who you may have spotted in HAX’s recent “Machines of HAX” video, plays a key role in making the HAX workshop deliver for the founders. He’s joined by expert mechatronics engineer Marc Rose and chemical lab manager Toshi Akashige (featured in this great video) who earned his PhD in chemical engineering at NYU. The team ensures the HAX labs operate safely and founders get the most out of the sophisticated industrial machinery available to them.
The HAX Global Advantage
For founders, prototype engineering and design, as well as iterating through supply chain variables, is a race against time and resources. That is why HAX built offices in Pune, India, led by Charles Peter, Director of Mechanical Engineering, where engineering teams help founders work around the clock to refine their work, and in Shenzhen, China, led by Michael Moon, Director of Electronic Engineering, where supply chain experts help source off-the-shelf and custom components to help iterate faster at the lowest possible cost.
“We can now simulate and validate designs in the cloud before ever touching physical materials,” said Duncan Turner, General Partner and Managing Director at HAX. “That means fewer costly prototypes and a faster, smarter path from concept to product.”
Princeton Critical Minerals’ Sean Zheng traveled to Shenzhen to work with the local HAX team on manufacturing and supply chain for the pilot versions of the LilyPad. “HAX took us around Shenzhen,” said Sean, “connecting us with their network of local engineers and manufacturers who helped us build molds to turn LilyPad from a prototype into a real product. HAX’s engineers in Shenzhen iterated with us, including testing different plastics and exploring different measurements. After three months, we had a far more robust and manufacturable product than we could have built on our own. We had a new momentum that helped us begin client pilots.”
Turning Prototypes Into Investment
At HAX, support doesn’t stop at the prototype. HAX’s investment and business development team help founders translate technical milestones into clear narratives about commercial viability that close funding rounds.
“As a technical founder, I could talk about our science all day,” said Cocoon’s William Knapp, “but when it came to pitching investors, HAX helped me refine the deck to make our story resonate with investors, not just technically, but strategically.” That support extends beyond pitch coaching. HAX not only lines up curated 1:1 investor meetings, but also hosts regular demo days packed with investors eager to meet the next wave of hard tech startups.
Even in hard tech, no one approach works, and finding investors who understand each sub-category is key. Lucrezia Cester, CEO & co-founder of LightHearted AI, an AI-powered remote cardiovascular diagnostics company, noted that, “Medical device development moves at a completely different pace, and not all investors understand that. HAX did.” When Lucrezia founded Lighthearted AI she knew that she was up against complex regulatory hurdles, extended timelines, and high technical risk.
HAX’s investment team are scientists and engineers with extensive commercial experience. They have the know-how to validate tech in real-world industrial contexts and shape go-to-market strategies that resonate with investors.
Here is the core team:
- Duncan Turner (General Partner & Managing Director): Design engineer with 30+ products shipped and multiple design awards.
- Susan Schofer (Partner & Chief Science Officer): PhD in Chemistry with operational experience across R&D, product management, and commercializing new technologies in synthetic biology and materials
- Ji Ke (Partner & Chief Technology Officer): Mechanical engineer with experience developing advanced machinery for factory automation, high-speed machinery, and diesel engines
- Andy Gollach (Partner): Chemical engineer with technical and operational experience in renewable fuels and traditional oil / gas industries
- Kira Colburn (Director of Communications): PR strategist focused on fundraising, media, and market credibility
Come Build Hard Stuff With Us
As the world’s first and most active program for hard tech startups, HAX backs founders tackling industrial decarbonization, electrification, critical minerals, diagnostics, future of manufacturing, energy storage, robotics, future fuels, and more, with up to $550k in initial investment and hands-on support that goes far beyond capital.
The 120 day intense, hands-on program accepts applications on a rolling basis and is tailored to each team’s stage, whether that’s refining a concept or already building a functional prototype. The goal across the board is to make sure every team “graduates” with a functional product, a successful Seed funding round funding in the works, and a vision that can scale.
At HAX, We Don’t Chase Trends.
We chase the hard problems. And we move fast because the world can’t wait. Come build hard stuff with us.