Prime Highlights:

• Flow Engineering raises $23 million in a Series A funding round led by Sequoia Capital to advance hardware development.
• The startup helps companies like Rivian, Joby Aviation, Astranis, and Radiant adopt flexible, iterative approaches to building hardware.

Key Facts:

• Sequoia managing partner Roelof Botha will join Flow’s board, signaling strong investor confidence.
• Flow was founded in 2023 by mechanical engineer Singh, aiming to modernize hardware design and development processes.

Key Background:

Flow Engineering, a startup redefining the way hardware is designed and built, has raised $23 million in a Series A funding round led by Sequoia Capital, as learned exclusively. Other participants include Odyssey Ventures, Unity co-founder David Helgason, and Stripe’s Patrick and John Collison. In a significant vote of confidence, Sequoia managing partner Roelof Botha will join Flow’s board.

Founded in 2023 by mechanical engineer Singh, Flow Engineering helps companies tackle complex hardware projects. Its platform allows firms like Rivian, Joby Aviation, Astranis, and Radiant to work in a flexible, step-by-step way. Flow believes product requirements should grow and change as the product is built.

Singh, who began his career at BAE Systems and BP, was motivated to start Flow after observing that hardware design tools and processes have largely remained unchanged since the space race, despite the dramatic increase in product complexity. “Software now drives every element of every component,” Singh explained. “There was a disconnect between the products we were designing and the approach to design.”

According to Botha, Flow is at the forefront of a critical industry shift, where hardware and software increasingly intersect. He compared this transformation to the evolution of the software ecosystem, where developers created their own tools to accelerate innovation. “Like GitHub for software developers, Flow is enabling engineers to build their own tools to solve complex hardware problems,” Botha said.

The startup’s growth comes at a time of rising global competition in manufacturing capabilities. Singh pointed out that China is currently leading in technology and manufacturing. Flow’s mission, he said, is to enable faster progress in areas such as space exploration and decarbonization, ultimately addressing some of humanity’s most pressing physical-world challenges.

With its new funding, Flow Engineering is poised to expand its platform, help more companies accelerate product development, and solidify its position as a leading force in the next era of hardware innovation.