Zero to hardware MVP
in under five weeks.
Starting 1 February 2027, we're helping 5 startups build their first hardware product, with no hardware experience required. You bring the idea; Crouton and the Bakery, our modular hardware ecosystem, get it working.
- 5 startups
- We are taking on 5 teams, no more, so each one gets real attention.
- Starts 1 Feb 2027
- The cohort begins on 1 February 2027. Applications are open now.
- Under 5 weeks
- From an idea to a working hardware MVP. That is the goal we hold the pilot to.
- No hardware experience needed
- Built for teams who have never designed a board before.
How the pilot works.
You help us shape the Bakery. We help you shape your product. That's the whole exchange.
- 01
Apply
Tell us who you are and what you want to build. It takes about two minutes.
- 02
We interview you
We talk through your project, work out which components it needs, and figure out together whether the pilot is a fit for what you're building.
- 03
We get your modules ready
If it's a fit, we build the Bakery modules your project needs and have them ready before 1 February 2027. The Bakery is community-led: its first modules are shaped around the pilot teams.
- 04
Build from day one
On 1 February 2027 your hardware is waiting. You plug in and start building straight away, instead of waiting on parts.
- 05
Supported for all 5 weeks
We support you the whole way, from the first circuit to a working hardware MVP. That is the goal we hold the pilot to.
No strings attached
We take no IP. Once you have your MVP, it's completely yours. You pay for the hardware, your Crouton and the Bakery modules your build needs, at cost: what it costs us to manufacture, with no margin on top.
The Bakery
Prototype complex designs on a breadboard.
Then manufacture once.
BGA packages, fine-pitch ICs, wireless modules. The parts real designs are built from are the parts a breadboard can't hold. The Bakery is our modular hardware ecosystem: breakout modules that put them on the board anyway, so the whole design can be assembled, wired and verified before a single run is committed. It's community-led: the first modules are being shaped around the startups in the pilot.
Breakouts
Fine-pitch and BGA parts brought out to 0.1in pins, so components that could never touch a breadboard can be wired up by hand.
Adaptors
Bridge footprints, pinouts and voltage domains between parts that were never designed to sit next to each other.
ICs
The chip your design is built around, ready to wire and test long before its footprint is committed to a layout.
Carriers
Hold a module or sub-assembly steady on the board while the rest of the circuit takes shape around it.
Lifecycle Insights, An Analysis of the Impact of PCB Design Practices on Performance, 2018; cited by Siemens EDA.
Apply for the pilot.
5 places, starting 1 February 2027. Tell us who you are and what you want to build. The next step is an interview, where we work out together whether your project is a fit.