April 8, 2026
The Hardware Startup Club @ UW (HWSC) is excited to host a fireside chat with FUSE and Carbon Robotics, bringing together the investor and operator perspectives on building real hardware startups.
Carbon Robotics (https://carbonrobotics.com/) is building autonomous systems deployed in real-world environments, tackling everything from hardware reliability to scaling complex robotics systems. Joining us is John Mey (VP of Product), who has led product and engineering efforts at the company as it grows. FUSE (https://fuse.vc/) is a venture capital firm that backs early-stage founders building across software and hardware, and will share how they evaluate technical teams, risk, and what makes a startup venture-scale.
We’ll dive into engineering tradeoffs, early-stage challenges, and what it actually takes to build an investable hardware company, from both sides of the table. Join us on April 15, from 6 – 7 PM: RSVP Link