AI-powered app-building platform Lovable has backed a Danish hardware startup, AtecWhich wants to introduce “vibe coding” into the process of building hardware. Lovable was part of an $800,000 pre-seed round that also included A16Z’s scout fund, Sequoia Scout Fund. and nordic makers.
Speaking with TechCrunch, Gustave Hugod, head of customer experience at Atech, said the functionality of the platform is quite simple. Users purchase a starter hardware kit for whatever they’re trying to build from Atech’s site. Then, they open a tab on the site, talk to the AI chatbot, describe the hardware concept they’re trying to build, and the AI tool generates code that helps them build a working prototype. Hugoud said the company’s user base is broad right now, “from four-year-olds building cars to hydrogen synthesis plants that require precise voltage sensing.”
Typically, building any kind of hardware prototype requires decades of experience or finding expensive but talented engineers. But Hugoud said that as “the software access gap narrows”, the difficulty of building in the hardware sector will also increase. “In a democratic world, hardware should be available to everyone,” he said. The new capital will be used for research and development, marketing and hiring.
