Atech Raises $800K to Make Hardware Prototyping as Easy as Building a Web App

Jan de Vries · 2026-04-27

A Copenhagen-based AI hardware startup called Atech just closed an $800,000 pre-Seed round. They're building a platform that lets you design, prototype, and build physical products by simply describing what you want in natural language. Think of it like having a conversation with your computer and getting a working prototype back in minutes. ### Who's Backing This Vision? The round includes some serious names: Nordic Makers, Emblem, Lovable, Sequoia Scout Fund (Sequoia), and Andreessen Horowitz Scout Fund (A16z). That's a lot of confidence for a company that's just getting started. "I am seeing the same patterns Lovable had but for hardware. I'm really excited to see Atech's journey. The team is one of a kind," said Anton Osika, CEO of Lovable. That quote says a lot—Lovable is known for making software creation accessible, and now Atech wants to do the same for hardware. ### Where Does Atech Fit in the 2026 Funding Landscape? Atech's pre-Seed round lands at the earliest end of a much bigger funding wave. In 2026, larger amounts are flowing into physical AI, robotics, industrial automation, AI-enabled engineering infrastructure, and software-defined manufacturing. Rounds for companies like Sereact, Encord, and Isembard show capital going into scale-stage infrastructure. Meanwhile, earlier-stage startups like Allonic, Stanhope AI, BeyondMath, and Mirai Robotics are attracting investors interested in the building blocks for real-world AI systems, simulation, and robotics hardware. Total funding for these comparable rounds, as covered by EU-Startups, exceeds $280 million. Atech positions itself differently. It's a smaller, newly founded entrant focused on lowering the barrier to hardware prototyping through AI-driven workflows. It's not trying to be a later-stage robotics or industrial automation company. It's building the on-ramp. "Hardware has always belonged to people with budgets and timelines. We're giving it back to people with ideas," shared Vladimir Baran, co-founder at Atech. ### The Team Behind the Idea Atech was founded in 2026 by Vladimir Baran (CCO), Tomas Erik Harmer (CEO), and David Stålmarck (CTO). Their platform helps users design, prototype, and build physical products, turning ideas into real-world hardware without the usual headaches. They want to simplify hardware development so anyone can create tangible products using AI-powered tools. ### Why Hardware Has Been So Hard Building a hardware prototype has traditionally required years of specialized expertise or a big investment in engineering talent. That's kept countless ideas stuck on paper and locked hardware innovation behind a small group of specialists. Atech wants to break that open. ### What Is 'Vibe-Engineering' for Hardware? Atech calls their approach 'vibe-engineering' for hardware. Just like modern AI tools let non-developers build software, Atech lets you describe a hardware concept in plain English and get a working prototype back in minutes. The platform handles all the technical complexity behind the scenes. "Software has an entire stack of tools that lets a teenager build an app in a weekend. Hardware doesn't, and we're still working at the first level of abstraction. Atech is building the missing layers, so creating in the physical world can feel as fast and joyful as writing code," adds Tomas Harmer, CEO of Atech. The company believes that while software development has been democratized over the past decade, hardware has remained stubbornly difficult to access. Atech aims to close that gap, making physical creation as intuitive and flexible as building a web app.