What Wattage does

Wattage Inc. was a Toronto-based hardware creation startup that aimed to make building custom electronic devices as accessible as publishing a blog post. The core product was a browser-based platform that would let non-engineers design and order customized hardware—eliminating the need for electrical engineering expertise, supply chain management, and distribution logistics. The underlying technology combined a web-based design interface with modular electronics and laser-cutting fabrication, with the long-term intent to integrate 3D printing once it became viable. The founding team of four (Jeremy Bell, Andy MacDonald, Brett Hagman, Peter Nitsch) prototyped a customizable radio as the lead use case and had planned to wrap the creation tools in a two-sided marketplace where independent creators could sell mass-customized goods to consumers.

The business model was dual-pronged: direct hardware sales of customizable products, and marketplace transaction commissions on third-party creator sales. Target customers were software developers as creators (primary) and consumer electronics buyers seeking customized alternatives to mass-produced devices (secondary). Go-to-market was originally planned as product-led growth through a browser-based tool, with crowdfunding as the initial commercial channel; however, the company decided crowdfunding was premature due to uncertainty in unit economics.

Wattage raised $250,000 from friends and family and operated for approximately one year before attempting a $2 million seed round across San Francisco, Silicon Valley, New York, and Toronto. Investors raised concerns about an unproven market, insufficient traction, and the scalability of bespoke hardware manufacturing. The company was unable to close institutional funding and shut down in early 2025, returning the initial $250,000 to investors in what the founder described as a 'soft landing' rather than a total loss.

Name

Wattage

Legal name

Wattage Inc.

Website

https://wattage.io

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Closed

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Wattage was a Toronto-based pre-revenue startup building a browser-based platform for non-engineers to design and order custom electronic hardware using modular electronics and laser-cutting fabrication, targeting software developers as creators and consumer electronics buyers as end users. The company shut down in early 2025 after failing to raise a $2M seed round.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Toronto

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Hardware sales: The company planned to generate revenue through selling customizable hardware products. The business model centered on reducing complexity of hardware creation to enable more people to create and purchase customized electronics.
2. Marketplace commission: A marketplace where creators could sell their inventions to the masses, with Wattage taking a transaction fee from sales made through the platform.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Wattage was developing a browser-based hardware creation platform that would enable non-engineers to design custom electronic devices without electrical engineering or industrial design expertise. The platform was intended to bundle creation tools with a marketplace where creators could sell their custom hardware inventions to consumers, focusing initially on a customizable radio product. The company shut down before achieving commercial launch.

Product overview

Wattage was a platform venture aimed at making hardware creation as accessible as publishing a blog post. The core offering was a browser-based hardware creation platform, which users could access without engineering expertise. The company planned to wrap these creation tools in a marketplace where creators could sell their inventions. After initial broad plans, the team narrowed focus to hardware creation tools alone (without marketplace or programming features), then further to a single customizable radio prototype. The company ultimately shut down before achieving a full product launch.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Wattage Platform A browser-based platform designed to enable non-technical users to create custom hardware devices without needing electronics engineering or design expertise, eliminating supply chain and distribution complexity through browser-accessible creation tools.
• Wattage Marketplace A planned marketplace component where creators could sell their custom hardware inventions to consumers, forming a long tail of mass-customized goods.
• Custom Radio Prototype A radio device prototype representing the team's narrowed focus toward a single customizable hardware product, designed to demonstrate the feasibility of the broader platform vision.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Hot PopminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHot Pop Factory helped design and create all physical prototypes for Wattage during the development phase
• Cossette LabminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvided office space, staff support, and bagel Mondays for the Wattage team during development
• MakeWorksminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvided office space in the early days of Wattage's operations
• Teehan+LaxminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvided office space in the early days of Wattage's operations
• Chris TannerminorOthersProvided design help and assistance during product development
• Sam DallynminorOthersDesigned the Wattage logo and brand identity
• Jonas NaimarkminorOthersCreated an animation showcasing the Wattage product vision
• HeistminorOthersProvided design assistance during the product development phase

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Arduino: Open-source electronics platform for makers and creators. Like Wattage, Arduino enables non-engineers to build custom hardware projects through accessible tools and a hardware/software ecosystem.
• Adafruit: Open-source hardware company selling DIY electronics kits, components, and tutorials. Serves the maker community seeking to create custom electronics, similar to Wattage's target user.
• Shapeways: 3D printing marketplace and manufacturing service enabling mass customization of physical products. Directly comparable to Wattage's planned marketplace model for custom hardware.
• SparkFun Electronics: Retailer of electronics parts and kits for makers, hobbyists, and educators. Shares Wattage's mission of enabling custom hardware creation by non-engineers through accessible components.
• Raspberry Pi Foundation: Creator of affordable single-board computers enabling DIY electronics and computing projects. Targets a similar maker/developer audience and shares Wattage's goal of democratizing hardware creation.
• Tindie: Marketplace for independent makers to sell custom electronics and hardware. Closely mirrors Wattage's planned marketplace component for creator-sold custom hardware.

Others

• Formlabs: Professional desktop 3D printing company. Represents the enabling fabrication technology that Wattage's vision depended on, but operates as a tooling provider rather than a marketplace.
• MakerBot: Desktop 3D printing pioneer enabling distributed manufacturing. Provides the underlying fabrication capability that Wattage's distributed production model would have relied upon.
• Kickstarter: Crowdfunding platform that Wattage considered as a go-to-market channel for hardware products. Represents the alternative fundraising/launch path the company evaluated but did not pursue.

Broad incumbents

• Etsy: Major marketplace for handmade and customized goods. Represents the established marketplace model for mass-customized physical products that Wattage aimed to enter for electronics specifically.

Market position

Strengths3 records

Weaknesses3 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights4 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/wattageIO
• Facebookfacebook.com/wattageio

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Wattage