I did the same, although we took the other path, figuring we'd learn faster by going all in. We learned that the slower path is likely more appropriate for most hardware based robotic startups.

We had fantastically supportive VCs, and raised nearly 10 million, but some things just don't go faster with more money, especially selling to slow moving industrial buyers. We stopped trading a few years ago and helped our employees find other roles while we entered cockroach mode to try and revive it, without success.

I'm happy to share my learnings with anyone who may benefit. It was still a wonderful experience, and worth it just for the people we met along the way.

What a great post, I created an account just to share like we used to :)

Right now I'm passionate about and proud of a recent invention which is a type of cycloid robot gear with less friction, less parts and simpler manufacturing. High ratio gearing has been a passion area for almost a decade now, and it's a very mature and opaque field, so it's quite difficult to make meaningful contributions. Several prototypes and some dyno testing show I have finally created something of value! Thanks to the efficiency and low noise it's looking like it will be a great fit in the eBike motor gearing space too.

For those interested in further reading, here is the basic principle: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cycloidal_drive

and here is a more typical industrial robot style implementation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0_tcLx9nmoI

and a recent cycloidal type gear used the eBike space: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLh5U3Ril94

Mine is not published yet, but I'm looking forward to sharing it with the world. I would love to hear from anyone familiar with the space (it's a pretty lonely niche at the professional level).