cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/8883519
The blog post
Today we’re announcing $18M in new funding from an incredible set of investors, with a $17M Series A-1 round led by Spark Capital, with Buckley Ventures, Anzu Partners, Cooler Master, and Pathbreaker Ventures participating. We started just over four years ago with a vision to remake consumer electronics to respect people and the planet. We chose to take on the notebook space first to prove that it’s possible to fix even the most mature, competitive categories with an excellent product that is simple to repair, upgrade, and customize. We’ve continued to increase our sales and market share substantially each year as the industry broadly has struggled. It’s clear that our commitment to longevity is resonating. It’s ultimately your belief in our mission and products that drives our success.
When we closed a Series A round two years ago, we shared our strategy around fundraising, which is to raise as little as possible and focus funds on efficiently expanding the reach of our mission. You can now see the results of that investment with Framework Laptop 16 out in customers’ hands. With this new round, we’re continuing to deepen support for our existing customers, scaling the reach of our current products, and extending to additional product categories that let us empower new consumers and businesses. Ultimately, we need for everyone in the world to have the option for a longer-lasting product, no matter the category.
A core focus of this fundraise beyond taking in capital is bringing strategic connections and expertise. We chose each of our new investors based on their belief in our mission, the strengths of their teams, the companies they work with, and the reach of their networks. We’ve had a number of early partnership discussions with other startups in our investors’ portfolios, and we’re excited to share more about this as we deliver on the results. Cooler Master is a key strategic partner-turned-investor, having been both the supplier for our Framework Laptop 16 thermal system and the first company to join the Framework ecosystem with a compatible product, a case that enables Framework Laptop Mainboard reuse. We have additional collaborations with the Cooler Master team in incubation now.
There is one group of people who are more strategically important than any other: the Framework community. The third most common question we’ve gotten since starting Framework (after “AMD when?” and “Upgradeable graphics when?”) is “Can I invest in Framework?”. The answer is finally… possibly. In addition to the $17M of funds we’ve raised from traditional investors, we’re raising a $1M community round to enable 100 of you to invest $10,000 each in Framework. Investing in startups is approximately the riskiest place imaginable to put your money, and statistically, the most likely outcome for any individual early-stage startup investment is for it to become worthless. With that in mind, for both moral and regulatory reasons, we’re limiting participation to individuals and entities that meet the SEC’s Accredited Investor qualifications. This also allows us to publicly share the existence of this fundraising under the SEC’s 506(c) regulations. If you qualify as an Accredited Investor, believe in our mission and strategy, and are interested in investing in this round, you can get more details and apply here.
There’s one other way you can participate in our mission, which is to join our team! To actually drive the growth that our new funding enables, we’re adding a few key roles across Framework, including a Product Marketing Manager and a Supply Chain Manager. You can check out all of our open roles on our careers page. We’re eager to fix this industry together as quickly as we can.
Link: https://frame.work/blog/frameworks-series-a-1-and-community-participation
Is the Framework company only staying afloat because of investors, or are they profitable selling laptops and their parts? I'm concerned about their longevity if they constantly need investor's cash injections.
Have they ever addressed this?
4 years in can still be a bit early for a startup to have to prove profitability before deciding on its fate. I'm willing to give it up to 10 years but where it would ideally show an iterative improvement up to that point with regular loss reduction over time. 4 years should give some sense on whether profitability is reachable I think, though I'm not financial analyst so my words are just a stranger's two cents.
I hope they have lasting power. I'm totally committed to my Framework laptop and would be sad to see the company go away because their business model doesn't work for whatever reason.
They need to get into the phone game. There are no major players in North America who offer anything close to a Fairphone, and that could boost revenue, especially in a world where people are trying to find greener solutions.
The phone industry is very competitive and I don't know if there is enough for framework to compromise with to make modular/user repairable phones both viable as a business model and a distinguishing factor. I hope to be proven wrong by all means!
Fairphone doesn't appear to be struggling, and I'm certain that Framework could do 100% better than them. The laptop market was highly competitive before Framework, but they found a market that is forward-thinking, and I think we do need that in phones (which tend to be replaced more often than computers).
Just imagine if governments incentivized green manufacturing in this industry - they would be at the top of the list of desired brands!
Mh, I wouldn't be so sure about Fairphone not struggling (I do wish them the best, typing this on a FP5) I saw some numbers a while back and they were shockingly low ... Of course I can't remember now but it was something like 30k profit in a year?
But I do hope Framwork does last long likewise would love to purchase one of their laptops at some point.
They do post their financials, so I'm sure there's an explanation. But I don't think they are nearly as established as Framework, despite the company's age.
I think the problem with Fairphone is they are closed off to a very small market. You can't grow, or be a leader in any market, if you're restricting yourself to Europe only.
I would be more than happy to give my money to either Fairphone or Framework before spending more on another Samsung phone that has planned obsolescence built in as a feature. But, I can't unless I import it and be stuck with not being able to actually get parts like the product is intended.
id love to see them manage to turn their standard into an industry standard. like asus and gigabyte making motherboards and video cards for their products.
Me too, either the expansion bay or the inside PCB format (for other outer form factors?)
There's a difference between needing money to stay in business and needing money to expand. It tastes a lot of money to release new products or ramp up production of existing ones. I've seen way larger companies fail at doing so.
Ok, so it's just expansion money? Usually, when I hear of companies needing more cash injections from investors, they aren't doing so well.
Needing more money from investors isn't inherently bad and it's normal for new companies. If you start a new company you won't have money to do everything at once, so you do everything in stages. Framework has completed the last stage of their plan and now needs more money to complete the next stage of their plan.
You can't even buy a Framework laptops in Sweden, China, Korea, and most countries really. Given how demand has consistently outpaced supply I wouldn't be to worried about it.