8th San Jose Hardware Meetup @ Spanner | Manufacturing in an Age of Tariffs
We're back for another San Jose Hardware Meetup and this time we're returning to Spanner's HQ in Los Gatos!
It's a weird time for hardware professionals. On one hand you have renewed interest in hardware and deep tech from investors and founders, and on the other you have threats of tariffs and trade wars. For tonight's event, we'll hear how hardware professionals are helping their clients navigate this shifting landscape, and the strategies you can apply for your own hardware company.
Hardware Meetups happen in over 30 cities around the world, bringing together hardware professionals to collaborate, network and learn from each other.
Speakers
Arne Lang-Ree, founder and CDO of Spanner. Arne will talk about how he and the Spanner team work with their clients to minimizes the impact of tariffs and geopolitics on their manufacturing.
Michael Keer, Founder and Managing Partner of Product Realization Group, has over 30 years of experience in bringing high-tech electronic products from development into the market. Prior to PRG, Michael held Engineering and Management positions at numerous OEM and CMs including NCR, Ericsson, SemiPower Systems and Paramit EMS, where he actively participated in scaling up over 100 new products from engineering into volume manufacturing.
Fuyu Lu. International Representative for Kin Yat Industrial and Co-Founder of GUSIST, has mastered the art of helping hardware startups turn 'supply chain chaos' into 'supply chain charm’ in Asia. In this session, Fuyu will spill the tea on Malaysia’s manufacturing environment and share how Kin Yat is helping their clients make the big manufacturing leap from China to Malaysia.
Agenda
6:30-7:00 - Arrival, mingle, grab refreshments
7:00-7:05 - Welcome and introduction
7:05-8:00 - Guest talks and audience Q+A
8:00-8:30p - Community open mic
Anyone will have the chance for a 30 second pitch to demo a prototype or talk about what they are working on.
8:30-9:30p - Mix + mingle
Thank you to our sponsor
Kin Yat Industrial Co., Ltd. is a global turnkey manufacturing company with over 50 years of industry experience. Headquartered in Hong Kong, it operates across China, Singapore, and Malaysia, with advanced manufacturing facilities. With vertically integrated capabilities—molding, SMT, plastic injection and assembly—it provides a seamless, one-stop solution from initial design to full-scale production for electronics products, medical devices and STEM toys. Through comprehensive manufacturing services and expertise, Kin Yat enables the transformation of ideas into market-ready products.
Thank you to our host
Spanner is a premier product development studio specializing in the design and engineering of physical products for the world’s leading brands - from startups to Fortune 500s - across a range of sectors including consumer electronics, medical tech, industrial, robotics, and more. From concept generation through prototype and production start, Spanner aligns rigorous product development processes with our clients’ business objectives to create delightful products and business successes, together. To learn more.
Thank you to our partner
informal is a freelance collective for the most talented independent professionals in hardware. Whether you're looking for a single contractor, a full-time employee, or an entire team of professionals to work on everything from product development to go-to-market strategy, the informal collective has the perfect collection of people for the job. Learn more.
If you want to help support the next meetup, please reach out to nate@informal.cc for sponsorship inquiries.
See you soon!