Aalto Hardware Consortium · 2026

TAKOMO

A makerspace for hardware development. Built and maintained by a hardware consortium.

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Takomo is · 01/04

Where ambitious builders come to build the physical future.

A collective, not a company.

We are a hardware consortium facilitating a makerspace for its members: three proven communities under one roof, with Aalto University as the founding institutional partner.
Takomo is · 02/04

Thinkin' Rocks: hardware & compute.

Supports builders, researchers, and entrepreneurs working on hardware and emerging computational systems, and promotes knowledge sharing and experimentation in the field. It operates the space.
Takomo is · 03/04

Aalto Space Association: satellites & rocketry.

Promotes education and cooperation in satellite technology, rocketry, and astronomy at Aalto. Behind student-built satellites and international rover competitions.
Takomo is · 04/04

Aalto Robotics Club: robotics & automation.

Unites people around ambitious, real-world projects in robotics with access to modern tools and resources, mentored by industry specialists and active researchers.

TAKOMO

Aalto Hardware Consortium

The forge for building hardware.

The shift · 01/04

The world is shifting back to hardware.

Software is becoming abundant.

AI now writes ~41% of all code, and 75% of new code at Google. Software got easy. The scarce thing is no longer the ability to write it; the value moved to the physical world.
The shift · 02/04

Capital is moving from models to machines.

Deep tech takes a record ~32% of all European VC: a third of Europe's venture money now flows into hardware, energy, and industry. Robotics and physical AI raised $27.6B last year across 1,000+ deals.
The shift · 03/04

The industrial base is being rebuilt.

AI is climbing out of the cloud and into the real world. Industrial companies, the backbone of the Finnish economy, need to automate to stay competitive.
The shift · 04/04

Europe is re-industrializing.

Draghi's estimate: the EU needs ~€800B a year in new investment to stay competitive. A €100B Clean Industrial Deal, a Chips Act, a scramble for sovereignty. Finland aims to be at the head of that movement, a target that won't be achieved by hoping.
The problem · 01/04

We have the talent. We are missing a shared home.

The engineer and the researcher.

Lacks equipment for fast prototyping. The idea is sound and the skills are there, but the mill, the bench, and the test rig are behind someone else's door.
The problem · 02/04

The student.

Lacks funding, community, and resources to purchase equipment. Hardware costs real money before it ever works.
The problem · 03/04

The hobbyist.

Lacks community for feedback and ideas. Building alone is slow; building next to someone who has done it before is how skill spreads.
The problem · 04/04

The problem is connecting builders to output.

When early-stage resources stay scattered (equipment, expertise, funding, community, iteration), value leaks at every step and everyone loses. Plug the funnel and output reaches the market.
The model · 01/04

Capability, not companies.

The Commons is the main event.

TAKOMO takes builders, improves their skills with hard physical technology, then connects each one to wherever they actually want to go. People learn tools, use the shops, build their own projects and help on other people's. Most members live here and never need anything else. That's the point.
The model · 02/04

The engine is the connection layer.

Making people capable is half of it; matching is the other half. Peers, technical staff, mentors, corporate partners, capital, Aalto research, alumni. A brief board, a regular demo cycle, review points, and a deal desk turn capability into somewhere to go.
The model · 03/04

Four kinds of output.

Philosophical: a culture where the future is built, not waited for. Professional: engineers who can prototype, collaborate, and ship. Financial: prototypes become products, builders become founders. International: a visible community that attracts talent and gives it a reason to stay.
The model · 04/04

The flywheel is the moat.

More people building means more projects, more exits, more returning founders and mentors, which pulls in more talent, capital, and partners. The loop is the actual product. The thousand square metres is just the place it runs.
As a collective

We didn't wait for permission. We're already running.

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events over the course of the year
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event attendees
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community members, and growing
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systems in the hardware library
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projects supported
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industry partners
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international collaborations (5 running, 10 inbound)
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research collaborations
On the floor

What a day in the life looks like.

1MorningResearchers run a ROS workshop; a founder team creates components on one of the 3D printers; the hardware library checks out a Jetson and an FPGA board.
2MiddayAn industry partner drops in with a real-world problem; two members spin up a project around it over lunch.
3AfternoonThe satellite team runs a vibration test; a robotics squad iterates on a rover; a solo builder debugs a board beside a PhD who's done it before.
4EveningA build session, a talk, a demo night; someone decides to turn their prototype into a company.
BMK5 · Betonimiehenkuja 5 · our wing lit
The bar

We know what we are measuring against.

BuildersIndustry backingOutputsRunning since
MIT35+ makerspaces (Project Manus)34 corporate members fund ~25% of the Media Lab's $66–80M budgetFab labs began hereDecades
ETH Zurich3,000+ students through the Student Project HousePro-bono experts and fellowshipsSpinoffs; student ideas built since 20162016
Newlab400+ member startupsLargely self-funded via corporate and government projects$4B VC raised, $3B exits, $17B+ valuation, 264 days quicker to a series A2016
Dream Hall · TU Delft13 student teams, 400+ studentsDedicated workshops, equipment, technical supportRockets, race cars, robots and other hardware25+ years
TAKOMO1,000+ community members across three communities10+ industry partners before dedicated funding250+ events a year, 20+ projects, student satellites, competition robotsAlready running

What the table says

Every peer pairs open floor space with institutional money; the space alone is never the product.

The strongest models are demand-funded: corporate members and partner projects carry Newlab and the Media Lab.

All of them started from a running community, not an empty building.

TAKOMO enters at the same starting point the winners had, with the community already at scale.

Why us, why now, why here

The right team, the right moment, the right place.

Why us

Three shipping communities, 1,000+ people already engaged and waiting for this to happen, partners already in, before a single euro of dedicated funding.

Why now

Physical AI is inflecting; software is commoditising; the builders exist but lack the space and resources.

Why here

Aalto and our communities have the talent, the design DNA, and a proven record of student-led ventures going global.