machine.fun thesis: why hardware founders may raise on a launchpad over VC
Quote308 words
Bullish call$CODEC−32%since this piece, moved against the call · 1 more callHow it played out ↓Argues private rounds are broken for hardware builders (vesting overhangs, VCs unable to price hardware) and Codec funded its build from trading fees. machine.fun adds a curated launchpad with SimArena proof, peaq tracking, the Foundry accelerator and fee-funded buybacks.
Key claims
Codec funded its build from trading fees with no VC
Platform fees fund builder support, trader rewards and buybacks of both tokens
First Foundry cohort already selected
Why would the next Unitree raise on @machinedotfun instead of taking VC money?
That's the question that matters here, and the honest answer should worry a few funds.
Why?
Because private rounds are structurally broken for builders.
Vesting overhangs, unlock schedules, price action dictated by funds taking profit instead of what teams ship.
Add to that crypto VCs are deploying way less than they used to, and the fact that most investors grew up underwriting software and simply don't know how to price hardware.
What's left is a generation of hardware founders with no good path to access capital.
And the alternative already has a proof of concept: @codecopenflow itself.
No VCs, no pedigree. Launched a token, funded the entire build from trading fees, and is now signing first clients and generating revenue.
@machinedotfun (powered by @peaq and the Codec) is what turns that approach into a repeatable venue for hardware founders.
Permissionless to launch, curated across all other angles.
Or more specifically:
- Codec's SimArena for simulation proof
- Peaq OS to track live machines
- Ignition for supply transparency
- The Foundry for serious builders (first accelerator cohort already selected, launches coming in the next weeks)
However, it's the flywheel that I care most about:
Platform fees flow back into everything that compounds the ecosystem:
- Builder support, down to manufacturing and hardware distribution
- Trader rewards, paid in tokenized robotics exposure (NVIDIA, Figure AI, Tesla)
- Open market buybacks of both ethereum:0x1eef208926667594e5136e89d0e9dd6907959197 and solana:69LjZUUzxj3Cb3Fxeo1X4QpYEQTboApkhXTysPpbpump
Real usage, real fees, real flows into both tokens.
And sure, still many of these launches will fail. That's how venture works.
But "invest in the next Unitree before it becomes a company" was always the pitch.
Now the venue, the rails and the incentives all exist.
Adjust your targets for solana:69LjZUUzxj3Cb3Fxeo1X4QpYEQTboApkhXTysPpbpump and ethereum:0x1eef208926667594e5136e89d0e9dd6907959197.
We're going much higher.
NFA tho. DYOR.
QUOTING @machinedotfun
We keep getting asked what you can launch on t.co/PD7oHMIseb. Anything. It's an open platform, but it's designed for people making hardware: robots, drones, wearables, gaming, DePIN, the software that runs them, the data that trains them. Check the table for the full br
We keep getting asked what you can launch on t.co/PD7oHMIseb. Anything. It's an open platform, but it's designed for people making hardware: robots, drones, wearables, gaming, DePIN, the software that runs them, the data that trains them. Check the table for the full br
How the calls played out · since 21 Sep 2026
Prices as of 23 Oct 2026This piece takes a view on $CODEC, $PEAQ, so those moves are read against the call.
−32%
Moved against the call · over 5 weeks
- At publication
- $0.0094
- Now
- $0.00639
- vs BTC
- −33%
- After 1 month
- −29%
- High since
- +44% 27 Sep 2026
- Low since
- −42% 19 Oct 2026
+8.3%
Moved with the call · over 5 weeks
- At publication
- $0.0336
- Now
- $0.0364
- vs BTC
- +7.5%
- After 1 month
- +13%
- High since
- +36% 05 Oct 2026
- Low since
- 0.0% 21 Sep 2026
Since then
No follow-up pieces on this subject yet. This is the latest take.
Daily closes in USD from DefiLlama and Yahoo Finance. Only a bullish or bearish thesis is read as a call; explainers, maps and mentions are context. Not financial advice.