Two months after emerging from stealth, Hark – the AI hardware company started by serial entrepreneur Brett Adcock with $100 million of his own money – has closed a Series A round of more than $700 million, valuing the firm at $6 billion. The funding, reported by Bloomberg, positions Hark among the most heavily capitalized AI hardware bets before any product has shipped.

The round was led by Parkway Venture Capital, with a star-studded investor list that reads like a Who's Who of the chip and cloud ecosystem. Nvidia, AMD Ventures, Intel Capital, Qualcomm Ventures, Salesforce Ventures, Brookfield, ARK Invest, Greycroft, Prime Movers Lab, Align Ventures, and Tamarack Global all participated. Notably, several of these firms invest across multiple layers of the AI hardware stack, underscoring the broad strategic bets being placed on Hark's vision.

Adcock’s track record

Brett Adcock is no stranger to building companies from scratch. He co-founded Vettery, a recruiting marketplace that was acquired by Adecco for $100 million; Archer Aviation, the electric aircraft maker that went public via a SPAC in 2021; Figure, a humanoid robotics company where he remains CEO; and Cover, a school-security platform. With Hark, he is applying the same pattern of ambitious, capital-intensive hardware ventures to the realm of artificial intelligence.

Adcock began funding Hark in late 2025, committing $100 million of his personal fortune. The company emerged from stealth in early 2026, describing itself as building a “personal AI platform” that integrates in-house foundation models, proprietary software, and custom hardware with novel interfaces. Rather than focusing on a single layer of the technology stack, Hark aims to deliver an integrated experience where hardware and software are designed in concert from day one.

What Hark is building

Details on the actual product remain scarce. Hark has stated that it intends to release its first multi-modal models this summer, but has not disclosed the device form factor, target price, launch market, or customer pipeline. The company also has not revealed its headcount or manufacturing plans. The massive Series A provides Hark with the financial runway to keep those details opaque for now.

The category Hark is entering is notoriously difficult. Humane’s AI Pin became a cautionary tale in 2024, suffering from poor battery life, overheating issues, and limited functionality. Rabbit’s R1 similarly failed to live up to the hype. Even Apple, with its unmatched hardware distribution network, has spent the past year struggling to define its on-device AI strategy. The graveyard of AI hardware startups is littered with well-funded but ultimately unsuccessful attempts to create a new computing paradigm.

What gives Adcock’s venture an edge, according to industry observers, is his proven ability to ship hardware at scale. Archer Aviation brought an electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft from concept to FAA certification, and Figure has delivered humanoid robots into commercial trials. That experience, combined with an integrated design philosophy, may help Hark avoid the pitfalls that have plagued other entrants.

Additionally, having Nvidia and AMD on the cap table addresses a critical constraint: supply allocation. In the current semiconductor climate, access to advanced chips is often the bottleneck for AI hardware startups. With these two giants as investors, Hark will likely have an easier time securing the high-end processors needed for its platform.

Market context and challenges

The personal AI hardware market is still nascent, but the potential payoff is enormous. Companies like Meta, Google, and Apple are pouring billions into wearables and assistant devices that can run AI locally. Hark’s pitch – a dedicated device that pairs powerful on-board intelligence with novel interaction methods – aims to leapfrog what incumbents offer.

Yet the risks are just as large. Building a new computing platform requires not only technical excellence but also a compelling user experience, developer ecosystem, and distribution channel. Humane and Rabbit demonstrated that a great launch video does not translate to product-market fit. Hark will need to prove that its integrated approach actually delivers a better experience than simply using a smartphone or a voice assistant.

Adcock’s ability to raise $700 million before shipping a product shows the confidence investors have in his vision. But as one venture capitalist noted, “The hard part isn’t raising money; it’s delivering something that people actually want to use every day.”

Background on the founder

Brett Adcock is a serial entrepreneur who has founded companies in recruiting, aerospace, robotics, and security. After selling Vettery, he co-founded Archer Aviation in 2018, which went public in 2021 via a SPAC merger and is now competing with Joby Aviation in the eVTOL market. In 2022, he launched Figure, a humanoid robotics company that has raised hundreds of millions of dollars and struck a deal with BMW for factory deployment. Cover, founded in 2020, provides security systems for schools.

Adcock’s approach has always been to bet big on technological inflection points. With Hark, he believes that the combination of large language models, efficient custom silicon, and voice/gesture interfaces will create a new category of personal computing devices. Unlike smartphones, which are general-purpose, a personal AI device could be optimized for specific tasks like scheduling, memory, and proactive assistance.

The company is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, and has been staffing up with engineers from top AI labs and hardware firms. Adcock serves as principal and is actively involved in day-to-day decisions.

Investor perspectives

Parkway Venture Capital, the lead investor, focuses on deep tech and founder-led companies. In a statement, the firm said: “Brett has a unique ability to identify paradigm shifts and execute against them. We believe Hark’s integrated AI-native approach is exactly what the market needs.”

Nvidia’s investment is particularly telling. The GPU giant has backed numerous AI startups, but its participation in Hark signals that it sees value in a designed-for-AI hardware platform that goes beyond just using Nvidia chips. AMD Ventures, Intel Capital, and Qualcomm Ventures bring complementary silicon expertise, while Salesforce Ventures provides a enterprise software perspective.

ARK Invest, known for its high-conviction bets on innovation themes, has also taken a stake. ARK CEO Cathie Wood has long predicted that AI hardware will be one of the most transformative markets of the next decade.

What’s next

Hark plans to release its first multi-modal models this summer, likely as a software demonstration. The actual device may follow later in 2026 or early 2027. Adcock has not committed to a specific timeline, saying only that the company will take the time necessary to get the product right.

The $700 million war chest gives Hark years of runway, even without any revenue. But the clock is ticking. Competitors are not standing still: Apple is expected to launch an AI-focused wearable next year, and startups like Friend and Omen are also vying for the same space. Hark will need to move from stealth to shipping quickly to justify its valuation.

For now, the industry is watching closely. If Adcock succeeds, he will have pulled off one of the most impressive hardware resurrections since the early days of the smartphone. If he fails, Hark will join the long list of ambitious hardware bets that burned through billions before disappearing. Either way, the story is just beginning.

Source: TNW | Investors-Funding News