Fundraising FoxHammerhead
AcquiredTechstars '13New York City, US · 18 known investors
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Hammerhead makes Karoo, a cycling computer device for recording and displaying ride data, routes, and workouts. The product is now operated under SRAM ownership.
Also known as Hammerhead Karoo · Hammerhead Navigation
Founders & leadership
Investors · 18
How we know: Buoyant Ventures Management, Llc's portfolio page · funding news · press coverage · Not right? Tell us
How we know: Courtside Ventures's portfolio page · research · techcrunch.com · Not right? Tell us
How we know: Next Ventures's portfolio page · the VCSheet dataset · Not right? Tell us
How we know: Stepchange's portfolio page · press coverage · Not right? Tell us
How we know: the Techstars portfolio · Not right? Tell us
How we know: the VCSheet dataset · Not right? Tell us
How we know: press coverage · Not right? Tell us
How we know: press coverage · Not right? Tell us
How we know: press coverage · Not right? Tell us
How we know: the VCSheet dataset · Not right? Tell us
How we know: funding news · press coverage · Not right? Tell us
How we know: press coverage · Not right? Tell us
Also in the syndicate · 2
Funding
SEC filings, press & company announcements- Undisclosed amountSeedMar 2019Source ↗
Source: company announcements and press reports — follow each round's link for the claim.
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Hammerhead is a cycling technology company that builds hardware and software for bicycles. Its main product is Karoo, a mountable, shockproof cycling computer with a high-resolution, anti-glare touchscreen that supports navigation and training. The device runs Karoo OS, a regularly updated Android-based operating system with a mapping and turn-by-turn navigation system designed specifically for cyclists; the company planned to add an app store allowing third-party software to run on the device.
Founder and CEO Piet Morgan framed the consumer device as a starting point for a broader "software layer on the bike," citing potential applications such as range projection for electric bikes, bike-share fleet management, data sharing with training platforms such as Strava, and theft and crash alerts. The company's earlier product, the H1 navigation device, was crowdfunded before the Karoo was developed.
Founding story
Founder and CEO Piet Morgan, a cyclist himself, started Hammerhead because he wanted a better bicycle navigation system.
Business model
Hammerhead sells a consumer cycling computer directly to riders, with the Karoo device priced at $399 at the time of its 2019 seed round. Founder Piet Morgan described plans to eventually license the company's cycling software to bicycle manufacturers and other partners in addition to selling hardware.
Hardware sales of the Karoo cycling computer ($399 as of March 2019), with planned software licensing to bike manufacturers and partners.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, history
Market position
Hammerhead competes in the cycling computer category against established players such as Garmin, with its founder arguing the category is close to winner-take-all and that whichever company defines it will own it.
Hammerhead positions software rather than hardware as its differentiator, contrasting its regularly updated, Android-based Karoo OS and cyclist-specific turn-by-turn navigation with what its founder characterized as more rudimentary software from incumbent cycling computer makers such as Garmin.
Technology
The Karoo cycling computer is a mountable, shockproof device with a high-resolution, anti-glare touchscreen. It runs Karoo OS, an Android-based operating system that receives regular updates and includes mapping and turn-by-turn navigation built for cycling, with a planned app store for third-party applications.
Go-to-market
Hammerhead began with a crowdfunded first product, the H1, and sells the Karoo cycling computer as a consumer device, with a stated longer-term intent to license its software to bike manufacturers and other partners.
Cyclists using navigation and training devices, with longer-term intended customers including bike manufacturers, bike-share fleet operators and training-software partners.
History
The company crowdfunded its first product, the H1, before developing the Karoo cycling computer. In March 2019 it announced a $4.2 million seed round led by Primary Ventures and KB Partners, with Primary's Steve Schlafman and KB's Keith Bank joining the board. Hammerhead was subsequently acquired by SRAM.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Related companies · 5
Companies working in the same space as Hammerhead.
Timeline · 2
launches, deals, and filingsHammerhead announced $4.2 million in seed funding led by Primary Ventures and KB Partners, with Steve Schlafman and Keith Bank joining the board; Courtside Ventures, Maveron, Drummond Road Capital, MapMyFitness co-founder Robin Thurston and Zipp CEO Andy Ording also participated.
$4.2M source ↗
Hammerhead's Karoo cycling computer, running the Android-based Karoo OS with cyclist-specific turn-by-turn navigation, was available for $399, following the crowdfunded H1 device.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
- Hammerhead AI emerges from stealth with $10m raise, aims to unlock stranded power from GPUs - DCDdatacenterdynamics.com · web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Hammerhead do?
- Cycling technology company behind the Karoo cycling computer and Karoo OS; acquired by SRAM.
- Who founded Hammerhead?
- Hammerhead was founded by Laurence Wattrus, Raveen Beemsingh, Jon Morgan.
- Who are Hammerhead's investors?
- Hammerhead's investors include Buoyant Ventures Management, Llc, Courtside Ventures, Next Ventures, R/GA Ventures, Stepchange, Techstars, VTF Capital, Aina Climate AI Ventures and 8 more.
- Where is Hammerhead headquartered?
- Hammerhead is headquartered in New York City, US.