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Hammerhead

AcquiredTechstars '13

New York City, US · 15 known investors

Find your way into Hammerhead

658 people in our graph share verified history with the Hammerhead team — schools, employers, funds. One of them is your warm intro.

Lawrence Barclayunlockedknows Laurence Wattrus · together at Techstars (overlapped)
×2knows the team · via Brown University
knows the team · via UCLA
×5knows the team · via Techstars
knows the team · via University of Cape Town
×2knows the team · via Lehigh University

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

CleantechHardware

Founders & leadership

LWLaurence Wattrus
Laurence WattrusinFounderFounder of Hammerhead Navigation Inc., which was acquired by SRAM; held roles as Technical Team Lead for Design Engineering, Manufacturing and Supply Chain at SRAM following the acquisition, and currently works as an Electrical and Software Engineering Manager at SRAM on bike computer development. Has three generations of background in consumer sports technology.
RBRaveen Beemsingh
Raveen BeemsinghinFounderRaveen Beemsingh is a founder building Lane, an autonomous AI marketing tool. He previously founded multiple companies with strategic exits and completed the Techstars program.
JMJon Morgan
Jon MorganinFounder

Investors · 15

Buoyant Ventures Management, LlcChicago · $500K – $5M
Courtside VenturesNew York · $1M – $1.5M
Next VenturesAustin · $500K – $3M
R/GA VenturesBrooklyn
StepchangeSeattle
TechstarsBoulder · $220K
VTF CapitalLas Vegas · $300K – $2M
Aina Climate AI VenturesreportedRedwood City
Bombellii VenturesreportedWellesley Hills
Clearvision VenturesreportedMenlo Park · $1M – $25M
Primary Venture PartnersreportedNew York · $1M – $3M
SE Venturesreported · 2 sourcesMenlo Park
WovenEarthreportedPalo Alto

Also in the syndicate · 2

Andy OrdingRobin Thurston

Company profile

researched Aug 2026

Hammerhead 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 reported
Karoo device priceMar 2019$399

Company-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.

Competitors · 5

by search overlap
Ride With GPS81 shared keywordsRide with GPS is a cycling route discovery, planning, and navigation platform that lets cyclists create, record, navigate, and share routes and rides. Founder-owned and community-driven, it serves cyclists ranging from daily commuters to multi-day tour riders through its web and mobile apps.
Strava79 shared keywordsStrava is a mobile app and online platform where athletes track and share their workouts, activities, and athletic performance with a community of fitness enthusiasts. The platform provides tools for endurance athletes to record, analyze, and connect with other users globally.
Performancebike70 shared keywordsPerformance Bicycle is a cycling retailer based in Chico, California that sells gravel bikes and cycling gear to riders. The company is independently owned as part of the Amain Sports & Hobbies family and is active in the Northern California cycling community.
The Pro's Closet57 shared keywordsThe Pro's Closet is an online marketplace for buying and selling used bikes, frames, and wheels, operating a certified pre-owned process with cash, consignment, and trade-in options. It serves cyclists in the resale bike market and has sold over 75,000 bikes since 2006.
Zwift51 shared keywordsZwift is an indoor cycling and training app that connects to smart trainers and dedicated smart bikes, letting cyclists ride, train, and compete virtually with others. It serves recreational and professional cyclists through hardware such as the Zwift Ride smart bike and compatible smart trainers.

Companies competing with Hammerhead for the same Google search keywords, organic and paid, via search-intersection analysis.

Timeline · 2

launches, deals, and filings
Mar 2019
Hammerhead raises $4.2M seed round

Hammerhead 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 ↗

Jan 2019
Karoo cycling computer available

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.

source ↗

Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.

In the news

Hammerhead AI emerges from stealth with $10m raise, aims to unlock stranded power from GPUs - DCDdatacenterdynamics.com · Jun 2026Hammerhead AI Raises $10M to Turn Power Limits Into Profittechnews180.com · Nov 2025Hammerhead AI Secures $10M To Turn Power Shortage Into Profit for AI Factoriesfinance.yahoo.com · Nov 2025Hammerhead AI raises $10M to tackle the AI energy crisis in data centers - SiliconANGLEsiliconangle.com · Nov 2025Hammerhead AI Raises $10M in Seed Fundingfinsmes.com · Nov 2025Hammerhead Raises $4.2M in Seed Funding - FinSMEsfinsmes.com · Mar 2019Hammerhead Navigation Funding on Dragon Innovationdragoninnovation.com · Oct 2013

▸Research sources · 8

primary sources listed

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 5 more.
Where is Hammerhead headquartered?
Hammerhead is headquartered in New York City, US.