# Aymerik Renard

> Aymerik Renard is a General Partner at HCVC (formerly Hardware Club), a community-driven venture firm investing in hardtech startups out of San Francisco and Paris. With more than two decades in venture capital - including stints at Innovacom, Orange, PCH International, SanDisk and Western Digital Capital - he backs founders working on robotics, space, biotech, defense and climate technology in Europe and North America.

- **Role:** General Partner at HCVC
- **Organizations:** HCVC (Hardware Club), Western Digital Capital (former), SanDisk Ventures (former), PCH International (former), Highway1 (co-founder), Orange (former), Innovacom (former)
- **Nationality:** French
- **Education:** Information & Decision Systems, Carnegie Mellon University
- **Known for:** Global Corporate Venturing Rising Star Award - 2016 (SanDisk) and 2017 (Western Digital), Co-founded Highway1, an accelerator that became a fixture of the hardware startup ecosystem, Portfolio exits to Microsoft, IBM, Cisco, SAP, Yahoo, Sun Microsystems, Cox Automotive, Keynote, Ericsson, Oracle, Assa Abloy and Cable & Wireless

## Career timeline

- **1990s** — Begins career at Innovacom, where he becomes a partner
- **1990s-2010s** — Heads North American investments for Orange for 12 years
- **2011** — Joins PCH International as VP of startup business development
- **2013** — Co-founds Highway1, PCH's hardware accelerator
- **2014** — Leads US venture activity at SanDisk Ventures
- **2016** — Named Global Corporate Venturing Rising Star at SanDisk
- **2017** — Named Global Corporate Venturing Rising Star at Western Digital Capital
- **2017** — Joins Hardware Club (HCVC) as General Partner in October

## Achievements

- Global Corporate Venturing Rising Star Award - 2016 (SanDisk) and 2017 (Western Digital)
- Co-founded Highway1, an accelerator that became a fixture of the hardware startup ecosystem
- Portfolio exits to Microsoft, IBM, Cisco, SAP, Yahoo, Sun Microsystems, Cox Automotive, Keynote, Ericsson, Oracle, Assa Abloy and Cable & Wireless
- Helped scale HCVC into a community of 550+ hardtech startups from 60 countries
- Backed HCVC portfolio companies including Caper (acquired by Instacart for $350M), Cowboy, Augmenta, Alcatraz, Amberbox and Bellwether Coffee

## Latest updates

- **2017-10** — Joined Hardware Club as General Partner
- **2023-03** — Featured on the HCVC team page from Silicon Valley

## Links

- Website: https://hcvc.co
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aymerik/
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/aymerik
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hardwareclubpage

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/aymerik-renard
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-20