Clockwork
The business, the turning points, and the decisions behind them.
01 / WHAT IT BUILT
What the company did
Clockwork was a San Francisco startup founded by Renuka Apte and Aaron Feldstein that built the world's first autonomous nail-painting robot. Using AI and computer vision to paint within the borders of each nail, the machine delivered a 10-minute, $10 'minicure' in offices, airports and retail locations — including 30 Rockefeller Center in New York and JFK airport — with polish from brands like OPI and L'Oreal.
02 / Clockwork FAILURE REASONS
Failure reasons
Clockwork shut down all 22 of its machines in February 2025, citing financial challenges. Despite real locations and paying customers, the economics of the hardware-heavy business never worked: the company burned through more than $10 million in funding in a short time without reaching profitability, and its only direct competitor, the far better-funded 10Beauty, consolidated the robotic-manicure market by acquiring Clockwork's team and technology two months later.
03 / EVENT HISTORY
Events in the structured record
- Launch
Clockwork launched its AI-powered nail-painting robot, offering 10-minute, $10 manicures, first in San Francisco and later as a corporate amenity at 30 Rockefeller Center in New York.
- Airport expansion
The company partnered with XWELL to deploy its robots at airport XpresSpa locations, starting with JFK International Airport, and was tested in Target stores.
- Shutdown and acquisition
In February 2025 Clockwork shut down all 22 machines citing financial challenges; in April 2025 competitor 10Beauty acquired Clockwork's team and technology.
04 / CONTEMPORARY REBUILD ASSESSMENT
Difficulty of rebuilding this project today
Material for this section is being gathered and checked. It will appear here once ready.
Overall assessment: Not completed
05 / CAUSAL CHAIN
How the factors connect
- 01
Raised over $10 million in total, including roughly $7 million via WeFunder crowdfunding and a seed round led by Initialized Capital.
- 02
In February 2025 it shut down all 22 of its nail-painting robots, citing financial difficulties; in April 2025 competitor 10Beauty acquired its team and technology on undisclosed terms.
- 03
No audited loss figure was publicly disclosed.