Rendyr
The business, the turning points, and the decisions behind them.
Some sections are still being researched1 / 4
Sections to complete：02
01 / WHAT IT BUILT
What the company did
Rendyr was a Blacksburg, Virginia-based desktop robotics startup founded in 2018 by Virginia Tech students Martin Angst and Kaelum Hasler. It developed the Optic, a portable 15W laser cutter with integrated filtration that dramatically improved access to rapid prototyping and digital fabrication without expensive, cumbersome equipment. The cutter worked with hundreds of materials, offered 'infinite' cutting area via a detachable cutting mat, and folded up for compact storage. Its February 2022 Kickstarter raised $564,637 against a $50,000 goal. The company went through Lighthouse Labs, RAMP and the Autodesk Technology Center in Boston, and held several granted patents.
02 / FAILURE REASONS
Material for this section is being gathered and checked. It will appear here once ready.
03 / EVENT HISTORY
Events in the structured record
- Founded
Rendyr was founded by Virginia Tech students to build a 'laptop version' of an industrial laser cutter.
- Kickstarter
The Optic portable laser cutter raised $564,637 on Kickstarter against a $50,000 goal.
- Liquidation
PitchBook records Rendyr as out of business, with bankruptcy/liquidation dated April 21, 2025.
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
Rendyr went into bankruptcy liquidation on April 21, 2025, per PitchBook's records. (CB Insights still listed it as active as of a 2026 crawl, a data-vendor discrepancy.)