Highway1

Highway1 ceased active operations in 2019 as its parent company, PCH International, refocused on custom manufacturing and its direct-to-consumer fulfillment business. The accelerator's final demo day occurred that year, and no successor program or standalone venture fund was established. Portfolio companies continued to operate independently under their own management teams and investor syndicates.

Highway1 provided portfolio companies with direct access to PCH International's engineering and supply-chain infrastructure in Shenzhen, China. Unlike Y Combinator or Techstars, which focused on software scalability, Highway1 tackled physical production: injection molding, RF certification, packaging, and factory audits. The two-week Shenzhen immersion was a required component, giving founders hands-on manufacturing exposure that software accelerators could not replicate.

Brady Forrest served as Vice President of Highway1 and was the accelerator's most visible investment lead during its active years. He reported to PCH founder and CEO Liam Casey, who held ultimate authority over the program's strategic direction and resources. The selection committee also included PCH engineering leads who assessed the manufacturability of each applicant's product.

Highway1 targeted pre-seed and seed-stage hardware startups. Companies typically had a functional prototype but lacked manufacturing readiness. The accelerator provided $50,000 to $100,000 in seed funding for approximately 5% equity, with significant in-kind services including engineering support, prototyping lab access, and supply-chain management.

No. Highway1 discontinued its accelerator program in 2019 and no longer accepts applications or invests in startups. The highway1.io domain remains active as a historical reference, but the program's physical space in San Francisco has closed, and its investment activities have ceased.

Highway1 was a wholly owned operating division of PCH International, the supply-chain management and manufacturing firm founded by Liam Casey. PCH provided the funding, Shenzhen facilities, and engineering talent that defined Highway1's value proposition. The accelerator served as a customer-acquisition and innovation-scouting channel for PCH's core manufacturing business, which remains operational and headquartered in Cork, Ireland, with major operations in Shenzhen.

Yes. Notable graduates include Ringly, a smart jewelry startup that raised over $5 million from investors including Andreessen Horowitz; Podo Labs, acquired by Zagg in 2014 for its bluetooth camera technology; and Cue, a consumer health diagnostics device developer. Over 100 companies completed the program across its six-year run, though no unicorns emerged from the portfolio.