research · YC 2026 · Hard Tech · 2026-09-28
How YC Hard Tech startups design their websites
40 Hard Tech companies from YC's 2026 batches, compared with all 705 sites in the main report. Same method: served HTML only, one fetch per homepage.
What's different about Hard Tech
Hard Tech companies lead with AI less often than the batch average (27.5% vs 60.7%). Fewer of them show pricing (0.0% vs 18.0%), which fits a sales-led motion. Other/unknown is the dominant stack at 37.5%; the top call to action is "Talk to sales/us" (22.5% of sites). The most-used typeface is Inter (4 sites).
Builders
| Builder / framework | sites | share | all YC 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Other/unknown | 15 | 37.5% | 17.6% |
| Next.js | 12 | 30.0% | 49.1% |
| Vite/React SPA | 5 | 12.5% | 12.9% |
| Astro | 4 | 10.0% | 8.2% |
| Webflow | 2 | 5.0% | 2.0% |
| Wix | 1 | 2.5% | —% |
| WordPress | 1 | 2.5% | —% |
Hosting
| Hosting | sites | share | all YC 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vercel | 15 | 37.5% | 51.8% |
| Cloudflare | 13 | 32.5% | 26.0% |
| Other | 7 | 17.5% | 9.8% |
| Netlify | 5 | 12.5% | 2.1% |
Calls to action
| Call to action | sites | share | all YC 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Talk to sales/us | 9 | 22.5% | 23.7% |
| Book a demo | 5 | 12.5% | 32.5% |
| Get early access | 2 | 5.0% | 4.4% |
| Get started | 2 | 5.0% | 23.0% |
| Try free / sign up | 1 | 2.5% | 12.8% |
| Join waitlist | 1 | 2.5% | 3.0% |
Typefaces
| Typeface | sites | share | all YC 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inter | 4 | 10.0% | 17.0% |
| Outfit | 2 | 5.0% | 1.3% |
| Montserrat | 2 | 5.0% | —% |
| Zalando Sans | 1 | 2.5% | —% |
| Assistan | 1 | 2.5% | —% |
| Instrument Sans | 1 | 2.5% | 1.4% |
| Newsreader | 1 | 2.5% | —% |
| Archivo | 1 | 2.5% | —% |
| IBM Plex Mono | 1 | 2.5% | 3.1% |
| Instrument Serif | 1 | 2.5% | 2.8% |
| Madefor | 1 | 2.5% | —% |
| barlow-v2 | 1 | 2.5% | —% |
Headlines from the set
- bringing space down to earth — Dispatch
- RF Test Equipment, reimagined. — Nine Fives
- Track drones and missiles without radars _ — Arlo Industries
- Advance The Frontier — Baud
- AI with intellectual curiosity — Induction Labs
- growing brain systems that learn — Frontier Computing
- Autonomous ground-mounted solar installation. Day and night. — Libra Robotics
- Drones that clear clouds over solar farms — Meteoric
Method
Subset of the YC 2026 homepage dataset (705 sites) filtered by YC's own tag label "Hard Tech". Fetched 2026-09-28; served HTML only, so client-rendered text can be under-counted. "AI in hero" = AI, agent(s) or LLM in the title, H1 or meta description. Re-run after each Demo Day.
Building something people should remember?
non boring.gg is a product and brand design studio in Bangalore, India, working with startups and tech companies across the US, Europe and Australia. Average engagement around $20,000. atul@nonboring.gg