Last reviewed: October 17, 2026. Visit order and evening plans are confirmed with the accepted cohort. Visit types may change.
A Shenzhen hardware founder tour is a short, organized trip that takes a small group of hardware founders inside the factories, labs and markets of Shenzhen. You see how products are built, meet the teams who build them and compare suppliers in person. This post walks through one real example: the Future Factory × Illuminious: Shenzhen Founder Tour, December 6–11, 2026.
When
Sunday, December 6, to Friday, December 11, 2026, in Shenzhen.
Who
Up to 20 founders, chosen by application.
What
10+ factory and lab visits across robotics, electronics and prototyping.
Fee
USD 3,500, or USD 3,000 for applications received by Nov 15, 2026.
Why visit factories by type instead of by name?
We describe each visit by the type of site, not by company name. Accepted founders get the company names with the full itinerary. There are two reasons. Hosts agree to visits on their own terms. And the type is what matters when you plan: a humanoid robotics lab teaches different things from a rotary-actuator factory, even if both work on robots.
What happens on Sunday, December 6?
Theme: icebreaking and opening. You arrive, check in at the group hotel and meet the other founders in an icebreaking session. The opening session sets out the week, the house rules for visits and how to get the most from each host. The evening is the opening founder dinner.
Tip: arrive early enough to rest. The next five days are long and spent on factory floors.
What happens on Monday, December 7?
Theme: robotics, humanoids and actuators.
- Humanoid robotics lab: see humanoid robots under development and talk to the engineers about design trade-offs.
- Rotary-actuator factory: walk the lines that make the joints that move robots, and see how a motion part goes from design to repeat production.
Evening: founder dinner.
What happens on Tuesday, December 8?
Theme: robotics, sensors and plastics.
- Sensor factory: see how sensors are built, calibrated and tested at scale.
- Plastics and hardware toy factory: molding, assembly and finishing for consumer products, with a close look at tooling.
Evening: night market.
What happens on Wednesday, December 9?
Theme: electronics, wearables and consumer-electronics headquarters.
- AI-glasses and wearables factory: small devices with tight space, battery and comfort limits.
- PCBA and EMS line: high-volume electronics assembly and the quality system behind it.
- Consumer-electronics headquarters: how a hardware company runs engineering, testing and production under one roof.
Evening: bathhouse night.
What happens on Thursday, December 10?
Theme: motion hardware and Huaqiangbei.
- Actuator and motor factory: see how motion hardware is built and tested at scale.
- Huaqiangbei electronics market: source parts, buy samples and meet suppliers. Read our Huaqiangbei electronics market guide before you go.
Evening: karaoke night.
What happens on Friday, December 11?
Theme: prototyping, sourcing and closing.
- Hardware incubator: how local hardware startups get space, tools and introductions.
- Prototyping studio: fast builds, small batches and the handover to a factory.
- "How to source everything" panel: practical answers on finding and managing suppliers.
The week ends with the closing ceremony and a closing night at a makerspace.
How is a normal tour day organized?
Each day follows the same simple pattern, so you can focus on the visits and not on logistics:
- Morning: the group leaves the hotel together. Ground transport is arranged for every visit, so you do not book cars or find addresses yourself.
- Visits: each host gives a walk-through and time for questions. Translation is included at every visit, so you can ask detailed technical questions in English.
- Between visits: time on the bus is useful. Founders compare notes, share contacts and prepare questions for the next site.
- Evening: a group dinner or a planned night out, which is often where the best conversations happen.
You stay in the same hotel as the rest of the group, and a local host team travels with you all week.
What should I do before the trip?
- Check your passport and your entry option. Our post on China entry rules for US and EU founders covers visas, visa-free entry and transit.
- Book flights that arrive on Sunday, December 6. Your acceptance email confirms the hotel and check-out details for the end of the week.
- Buy travel and medical insurance for the whole trip.
- Set up mobile payment and a data plan on your phone.
- Write your questions for each visit type and update your BOM.
What should founders bring?
You get the most from a visit when you can show your own problem. Bring:
- Samples: a prototype, a board or a part that you want to discuss. Check the airline rules for batteries.
- Your BOM: a current bill of materials, with the parts that worry you marked.
- CAD and drawings: on a laptop, ready to show. Do not hand over files on the spot. Our guide to finding a manufacturer in Shenzhen explains how to share files safely.
- Questions: a few specific questions for each visit type, written down before the day.
- Contact details: business cards, and WeChat installed with a QR code ready.
How should I follow up after each visit?
A visit is only useful if it leads to a next step. Use the same short routine every evening:
- Write down who you met, what they make and what they said about your product.
- Note one thing you learned that changes your design, cost or plan.
- Send a short thank-you message with one clear ask: a quote, a sample, a call or a document.
- Rank the visit against the others, so the shortlist is clear by Friday.
Who should go on a Shenzhen founder tour?
- Good fit: hardware, robotics, physical-AI and consumer-electronics founders with a prototype or a clear spec.
- Good fit: hardware investors and accelerator leads who want to see the supply chain first-hand. They apply like a founder.
- Not a fit: anyone who wants a sightseeing trip.
- Not a fit: anyone who expects guaranteed supplier deals or quotes. The tour promises visits and introductions, not outcomes.
What does the tour cost, and what is included?
The fee is USD 3,500. Applications received by Nov 15, 2026 (11:59 pm Pacific) qualify for the USD 3,000 early-bird fee. You pay nothing to apply, and you pay only after you are accepted.
| Included | Not included |
|---|---|
| Hotel room and meals | Flights |
| Ground transport and translation at every visit | Visa |
| All visits, photo and video | Travel and medical insurance |
For the full budget, including what a do-it-yourself week costs, read how much a Shenzhen factory trip costs. For visas, read China entry rules for US and EU founders.
Who hosts the tour?
Illuminious hosts and operates the tour as a licensed Future Factory program. Future Factory runs factory trips for hardware founders (its 2025 cohorts: 10 founders in August and 24 founders in December). Illuminious is a U.S. engineering company with its own factory in Shenzhen, so you also meet a manufacturing partner in person during the week.
Apply for the December tour
Six days inside Shenzhen's robotics and electronics factories, labs and markets, with max 20 founders. Read the full details and apply on the Future Factory × Illuminious: Shenzhen Founder Tour page.
Frequently asked questions
Will I know the company names before I apply?
No. The page and this post list visit types. Accepted founders get the full itinerary, with company names, before they pay.
Is the tour in English?
Yes. The host team runs every session in English, and translation is included at every visit. You do not need to speak Chinese.
Do I need travel insurance?
Yes. Travel and medical insurance is not included. Buy cover for the whole trip, including your flights.
How do I apply?
Fill in one short application on the tour page. We review applications on a rolling basis and reply by email.
