HackADay

HackADay is a technology media and community brand centered on hardware hacking, electronics experimentation, modifications, and do-it-yourself engineering. It began in 2004 as a web magazine created by Phillip Torrone for Engadget, with an editorial mission built around finding, explaining, and archiving notable hacks, modifications, and independent projects from across the web. The site subsequently became independent of Engadget and its former parent company, Weblogs, Inc., after Jason Calacanis separated it from that publishing group. The original HackADay publication established the brand as a specialist source for technically minded readers. Its subject matter has included electronics, embedded systems, tools, fabrication, reverse engineering, repairs, unusual devices, and other forms of practical experimentation. Rather than presenting itself as a conventional consumer-electronics manufacturer, HackADay functions primarily as a publisher, curator, and community platform for technical knowledge and project culture. Its identity is closely associated with accessible explanations of how things work and with the documentation of modifications that readers can reproduce or extend. A significant expansion came in 2014, when Hackaday launched Hackaday Projects, now generally known as Hackaday.io. The service added a project-hosting and social layer to the editorial website, allowing users to publish open-source hardware designs and describe their development process. Project pages can serve as public documentation for circuits, mechanical designs, software, prototypes, and related experiments. This broadened HackADay from a web magazine into a participatory knowledge network in which readers could also become contributors and maintainers of technical projects. By 2015, the project service was reported to have reached approximately 100,000 members. Ownership also changed as the brand developed. Supplyframe acquired HackADay's owner and, in 2015, acquired Tindie, a marketplace for hardware products and components. These relationships placed HackADay within a broader ecosystem connecting technical media, open-source hardware projects, independent hardware makers, and commerce. In 2021, Siemens acquired Supplyframe, making HackADay part of the wider Siemens corporate group through its ownership of Supplyframe. HackADay's principal offering remains digital rather than physical: editorial stories on Hackaday.com, project publishing and community interaction through Hackaday.io, and visibility for open hardware and maker work. Its audiences include electronics hobbyists, engineers, makers, students, researchers, repair advocates, and technically curious readers. The available reference material does not establish a physical headquarters, a separate legal corporate identity, financial performance, or a public listing for the HackADay brand. The website and community service indicate an active online presence.

HackADay was established in 2004 by Phillip Torrone as a web magazine associated with Engadget. Its early purpose was to locate, explain, and preserve interesting hacks, modifications, and do-it-yourself projects found across the web. This gave the publication a distinct editorial role: it was not principally a product manufacturer or conventional technology news outlet, but a specialist source for practical experimentation and hardware culture. The brand later separated from Engadget and from Engadget's former parent company, Weblogs, Inc. The separation occurred while Jason Calacanis was the relevant owner, allowing HackADay to develop as an independent publication. Its focus remained hardware hacking and related technical projects. In 2007, Computerworld placed HackADay tenth in a ranking of fifteen prominent technology-oriented blog sites, an indication of the site's visibility within the early technology-blog ecosystem. In 2014, the brand moved beyond article publishing with the creation of Hackaday Projects, subsequently known as Hackaday.io. The service enabled users to upload and document open-source hardware designs. This introduced a collaborative dimension to HackADay's activities: instead of merely reading about projects discovered or reported by editors, users could publish their own work, describe its construction and development, and make designs available to a wider technical community. The platform therefore connected editorial coverage with first-person project documentation and social participation. By 2015, it was reported to have grown to about 100,000 members. Supplyframe's ownership connected HackADay with a wider technology and hardware ecosystem. In 2015, Supplyframe acquired Tindie, a marketplace for independent hardware products and components. Although HackADay remained primarily a media and community brand, the acquisition placed it alongside a marketplace serving makers and small hardware developers. This relationship reflected an ecosystem spanning technical content, open-source projects, independent hardware, and commerce. A further ownership transition occurred in 2021, when Siemens acquired Supplyframe. As a result, HackADay became part of the Siemens group through the ownership chain rather than through a separately documented direct consumer-brand acquisition. The available material does not provide details about changes to HackADay's editorial operations after the transaction. The brand's development can therefore be understood in three stages: an initial web-magazine phase beginning in 2004; a community and open-hardware phase following the launch of Hackaday Projects in 2014; and a later phase within Supplyframe and, from 2021, Siemens ownership. Throughout these stages, HackADay's central subject has remained practical hardware experimentation, including electronics, modifications, open-source designs, and do-it-yourself engineering. The reference material does not establish a separate headquarters, a listed company status, financial results, or a complete roster of current and former executives.

• 2021

  Siemens acquires Supplyframe

  [1]Hackadayen.wikipedia.org

  Siemens acquired Supplyframe, placing HackADay within the Siemens group through its parent-company relationship.

• 2015

  Hackaday.io reaches approximately 100,000 members

  [1]Hackadayen.wikipedia.org

  The community project platform was reported to have grown to roughly 100,000 members.

• 2015

  Supplyframe acquires Tindie

  [1]Hackadayen.wikipedia.org

  Supplyframe, HackADay's owner, acquired the Tindie hardware marketplace.

• 2014

  Hackaday Projects launches

  [1]Hackadayen.wikipedia.org

  HackADay introduced a project-hosting service for users to publish open-source hardware designs.

• 2007

  Recognition among technology blogs

  [1]Hackadayen.wikipedia.org

  Computerworld ranked HackADay tenth in a list of fifteen prominent technology-oriented blog sites.

• 2004

  HackADay is founded as a web magazine

  [1]Hackadayen.wikipedia.org

  Phillip Torrone founded HackADay as a web magazine associated with Engadget, covering and archiving hardware hacks, modifications, and DIY projects.

A specialist editorial and community platform for practical hardware experimentation, open-source design, electronics, and maker engineering.

• Online publication · 2004

  HackADay.com

  HackADay.com is the brand's editorial website. It publishes and curates material about hardware hacking, electronics, modifications, DIY engineering, and related technical projects. The publication's role is to explain practical experiments and bring visibility to projects from the broader maker and engineering community.

• Open-source hardware community platform · 2014

  Hackaday.io

  Hackaday.io is HackADay's project-hosting and community service, originally launched as Hackaday Projects. It allows users to upload open-source hardware designs and document their work for other members. The platform extends the brand from editorial coverage into collaborative project publishing and technical knowledge sharing.

• 2021

  Siemens acquisition of SupplyframeM&A

  Background

  HackADay was part of Supplyframe's portfolio before Supplyframe was acquired.

  Action taken

  Siemens acquired Supplyframe.

  Aftermath

  HackADay became part of the Siemens group through Supplyframe. The available reference does not specify subsequent changes to the brand's editorial or community operations.

  Source

• 2015

  Supplyframe acquisition of TindieM&A

  Background

  Supplyframe owned HackADay and operated in an ecosystem serving technology and hardware audiences.

  Action taken

  Supplyframe acquired Tindie, a marketplace for hardware products and components.

  Aftermath

  The transaction connected HackADay's ownership group with an independent-hardware marketplace, although the available source does not describe specific operational integration.

  Source

• 2014

  Launch of Hackaday ProjectsProduct launch

  Background

  HackADay had initially operated as a web magazine focused on reporting and archiving hardware hacks and DIY projects.

  Action taken

  The brand introduced a project-hosting service that allowed users to publish open-source hardware designs and related documentation.

  Aftermath

  The service developed into Hackaday.io and broadened HackADay into a social and participatory hardware community; it was reported to have approximately 100,000 members by 2015.

  Source

• 2021

  Siemens acquires Supplyframe[1]Hackadayen.wikipedia.org

  M&A

  Siemens acquired Supplyframe, bringing HackADay into the Siemens group through Supplyframe's ownership.

• 2015

  Supplyframe acquires Tindie[1]Hackadayen.wikipedia.org

  M&A

  Supplyframe, the owner of HackADay, acquired Tindie, a marketplace associated with independent hardware products and components.

• 2014

  Hackaday launches Hackaday Projects project-hosting platform[1]Hackadayen.wikipedia.org

  Product launch

  Hackaday expanded from a web magazine into a community platform by introducing Hackaday Projects, a service for publishing and sharing open-source hardware designs.

1. 1Hackadayen.wikipedia.org
2. 2HackADay official websitehackaday.com