Leaders explain why hardware is cool again ahead of HardTech Conference.

Even before the 2011 prediction that “software is eating the world,” the proliferation of cloud and Web 2.0 tech led to a generation of unicorns and centaurs scaling through software.

But, now, hardware is cool again. A mix of record-low venture investment for software companies and the economic opportunity of hardware has put renewed importance on building things (literally). And it’s an opportunity Canada can’t afford to miss.