# Confetti Aiolum story: https://aiolum.com/story/confetti/ · added 2026-11-12 · updated 2026-11-12 **In short.** Confetti (Plain-English design of hardware projects, with AI agents for CAD, parts and firmware, United States): Self-serve paid plans on sale, November 2026. Evidence grade E: no revenue figure was checked. Team: 2 founders; team size 2 on Y Combinator's company page, November 2026. Launched 28 October 2026; still running. Plain-English design of hardware projects, with AI agents for CAD, parts and firmware · United States · AI-native · team of 2 to 10 · still running · group: Developer tools and coding agents - Outcome: Self-serve paid plans on sale, November 2026 (evidence grade of the headline number: E; no revenue figure) - Launch: 28 October 2026; months from launch to the outcome: 0 - Team: 2 founders; team size 2 on Y Combinator's company page, November 2026 - Outside funding: Y Combinator Fall 2026 batch; no amount stated in the sources read - Main factor: Own problem - Meters, 1 to 4: evidence strength 1, copyable pattern 2, capital needed 2 - Tags: AI-native, Small team, Funded, Running, B2C, Hardware Links: - Visit confetti.build: https://confetti.build/ **The product.** A web app in which a person describes a hardware project in plain English. AI agents then produce CAD files, a parts plan, build instructions and, for supported electronics projects, firmware. Supported parts can be sent to print services, and finished designs can be published for others to remix. **Why it worked.** The two founders say they built it for a problem they met while prototyping a home AI device of their own. The launch post lists the questions that cost them time: which connector, whether the parts fit the case, where to buy them. The product answers those in one conversation, and charges by credits. Evidence grades: A = disclosed by a public company, a filing or a payment processor, or verified by one; B = two or more independent reports agree, or a journalist confirmed it; C = a founder claim that no one else verified; D = reported, not verified: one founder claim or a third-party estimate with no second source; E = no revenue figure found, so the headline is a non-money fact and the other facts carry their own grades; calc = computed on this page from graded facts. ## Summary Confetti is a web app for designing physical objects. The user describes a project, such as a desk organizer or an electronics enclosure, and AI agents produce CAD files. CAD means computer-aided design: a digital model that can be printed or machined. For supported electronics projects the agents also write firmware, the program that runs on the device's own chip. Y Combinator's company page lists Tianyi Evans Gu as founder and chief executive, and Lucas Yuan as founder and chief product officer. It says the company was founded in 2026, in the Fall 2026 batch, with a team size of 2. The launch post on Y Combinator's site is dated 28 October 2026. The terms of service name Asteria Labs, Inc. as the company that provides Confetti. No revenue figure was found, so the story is grade E. The headline is a fact about the product: the company shows paid plans from US$29 a month, a button to choose each, and billing terms. No source states that any customer has paid. The launch post is two weeks old on the day of writing. ## Why did Confetti work? ### The founders built it for a problem they had The launch post says the founders met the problem while prototyping a home AI device. It names the questions that slowed them. Which connector to use? Would the components fit inside the case? Where to buy them, and are they compatible? The post says that process should not be the price of admission. ### It sells printed parts and electronics through its own checkout The terms say users can pay Confetti through Stripe for Slant 3D prints, electronics and kits, Craftcloud prints and Printful products. A service fee of 5% of the supplier total plus US$0.50 an order applies. Other services, such as Sinter, take payment themselves. ### Credits pay for design work and parts are billed separately A first standard build costs 25 credits, a small resize 5 credits and a larger supported project 75 credits. Planning and brief review cost nothing, and credits are charged only when a model is delivered. Maker gives 200 credits a month for US$29. ## How it was built These details come from the company's own pages. They are grade C. - The company says the product uses third-party AI service providers to generate designs, code, images and replies. The privacy notice does not name them. - Deliverables depend on the project: STEP or STL files, editable CAD source, a parts plan, build instructions and, for supported electronics, firmware. - Users sign in with a Google account. The privacy notice names Stripe for payments, PostHog for optional analytics and Printful for printed products. - A Confetti plugin for ChatGPT can send a design brief to Confetti. The privacy notice describes how that import link works and when it expires. - The home page is built with a script, so its content loads in the browser. The static copy shows only a loading message and links to the policy pages. Sources: [3, 4, 6, 1] ## Who tried this before Confetti, and why did they fail? Three companies in our database of failed startups sold hardware that people could make or build. The values below are from that database, were read on 12 November 2026 and are not independently verified. The failed startups come from our database of dead startups, retold here in our own words; Its entries are AI-assisted summaries of public sources, so they carry no evidence grade. ### MatterFab (2013 to 2017; funding US$5.9M; cause: Product or technology failure) - Promise: Cost-effective 3D printers for metal parts, aimed at aerospace. - Why it died: The record says it could not pay the research costs of metal 3D printing, and investors lost patience as the timeline grew longer. - Record: ### Kano (2013 to 2023; funding US$45.0M; cause: Business model) - Promise: Build-it-yourself computer kits that teach children coding and electronics. - Why it died: The record says a one-time hardware sale could not carry an education business. It adds that demand moved to cheaper, software-only products. - Record: ### Humane (2018 to 2025; funding US$230.0M; cause: No Market Need) - Promise: A screenless wearable AI device, the Ai Pin, to replace the smartphone. - Why it died: The record says reviewers panned the device, and it offered nothing that a phone could not do better. - Record: ## What changed The three records share one trouble: each company had to build, ship and support physical goods itself. MatterFab built the printers, Kano built the kits and Humane built the device. The records name research costs, hardware economics and a weak product as the causes. Confetti sells the design step and leaves the making to suppliers. Its terms say suppliers control their own stock, prices and delivery. The company holds no hardware stock in what the sources show. Whether enough people pay for credits is not shown by any source found. ## Can one person copy Confetti now? **Verdict: The structure can be copied; the result is not shown.** A small team can sell the design step of a physical product and leave the making to others. The sources show a price list, a refund policy and a checkout path, and they show no revenue. Treat this as a pattern, not as proof that it earns. 1. Pick a job that costs a beginner weeks, such as choosing compatible parts for one kind of device. 2. Charge by credits for each delivered design, and let planning stay free. 3. Route the physical part to suppliers, with the price quoted before the user pays. 4. Let users publish designs under open licences, so that a new user can start from a remix. **What is still open.** Other physical goods where a beginner needs the same chain of choices: garden items, kitchen tools, pet products and gifts. ## How much revenue does Confetti make? The numbers, graded A product from two founders with a two-week-old launch post, a self-serve price list and no revenue figure | Fact | Value | Grade | Note | Sources | |---|---|---|---|---| | Company and founders | Asteria Labs, Inc. provides Confetti; founders Tianyi Evans Gu (CEO) and Lucas Yuan (CPO) | C | The terms of service name Asteria Labs, Inc. as the company behind Confetti. Y Combinator's company page names the two founders of Confetti. No page states in so many words that they own Asteria. Y Combinator's page for Confetti links to a LinkedIn company page named asterialabs. | [3, 8] | | Start of the company | 2026; Y Combinator Fall 2026 batch | C | Y Combinator's page says Founded: 2026. No earlier name or product was found. The earliest copy of confetti.build in the Internet Archive is dated 7 October 2026. | [8, 15, 16] | | Team | 2 people; no open jobs listed | C | Y Combinator's page says Team Size: 2 and Jobs 0. Both founders are listed as active. | [8] | | Launch post | 28 October 2026 | C | Y Combinator's launch page for Confetti was created on 28 October 2026. It is written in the voice of the founders, who call themselves two UPenn CS dropouts. The privacy notice sets a rule for accounts created on or after 10 October 2026, which is before the post. | [9, 4] | | What the product does | CAD designs, parts search, firmware help, print orders, community remixes | C | The launch post lists four abilities: design, find parts, get things made, share and remix. The how-it-works page says custom PCB design and automatic hardware certification are not supported. | [9, 6] | | Prices today | Free; Maker US$29; Studio US$79; Pro US$199 a month; Enterprise custom | C | The company's pricing page, read on 12 November 2026. Credit packs cost US$12, US$29 and US$55 one time. | [2] | | How a plan is bought | Self-serve: Choose Maker, Choose Studio and Choose Pro buttons; Stripe processes payments | C | The terms say paid plans renew each month and can be cancelled online in Manage billing. The privacy notice says Stripe processes payments. No purchase was made to test it. | [2, 3, 4] | | Printed orders and fees | Stripe checkout for prints, electronics and kits; fee 5% of the supplier total plus US$0.50 an order | C | The terms name Slant 3D, Craftcloud, Mouser and Printful as suppliers. The print page says orders are delivered in the US. | [3, 12] | | Refund rule for subscriptions | No refund for partly used months; 14 days for an unintended renewal | C | The refund policy was last updated on 9 November 2026. A user can ask for a refund within 14 days of a renewal if no credits were used since the charge. | [5] | | Public community pages | 36 design pages and 18 pages under /u/ in the sitemap | C | Counted in the sitemap on 12 November 2026. The sitemap says nothing about how many people use the product. | [13] | | Funding | Y Combinator Fall 2026 batch; no amount stated | C | Y Combinator's page lists the batch. No source read gives an amount or other investors. | [8] | How to read this table. Grade C means the company or Y Combinator's directory states the value, or a public page shows it. No value is grade A or B, and no calc value is used. ## Pricing Confetti prices read from the company's pricing page on 12 November 2026 (grade C) | Plan | Per month, billed yearly (US$) | Per month, billed monthly (US$) | Limit | |---|---|---|---| | Free | | 0 | 25 credits a month plus 100 welcome credits; monthly credits accumulate up to 100; research data sharing is on | | Maker | | 29 | 200 credits a month; roll over up to 400; fast mode; queue priority; can opt out of research data sharing | | Studio | | 79 | 600 credits a month; roll over up to 1,200; same extras as Maker | | Pro | | 199 | 1,800 credits a month; roll over up to 3,600; same extras as Maker | | Enterprise | | custom | credits for a team, dedicated Slack channel, onboarding; the button reads Book a meeting | | 60 credits | 12 one-time | | one-time pack, any plan, valid 12 months | | 150 credits | 29 one-time | | one-time pack, any plan, valid 12 months | | 300 credits | 55 one-time | | one-time pack, any plan, valid 12 months | The page shows prices per month in US dollars, billed monthly, with no yearly price. Credits pay for AI design work. Printing, parts and shipping are separate purchases. One-time credit packs are valid for 12 months. ## When did Confetti launch, and how did it grow? Timeline From the earliest archived copy of the site on 7 October 2026 to a price list and refund policy in November 2026. - **7 October 2026** (grade C [15, 16]): The earliest copy of confetti.build in the Internet Archive. Its title is Make your idea a real thing, and its text is a loading message. - **27 October 2026** (grade C [14]): The referral terms are dated. A friend who joins through a link gets 50 bonus credits, and the referrer gets 200 after the friend's first paid invoice. - **28 October 2026** (grade C [9]): Launch post on Y Combinator's site. It says AI agents handle the CAD, parts sourcing and firmware. - **3 November 2026** (grade C [17]): An archived copy of the home page shows the line Describe your idea. Create CAD designs, find parts, and plan your build with AI, and links to Explore, Pricing, About and Discord. - **9 November 2026** (grade C [3, 5]): The terms of service and the refund policy are dated. Both describe monthly plans, credits and Stripe checkout for physical orders. - **12 November 2026** (grade C [2]): The pricing page lists Free, Maker, Studio, Pro and Enterprise plans and three credit packs. ## What could go wrong for Confetti? - **What is not verified.** No revenue figure was found, so the story is grade E. The home page, pricing, terms, privacy notice, refund policy, guidelines, support page, sitemap and Y Combinator pages were read. No source states that a customer has paid, and no purchase was made. Y Combinator says the company was founded in 2026, and no earlier name or product was found. No press piece could be searched because the search service was unavailable. No page states that the founders own Asteria Labs, Inc. - **Free plan data sharing is on by default.** The terms say “Research data sharing is part of the Free plan and is on by default.” The privacy notice says prompts, conversations, outputs and uploaded media may be shared with AI providers and research partners. It adds “We may receive payment for licensing this data.” It limits the default to “eligible US accounts created on or after October 10, 2026”. Paid plans can turn it off. The notice says a user with a legal right to opt out can do so on any plan. - **The age rules differ between two pages.** The terms and the privacy notice say users must be at least 18. The community guidelines, last updated 25 October 2026, say “Makers here can be as young as 13”. No page read explains the difference. No page read markets the product to children or schools. The home and explore pages load by script and could not be read in full. - **The home and explore pages could not be read in full.** The home page and the explore page load by script, and their static copies show a loading message. A logo wall, counter or testimonial there could not be checked. The about and print pages show no customer names, counts or quotations. The launch post says “People are already using Confetti” and names no user. The product's own pages say a CAD preview does not prove fit, strength or safety. ## Sources 1. Confetti home page — https://confetti.build/ (grade C). Read the static copy on 12 November 2026. The page loads by script and shows a loading message and the policy links. Content that loads by script could not be read. 2. Confetti plans and pricing — https://confetti.build/pricing (grade C). Read in full on 12 November 2026. Source for the plans, the credit rates, the credit packs and the FAQ. 3. Confetti terms and sharing — https://confetti.build/terms (grade C). Read in full on 12 November 2026. Source for the company name, billing, supplier checkout, fees and the 18+ rule. 4. Confetti privacy notice — https://confetti.build/privacy (grade C). Read in full on 12 November 2026. Source for Stripe, PostHog, Printful, the ChatGPT import and research data sharing. 5. Confetti refunds and cancellations — https://confetti.build/refunds (grade C). Read in full on 12 November 2026. Source for the refund rules of subscriptions, packs and physical orders. 6. Confetti how it works — https://confetti.build/how-it-works (grade C). Read in full on 12 November 2026. Source for the files delivered and what is not supported. 7. Confetti community guidelines — https://confetti.build/guidelines (grade C). Read in full on 12 November 2026. Source for the date 25 October 2026 and the age of makers. 8. Y Combinator company page: Confetti — https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/confetti (grade C). Read in full on 12 November 2026. Source for the founders, the batch, the year founded and the team size. 9. Y Combinator launch page: Confetti: Build hardware projects using plain-English prompts — https://www.ycombinator.com/launches/Wb2-confetti-build-hardware-projects-using-plain-english-prompts (grade C). Read in full on 12 November 2026. The company's own post, created on 28 October 2026. 10. Confetti help and feedback — https://confetti.build/support (grade C). Read in full on 12 November 2026. Source for how plans are managed and cancelled. 11. Confetti about page — https://confetti.build/about (grade C). Read in full on 12 November 2026. The founders' statement of purpose; it has no figures. 12. Confetti print page — https://confetti.build/print (grade C). Read in full on 12 November 2026. Source for the line that prints are delivered in the US. 13. Confetti sitemap — https://confetti.build/sitemap.xml (grade C). Read in full on 12 November 2026. Source for the count of design and profile pages. 14. Confetti referral terms — https://confetti.build/referrals/terms (grade C). Read in full on 12 November 2026. Source for the date 27 October 2026 and the bonus credits. 15. Internet Archive records for confetti.build — http://archive.org/wayback/available?url=confetti.build×tamp=20261001 (grade C). Read the availability record and the capture list on 12 November 2026. The earliest capture listed is 7 October 2026. 16. Internet Archive copy of confetti.build, 7 October 2026 — http://web.archive.org/web/20261007164943/https://confetti.build/ (grade C). Read in full on 12 November 2026. The copy shows the title Make your idea a real thing and a loading message. 17. Internet Archive copy of confetti.build, 3 November 2026 — https://web.archive.org/web/20261103193925/https://confetti.build/ (grade C). Read in full on 12 November 2026. Source for the home-page line and the navigation of that date. 18. Database of failed startups, local export — /method/#dead (grade C). Record pages read on the website on 12 November 2026. AI-written summaries, not independently verified. Contact: aiolum@livyden.com. Run Confetti? Send corrections or a verified figure to aiolum@livyden.com (subject: Correction: Confetti).