It's cheaper then you think to build a hardware prototype (of anything really), and 150K is hardly enough to have a decent first manufacturing run of a brand new hardware product.
I don't think this significantly impacts the hardware/software equation at all.
What about being able to produce a small batch to give to beta testers and iterate? It's possible that the extra money will allow you to better explore things at the prototype stage.
A company that requires significant physical capital investment won't bother with YC. Now they can.
For instance I bet this will produce more hardware companies like WakeMate. Companies that sell more than just software.