🦾 HardTech Reads: The AI & Robotics Revolution vol.39
Welcome to the exploration of the world where founders embark on bold quests and solve non-obvious problems🤘
🤖 Humanoids check into hotels, 🛰️ China refuels satellite in orbit, ⚛️ Fusion race heats up, 🌊 Japan drills deep for rare earths, 🔋 Micro nuclear tests begin in Idaho, 🤖 Hugging Face’s $299 robot debuts, 🚚 Serve scales delivery bots, 🌊 REGENT Seaglider hits milestone, ⚓ Philly Naval Yard expands subs, 🔌 Google signs fusion power deal, 💰 Nvidia passes $4T
🚀 HARDTECH NEWS: Robotics & AI Innovations
➡️ Humanoids enter hospitality
Across hotels in Asia, Europe, and the U.S., humanoid robots are showing up at check-in desks and concierge stations. Some guests are intrigued, others skeptical — but the rollout is accelerating. While these robots still require supervision, they’re already reshaping expectations of service, labor costs, and automation.
👉 Learn more
➡️ China completes orbital refueling in space
Two Chinese satellites docked in geosynchronous orbit last week — likely marking China’s first high-altitude orbital refueling mission. The ability to refuel satellites mid-orbit is a game-changer for national defense and commercial longevity. The U.S. Space Force is aiming for a similar mission by 2026, but China may now be a full cycle ahead.
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➡️ Fusion’s new cold war: China builds industrial lead / Europe and U.S. may lose the game…
Despite the West’s head start in fusion research, China is now dominating critical adjacent supply chains — from superconducting thin films to massive alloy structures and power electronics. Without industrial catch-up, the U.S. and Europe risk losing the ability to scale fusion commercially, even if they win the science race.
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➡️ Deep-sea mining race kicks off
Japan will soon launch the world’s first deep-sea rare earth extraction trial — drilling 5,500 meters beneath the Pacific Ocean. The goal: reduce dependence on China, which currently refines 92% of global rare earths. With international tensions escalating, this project marks a new geopolitical frontier under the sea.
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➡️ Micro nuclear goes macro
Radiant and Westinghouse will be the first companies to test commercial microreactors at the Idaho National Lab’s new DOME facility — marking the first fueled U.S. test in 50 years. These portable reactors (as small as a truck) could power remote sites, military bases, and disaster zones with 1–5MW capacity.
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➡️ Hugging Face launches $299 open-source robot
In a move that could reshape education and prototyping, Hugging Face released “Reachy Mini” — a programmable desktop humanoid with a Raspberry Pi 5, open hardware, and six degrees of movement. It’s hackable, affordable, and could be a game-changer for robotics literacy.
➡️ Serve Robotics scales up
Serve Robotics, spun out of Uber, is quietly becoming a leader in autonomous delivery. The company posted 150% revenue growth in Q1, plans to deploy 2,000 robots by 2025, and has $198M in cash — with no debt. With the robotics market poised to hit $4B by 2032, Serve could be a breakout winner.
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➡️ REGENT Seaglider hits commercialization milestone
REGENT’s full-scale Seaglider prototype completed foil testing, validating its marine tech system for high-speed, nearshore transport. With a unique blend of aviation and marine principles, Seagliders could transform regional coastal mobility — from Boston to Long Beach.
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➡️ Philadelphia Naval Yard gets $100M boost for submarines
Rhoads Industries is expanding submarine manufacturing capacity at the historic Philly Naval Yard. The investment, backed by federal funding, will support national security readiness while creating high-skill jobs through apprenticeships and workforce training.
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➡️ Google signs first fusion energy offtake deal
Commonwealth Fusion Systems signed the first-ever commercial fusion energy power purchase agreement — and it’s with Google. The deal allows Google to buy up to half the 400MW capacity of CFS’s ARC plant in Virginia, slated for the early 2030s. This marks a new phase of commercialization for fusion.
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➡️ Nvidia becomes the world’s first $4T company
Nvidia officially passed the $4 trillion market cap mark, fueled by the global surge in AI demand. From gaming GPUs to powering the largest AI models on Earth, Nvidia’s transformation over the last three years reflects the central role hardware now plays in shaping digital intelligence.
👉 Learn more
🔬 STARTUPS TO KNOW: Game-Changers in HardTech & AI
Warp — Middle-mile logistics startup based in LA, raised $10M Series A
Investors: UpPartners, Blue Bear Capital
Varda Space Industries — Space-based drug manufacturing, raised $187M Series C
Investors: Natural Capital, Shrug Capital, Founders Fund, Peter Thiel, Khosla Ventures, Caffeinated Capital, Lux Capital, Also Capital
Lumion — Operating platform for trade and technical schools, raised $10.7M seed round
Investors: TTV Capital, Tusk Venture Partners, CreativeCo Capital, Nine Four Ventures
Dextall — NYC-based construction tech startup, raised $15M Series A
Investors: L+M Development Partners, Essence Development, Simpson Strong-Tie
Yplasma — Newark-based deep tech startup in semiconductors, raised $2.5M seed round
Investors: Faber, SOSV
Terra CO2 — Sustainable concrete additive company, raised $124M Series B
Investors: Breakthrough Energy, NEA, Cemex Ventures
Apolink — Satellite connectivity startup founded by a 19-year-old, raised $4.3M seed at $45M valuation
Investors: Y Combinator, 468 Capital, Unshackled Ventures, Rebel Fund, Maiora Ventures, and angels including Laura Crabtree, Benjamin Bryant, Kanav Kariya
Tulum Energy — Rediscovered hydrogen tech and raised $27M to build pilot plant in Mexico
Partnered with Techint Group
Qedma — Israeli quantum optimization startup, raised $26M
Investors: IBM and others
📚FAVORITE RESOURCES
🎤EVENTS
If you’re not heading to Reindustrialize in July, you’ve got an amazing second‑best option: the 𝐀𝐈𝐨𝐓 𝐆𝐥𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓: 𝐄𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐜 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡, taking place July 15–16. We’re doing it fully virtual via Zoom + 𝑴𝒆𝒕𝒂𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒆 (𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒄𝒐𝒐𝒍 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕?!)🤩
AIoT is one of my favourite topics, and it’s currently reshaping industries at lightning speed!💪 With 50+ world-class speakers from industry and academia, this event isn’t just another webinar. It’s a digital-first, future-forward summit exploring how AI and IoT is transforming industries like #manufacturing, #healthcare, #infrastructure, and more.
𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗰𝘂𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴-𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀, 𝘃𝗶𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗻𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗶𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲…🤔
👉 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤 𝐢𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐭: https://bit.ly/460rm1R
Upcoming Events:
🏭 July 16–17: Reindustrialize (Detroit, MI) — ping me if you are coming!
🇨🇭 August 2–16 — Heading to Zurich, Switzerland for a bit. Ping me if you are there!
🤖 Aug. 18–22: Intl. Conference on Automation Science & Engineering (Anaheim, CA)
🏗 Oct. 6–10: Intl. Conference on Advanced Manufacturing (Las Vegas, NV)
🤝 Oct. 15–16: RoboBusiness (Santa Clara, CA)
🌍 Oct. 19–25: IEEE IROS (Hangzhou, China)
🔧 Oct. 29: Hard Tech Summit (Ontario, Canada)
🇸🇬 Oct. 27–29: ROSCon (Singapore)
🦿 Dec. 11–12: Humanoid Summit (Silicon Valley)
🤝 Passionate about HardTech?
Let’s connect: https://bit.ly/3SXPifd
You can also find me on LinkedIn 🛠️
If you are interested in AI, Robotics & HardTech, check my previous posts:
❗️The VC Industry Loves Data. But Doesn’t Use It…
— Is it why it’s ‘dying’?
➡️19 Robotic Hands Startups to Watch
➡️ The world doesn’t fix itself. These startups are trying /Top 100 HardTech Startups
➡️ Will we have a chatGPT moment for Robots?
➡️ The Coming Scarcity of Humanity
➡️ The Art and Science of Venture Capital Investing
➡️ Deep Thinkers & Builders in Tech, Science and Bio
➡️ Humanoids Don’t Exist in Isolation / It Takes an Ecosystem to Bring Them to Life!
➡️ Clone Alpha: The Next Leap in Humanoid Robotics
➡️ ‘Made in China’-Robotics Market Overview
➡️ The Science of Networks: From Theory to New Realities