🦾 HardTech Reads: The AI & Robotics Revolution vol.31
Welcome to the edge of innovation — where founders tackle the toughest problems, AI redefines labor, and automation pushes the boundaries of industry. Let’s dive in. 🤘
🏭 Foundation Humanoid hit $1B+ valuations / 🛠 Welding robots tackle high-mix factories / 🚛 Plus validates driverless trucking with zero humans onboard / 🧠 Kruncher launches AI Analyst for private markets / 🛰 Aetherflux to beam solar energy from space / ♻️ AI robots now sort recycling faster than humans / 🧬 U.S. scales quantum for defense + infrastructure / 🧱 Starbucks unveils 3D-printed store in Texas / 🤖 Nuro, Aiper, BRINC, Parallel Systems, Phantom Neuro, Glacier, Scout AI, Blue Water Autonomy, Xaba, Beagle Systems, Next Generation Robotics, Theseus, Cosmic Robotics, DBR77, Durin, Forge Nano.
🚀 HARDTECH NEWS: Robotics & AI Innovations
Automation, Not Labor, Is Bringing Manufacturing Back
In a bold take on industrial reshoring, Brad Porter states: “This isn’t going to come back by shifting labor — it’s going to come back with automation.” Robotics and AI aren’t just tools, they’re economic catalysts. This is no longer a demo phase — real deployments are happening across welding, trucking, battery production, and more. Learn more.
🦿Foundation Raises at $1B Valuation
Humanoid robotics startup Foundation is reportedly raising $100M just months after a pre-seed round. If closed, this would make it one of the fastest scaling robotics startups in recent history. You thought humanoids are slowing down, the funding is heating up! Learn more.
🛠️Mechanize Wants to Automate Every Job
A new startup, Mechanize, just launched with the audacious goal to automate every job on Earth. While some roll their eyes, others see it as a wake-up call to rethink the role of AI across industries. Learn more.
♻️Recycling Gets a Robot Upgrade
AI-powered recycling robots now match (and sometimes beat) humans in speed and accuracy. Automation is extending beyond the factory and warehouse — waste management is next. Learn more.
💥Quantum as a National Priority
U.S. federal agencies are quietly scaling their investments into quantum computing for infrastructure, security, and space. A policy shift is underway that could define global competitiveness in the 2030s. Learn more.
🛰Space-Based Solar Power? Aetherflux Thinks So.
Aetherflux is building laser-based satellite systems to beam solar energy back to Earth. Their first demo launches in 2026. Military interest is high, but the commercial promise is even bigger. Learn more.
🤖Path Robotics and ALM: A Welding Alliance
A new partnership between Path Robotics and ALM Positioners tackles one of the most complex factory automation challenges: high-mix, high-variability welding. This could unlock automation in industries previously untouched by robots. Learn more.
🚛Plus Reaches Driverless Milestone in Trucking
Autonomous trucking company Plus has successfully validated its driverless safety maneuvers with no person in the vehicle. As SuperDrive heads toward commercialization, the future of logistics is being rewritten. Learn more.
🤖Robotics Scale Across the Globe
From Avride’s 1,300 daily robot deliveries at OSU to 3D-printed Starbucks locations in Texas, robotic infrastructure is quietly integrating into everyday life. These are the signals that adoption is crossing the chasm. Learn more.
🧠Kruncher Launches The AI Analyst
Kruncher just released its “AI Analyst for Private Markets” — a new product designed to transform how VCs, CVCs, and private market professionals process deals. It brings data intelligence, summaries, and insight automation into the heart of venture workflows. Learn more at KRUNCHER AI.
Test the first 5 analysis for free!
→ if you like it, get a 60% discount for the first 12 months using the code: PSFRIEND
🚀 Startups to Know
➡️ Nuro — Autonomous delivery tech | $106M Series E | T. Rowe Price, Fidelity, Tiger Global, Greylock, XN
➡️ Aiper — Robotic pool cleaners | $100M | Led by Fluidra
➡️ BRINC — Emergency drones, U.S.-made | $75M | Index Ventures, Motorola, Dylan Field
➡️ Parallel Systems — Autonomous rail freight | $38M Series B | Anthos, Collaborative Fund, Riot Ventures
➡️ Phantom Neuro — Muscle-machine interface | $19M Series A | Ottobock, Breakout, Draper
➡️ Scout AI — Foundation models for defense robotics | $15M Seed | Align, Booz Allen, Draper, Perot Jain
➡️ Blue Water Autonomy — Autonomous naval ships | $14M Seed | Eclipse, Riot
➡️ Beagle Systems — Drone-as-a-Service | €5M Seed | AENU, PT1
➡️ Next Generation Robotics — Rail-focused robots | €4.5M Series A | CDP, RoboIT, AVM
➡️ DBR77 — ALL in one platform for the best digitalization of your factory| €3.5M Seed | ffVC, KIROI
➡️ Forge Nano — U.S. battery + semiconductor manufacturing | $40M | RockCreek, Ascent, Orion Infra, Top Material
📚FAVORITE RESOURCES
➡️Curious what happened at Automate this year? (I missed it too!)
—> Check
highlights from the conference here!➡️Superintelligence Strategy — by Dan Hendrycks Eric Schmidt Alexandr Wang
➡️Techstars Space Accelerator — Apply by June 11 (with NASA JPL & US Space Force)
➡️Next Big Things In Tech — Highlighting tech breakthroughs that’ll help define the future; Looking for tech, products, services, features, research that’ll have positive impact for consumers, businesses, or society at large in next 5 yrs → apply by May 30.
🎤EVENTS
I spent 5 meaningful years in Zurich and still mentor Swiss founders via Swissnex San Francisco. Recently, I had the joy of attending Americas Conference 2025 — highlighting those reshaping the space industry.
Next stops:
🛫 Vancouver /May — HardTech Awards / WebSummit — join me next week!
🧠 San Francisco / June — Deep Tech Week + IEEE Hard Tech Summit
🏭 Detroit / July — Reindustrialize — main highlight of the year! 💪
Upcoming Events:
➡️ May 18–21 International Electric Machines and Drives Conference (Houston, TX)
➡️ May 19–23 International Conference on Robotics & Automation (Atlanta, Georgia)
➡️May 29 Humanoids Summit (London, UK)
➡️ June 4 Bots&Beer&BoardGames (Mountain View, CA)
➡️ June 10–11 Robotics Invest Boston (Boston, MA)
➡️ June 14–14 LeRobot Worldwide Hackathon (San Francisco, CA)
➡️June 14–22 Deep Tech Week (San Francisco, CA)
➡️June. 18–19 IEEE Hard Tech Summit (San Francisco, CA)-— ping me if you are there!
➡️ June 30-July 2 International Conference on Ubiquitous Robots (TX)
➡️ July 16–17 — Reindustrialize, Detroit, MI — ping me if you are there!
➡️ Aug. 18–22 Intl. Conference on Automation Science & Engineering (Anaheim, CA)
➡️October 29 — Hard Tech Summit (Ontario, Canada)
🤝 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 world doesn’t fix itself. These startups are trying - The Top 100 HardTech Startups
➡️ 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
➡️ Will we have a chatGPT moment for Robots?
➡️ ‘Made in China’-Robotics Market Overview
🇺🇸 𝐑𝐞𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐮𝐦 2025
➡️ The Science of Networks: From Theory to New Realities
#AI #Robotics #HardTechReads #Startups #DeepTech #Automation