🎙 Episode 45 – Cristian Ponce | CEO & Co-Founder – Tetsuwan Scientific

"Interfacing with the Future: Why Lab Robots Still Don’t Understand Scientists

"What’s really broken in lab automation? According to Cristian Ponce, it’s not the hardware—it’s the human interface.In this episode of our AI Thought Leaders series, we sit down with Cristian, a Caltech-trained bioengineer and co-founder of Tetsuwan Scientific, to dive into the real reason most lab robots fail to deliver—and what it will take to build a fully autonomous, cloud-based laboratory future.

🔍 We cover:• Why lab automation still feels clunky (hint: it's not the pipettes)

• How AI can act as a translator between scientists and machines

• Dead volume wars, snap cap disasters, and the cost of bad UX

• What “automated automation engineering” really means

• The bold idea of a robot-powered lab that lives in the cloud

• Why storytelling and systems-thinking matter in biotech entrepreneurship

• How Tetsuwan is stewarding a new, forest-minded future for lab automation

☁️ From Eroom’s Law to Astro Boy, from dead volume to dead dreams of automation—this one goes deep.

📌 Subscribe for more bold ideas in AI, lab automation, and biotech:    / @helicalbrew  

📩 Want to be promote or be a guest? Email us: [email protected]

📍 TikTok, Shorts & more: @helicalbrew

⏱️ EPISODE CHAPTERS – NAVIGATE THE EPISODE

00:00 – Intro

01:06 – Magic Wand Question: No More Labs?

02:04 – Cristian’s Origin Story: From Sorghum to Caltech

04:16 – Falling Out of Love with the Wet Lab

06:15 – Fixing the Interface Layer in Lab Automation

10:00 – Why Scientists & Robots Speak Different Languages

13:13 – Hidden Costs: Time, Talent & Trust

17:55 – Old Solutions vs New Ideas (Why Parameterization Fails)

21:00 – Can LLMs Help? Why They Fall Short Alone

23:15 – The Hybrid AI Approach to Translating Science

25:00 – Tetsuwan’s Unique UX & Design Philosophy

30:07 – The Cloud Lab is Coming… But Are We Ready?

35:20 – Why the Last Cloud Labs Didn’t Work (Yet)

43:10 – From Algae to Automation: The Founder Mindset

49:06 – Teen Court, NASA, and the Systems Lens

54:44 – Advice for Young Scientists & Founders

57:55 – Why Tetsuwan Supports LabAutomation.io & Lab Auto Wiki

1:02:19 – Forest-Minded Thinking: Swag, Collaboration & the Future

1:05:26 – Picks of the Week

1:09:23 – Wrap Up

🔗 Guest & Company Links:

🌐 Tetsuwan Scientific: https://www.tetsuwan.com

👤 Cristian Ponce on LinkedIn:   / cristianponce1  

📌 SHORTS (Quick Clips from the Episode)

▶️    • "Magic Wand? No More Labs.” — Cristian Pon...  

▶️    • Scientists vs Dead Volume ⚔️ (it’s a fist ...  

#helicalbrew #aithoughtleaders #HelicalBrew #TetsuwanScientific #LabAutomation #CloudLab #ScientificInnovation #AutomationEngineering #LifeScienceTech #BiotechInnovation #DeadVolume #LLM #SyntheticBiology #BiotechStartups #MolecularAutomation #NextGenLab #BenchToBot #FutureOfScience #TechEntrepreneurs #ScienceMeansBusiness #VeritasiumVibes #LifeScienceInnovation #DrugDiscovery #BiotechAI #MachineLearning #SciencePodcast #AutomationInBiotech #AIInHealthcare #FutureOfScience #HelicalBrew #viralshortsvideo #viralreels #viralvideos #viral_video #labautomation #biotech #biotechstartups #biotechinnovation #biotechnology #science #sciencepodcast #scienceandtech #podcastclips #podcastshorts #ai #aiinscience #aiinbiotech