"Autopilot" with Will Summerlin

In this episode, Will sits down with Aaron Slodov, CEO and Cofounder of Atomic, a company using AI to automate tool and die creation in manufacturing. They discuss the challenges of modern manufacturing in the tool and die making field, the current significant waste generated by inefficient processes, and how Aaron seeks to merge AI with automation to expedite product manufacturing.

The AI Daily Brief If you’re looking for an edge to stay up to date on everything AI, subscribe to Nathaniel Whittemore's AI Daily Brief which delivers tight episodes covering all things AI from legislation to new technologies to the philosophical debates around generalized intelligence. 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7gKwwMLFLc6RmjmRpbMtEO

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-ai-daily-brief-formerly-the-ai-breakdown/id1680633614

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📈 ECON 102 W/ NOAH SMITH - Keeping econ entertaining - Noahpinion author Noah Smith and Erik Torenberg break down business news and politics every week.

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3Mos4VE3figVXleHDqfXOH

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/id1753399812https://podcasts.apple.com/id1753399812

LINKS:

Atomic Industries: https://www.atomic.industries/

Atomic in TechCrunch: https://techcrunch.com/2023/12/04/atomic-industries-closes-17m-seed-to-exascale-americas-industrial-base/

Autopilot Ventures: https://apv.vc/

X/SOCIAL:

@WillSummerlinAI

@APhysicist (Aaron)

TIMESTAMPS

(00:00) Preview

(02:02) Aaron Slodov’s Background

(07:15) The birth and pivot of Remesh: From social platform to market research

(18:16) What does the industry look like for tool and die makers?

(19:01) Labour dynamics in tool industries

(20:01) How does the manufacturing industry use tech today outside of Atomic?

(21:48) Timeline for traditional tool and die maker to complete the design process

(22:39) Incentives of buyers of tool and die products

(25:13) What is a die cast?

(25:42) Die casting’s 30-50% scrap rate

(26:57) Atomic’s approach and how it differs from the traditional approach

(29:52) How has AI enabled die creation?

(35:52) Atomic’s physical factory in Michigan

(40:39) Reflecting on venture and the catalyst for deep tech investing

(45:00) Reflections on the founder journey

(48:21) Wrap

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Recommended Podcast: Company Breakdowns

Each episode of Company Breakdowns dives into S-1s and series B-and-beyond companies, interviewing founders and investors to break down the companies. First episode is on Rubrik - which just IPO'd. Coming up this season: Databricks, Reddit + more,

Spotify

Apple

In this episode, Will Summerlin interviews Sergiy Nesterenko, founder of Quilter (backed by Benchmark), a company that designs PCB circuitboards end-to-end using reinforcement learning. They discuss how current PCB boards are designed and how Quilter’s tech stack enables faster board design, what better circuit boards enable in the future, their GTM and where they are seeing most market pull right now, and much more. 

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RECOMMENDED PODCAST:

📈 ECON 102 W/ NOAH SMITH - Keeping econ entertaining - Noahpinion author Noah Smith and Erik Torenberg break down business news and politics every week.

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3Mos4VE3figVXleHDqfXOH

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/id1753399812https://podcasts.apple.com/id1753399812

-

LINKS:

Quilter: https://www.quilter.ai/

Autopilot Ventures: https://www.apv.vc/

X/SOCIAL:

@WSummerlinAI (Will)

@sergiynest (Sergiy)

@quitlerai (Quilter)

TIMESTAMPS:

(00:00) Sergiy’s Background

(00:51) What Sergiy learned from SpaceX

(02:14) Founding thesis of Quilter and Quilter’s journey

(03:18) Where would one find circuit boards?

(04:31) What is the process of designing a circuit board?

(06:00) Design process today with Quilter

(12:34) Quilter’s thesis and designing more complex circuits

(13:19) How much are humans currently paid for board design

(14:34) Labour dynamics in board design

(15:23) Do most companies have board designers in house?

(16:07) Incentive structure

(17:37) What does a high performance circuit board look like vs low performance?

(21:30) Quilter’s technology stack

(23:59) How Quilter can grow with scale?

(26:45) Where is circuit manufacturing happening

(32:40) What other parts of knowledge work can be solved with reinforcement learning

(33:58) GTM and who Quilter is selling to

(35:43) Pricing

(36:59) Where Quilter is seeing the most market pull right now

(38:16) What makes Quilter an exciting company to work at or invest

(40:33) The effects of closed research in private companies for the industry

(40:33) Open source vs closed source

(44:26) What Sergiy would advise to himself in his early founder

(46:54) What drew Sergiy to working with Benchmark

(48:27) Wrap

--

Recommended Podcast: Company Breakdowns

Each episode of Company Breakdowns dives into S-1s and series B-and-beyond companies, interviewing founders and investors to break down the companies. First episode is on Rubrik - which just IPO'd. Coming up this season: Databricks, Reddit + more,

Spotify

Apple