Episode Summary

Is AI in the Physical World the next $100 Trillion Opportunity?

In this episode of Oversubscribed, we go deep into the "Hard Tech" revolution. From defence-grade autonomy to data infrastructure for robots, we dive deep into the frontier of hard tech with the founders building it.

Brendan Hill sits down with Michael Irwin (Co-Founder at Breaker), Joe Harris (Founder at Alloy), and returning guest Charlie Gearside (Co-Founder at Eucalyptus / Build Australia) for a wild conversation about robotics, physical AI, national ambition, and why Australia needs to start making things again.

They talk building AI that lives on the edge, the ethics of defence, hiring A-players for impossible problems, and why the next industrial revolution might start right here. It’s an unfiltered look at the people shaping Australia’s place in the age of autonomy.

Time Stamps

00:00 – Intro: Founders, frontier tech, and Australia’s new wave of builders

02:00 – Breaker’s origin story: building robots that act on human intent

05:00 – From drones to defense: autonomy, privacy, and life on the edge

08:20 – The hardest problems left to solve (and why easy ones are gone)

10:40 – Sponsor: Vanta – building trust and compliance for startups

12:00 – Alloy’s story: from Eucalyptus to building the data brain for robots

16:00 – Why Joe left a rocket ship to start from zero

19:30 – Building for the age of robotics: data, telemetry, and the next frontier

23:00 – Finding A-players: how ambitious missions attract ambitious people

25:00 – Culture, conviction, and what passion really looks like inside startups

27:00 – The defense dilemma: ethics, values, and the post-Ukraine mindset

30:00 – Going global: why Australia’s best founders build beyond its borders

34:00 – Build Australia: a new movement for ambition and national pride

38:00 – Manufacturing, energy, and why we stopped making things

43:00 – How robotics could solve Australia’s affordability crisis

46:00 – The humanoid debate: specialized vs. general intelligence

50:00 – Life in 2035: what robots at home might really look like

52:00 – Data, autonomy, and the next AI arms race

56:00 – How Breaker and Alloy could power each other’s missions

59:00 – Skynet, manipulation, and the ethics of AI power

1:03:00 – Competition, collaboration, and the Cambrian explosion of robotics

1:06:00 – Founder stories: from CB radios to humanoids in hack houses

1:09:00 – Building the next industrial revolution from Australia

1:10:00 – Final pitches: why you should join Breaker, Alloy, and Build Australia

1:11:00 – Outro: Vanta, Ten13, and building what comes next

Oversubscribed is proudly supported by our sponsor Vanta 🦙

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The Day One Network

Oversubscribed is part of Day One, the podcast network dedicated to founders, operators & investors.