The Techne Connect

In this episode of The Techne Connect, Werner Koestler, Executive Officer at Pioneer, explores how next-generation in-car experience is evolving at the intersection of human–machine interface, immersive audio and autonomous mobility to build trust and safety in real-world environments.

He shares his journey from Vienna to Tokyo, becoming Pioneer’s first Western board member, and reflects on lessons from leading an 800-person team on Volkswagen’s EV computing platform. Werner discusses how curiosity, systems thinking and team diversity drive innovation from concept to production, and why communication and culture are key to success in global engineering.

He highlights the shift towards passenger-centric design, personal audio zones and vehicle-to-pedestrian communication, while advocating for hiring based on attitude, the power of mentorship and the need for more women in engineering. Finally, he explains why robotics and mobility are merging into one of the most exciting frontiers for future careers as AI and physical systems converge.

The Techne Connect Podcast 🎧

Thank you for listening to Techne Connect! This podcast takes you inside the companies and conversations shaping the future of engineering.

From space and defence to robotics, AI, clean energy, advanced manufacturing and next-generation mobility, each episode features the founders, engineers and technology leaders building tomorrow's world.

Through candid discussions on innovation, leadership, product development and career journeys, the podcast uncovers the ideas, challenges and breakthroughs driving the world's fastest-moving industries. Whether you're an engineer, founder, investor or simply fascinated by emerging technology.

Techne Connect offers a front-row seat to the people creating what's next.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of The Techne Connect, Anshuman Kumar, Head of Hardware at Matic Robots, unpacks how consumer robotics is moving from flashy demos to real, in-home utility. He shares how Matic built a genuinely effective floor-cleaning robot, picking up dirty water rather than spreading it, while driving down noise and filing multiple patents across mechanics, electronics and perception.

He traces his path from IIT Delhi and Carnegie Mellon to Tesla’s power electronics team, where he helped take Model 3 inverters from yield pain to stable production. Along the way, he explains why reliability engineering is the unsung hero, why integration is a team sport, and why “build painkillers, not vitamins” should guide every product decision. He argues that breakthroughs in AI and compute are finally removing software bottlenecks, opening the door for robots that deliver full solutions to real problems.

Anshuman also talks candidly about scaling from lab to factory, supplier calls across time zones, recruiting for growth, and designing the machine that makes the machines. For students and engineers, he shares career advice on failing fast, hiring for attitude, and the overlooked opportunities in motors, actuators and reliability.

The Techne Connect Podcast 🎧

Thank you for listening to Techne Connect! This podcast takes you inside the companies and conversations shaping the future of engineering.

From space and defence to robotics, AI, clean energy, advanced manufacturing and next-generation mobility, each episode features the founders, engineers and technology leaders building tomorrow's world.

Through candid discussions on innovation, leadership, product development and career journeys, the podcast uncovers the ideas, challenges and breakthroughs driving the world's fastest-moving industries. Whether you're an engineer, founder, investor or simply fascinated by emerging technology.

Techne Connect offers a front-row seat to the people creating what's next.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of The Techne Connect, Rishabh Aggarwal, CTO at Raise Robotics, shares how his team is redefining construction and manufacturing safety through autonomous robotics.

Rishabh discusses his journey from mechanical engineering and automotive design to leading-edge robotics, spanning renewable energy, aerospace collaborations with NASA, and agricultural automation. He explains how Raise’s mobile robots, equipped with precision robotic arms, are performing high-risk tasks such as drilling, scanning, and inspection on skyscrapers with sub-inch accuracy, pushing the limits of what is possible in outdoor robotics.

He reflects on the lessons learned from building reliability into real-world robots and why collaboration in the robotics industry must evolve beyond silos, then explores how mechatronics, perception engineering, and machine learning are shaping the next frontier of physical AI. He outlines how Raise’s next-generation designs bridge software, hardware, and AI for safer worksites, why robotics should be seen as a tool rather than a replacement for human labour, and how interdisciplinary thinking continues to shape the future of automation.

The Techne Connect Podcast 🎧

Thank you for listening to Techne Connect! This podcast takes you inside the companies and conversations shaping the future of engineering.

From space and defence to robotics, AI, clean energy, advanced manufacturing and next-generation mobility, each episode features the founders, engineers and technology leaders building tomorrow's world.

Through candid discussions on innovation, leadership, product development and career journeys, the podcast uncovers the ideas, challenges and breakthroughs driving the world's fastest-moving industries. Whether you're an engineer, founder, investor or simply fascinated by emerging technology.

Techne Connect offers a front-row seat to the people creating what's next.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of The Techne Connect, Youssef Demitri, VP of Engineering at Wingtra, lifts the lid on building robots that map the world at scale. He explains how Wingtra’s end-to-end platform spans hardware, firmware and software to turn vast sites into accurate 2D and 3D digital twins for construction, mining and environmental monitoring.

He shares what his day really looks like, switching between long-term strategy and hands-on technical decisions, and why reliable hardware at scale is so hard to achieve. He traces his journey from Egypt to Germany and ETH Zurich, the early breakthroughs in VTOL design, and the lessons that come from seeing a product through from research to widespread use.

We dig into customer-led innovation, systems thinking, and why great engineers balance constraints rather than chase complexity. He highlights data skills as future-critical, the practical role of AI, and a powerful search-and-rescue use case. He also offers grounded career advice and the skills Wingtra is hiring for across the full stack.

The Techne Connect Podcast 🎧

Thank you for listening to Techne Connect! This podcast takes you inside the companies and conversations shaping the future of engineering.

From space and defence to robotics, AI, clean energy, advanced manufacturing and next-generation mobility, each episode features the founders, engineers and technology leaders building tomorrow's world.

Through candid discussions on innovation, leadership, product development and career journeys, the podcast uncovers the ideas, challenges and breakthroughs driving the world's fastest-moving industries. Whether you're an engineer, founder, investor or simply fascinated by emerging technology.

Techne Connect offers a front-row seat to the people creating what's next.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of The Techne Connect, Jim Castelaz, Founder and CEO of Arcticar and former Founder of Motive Electric Trucks, shares how a lifelong mission to free fleets from fossil fuels shaped his path from Stanford engineer to serial entrepreneur.

Jim reflects on the leap from academia to founding Motive, why values-based hiring and strong customer support built lasting trust, and the moment electric trucks proved commercially viable without subsidies. He explores lessons for founders and engineers—balancing conviction with feedback, evolving from engineer to leader, and building culture around clear purpose and accountability.

The conversation moves to Arcticar, where Jim reveals how all-electric refrigerated trailers can replace diesel-powered systems with efficient, zero-emission technology. He discusses the health, cost, and sustainability gains, and his ambition to decarbonise cold-chain logistics.

A must-listen for anyone passionate about climate innovation, sustainable transport, and the realities of scaling mission-driven engineering ventures.

The Techne Connect Podcast 🎧

Thank you for listening to Techne Connect! This podcast takes you inside the companies and conversations shaping the future of engineering.

From space and defence to robotics, AI, clean energy, advanced manufacturing and next-generation mobility, each episode features the founders, engineers and technology leaders building tomorrow's world.

Through candid discussions on innovation, leadership, product development and career journeys, the podcast uncovers the ideas, challenges and breakthroughs driving the world's fastest-moving industries. Whether you're an engineer, founder, investor or simply fascinated by emerging technology.

Techne Connect offers a front-row seat to the people creating what's next.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of The Techne Connect, Paul Mikesell, Founder and CEO of Carbon Robotics, shares how his team is redefining agriculture through AI-driven robotics — from the laser-powered weeder eliminating the need for chemicals, to the autonomous tractor kit that converts standard machines into self-driving systems.

Paul reflects on his journey from scaling startups and leading AI development at Uber to building deep-tech solutions that tackle the world’s dull, dirty and dangerous jobs. He explores how focusing on ROI, team culture and genuine problem-solving has helped Carbon Robotics win the trust of farmers worldwide.

He discusses why agriculture is one of the most underrepresented yet high-impact frontiers for AI, the importance of understanding neural networks from the ground up, and why robotics will play a vital role in creating safer, more sustainable, and more abundant societies.

The Techne Connect Podcast 🎧

Thank you for listening to Techne Connect! This podcast takes you inside the companies and conversations shaping the future of engineering.

From space and defence to robotics, AI, clean energy, advanced manufacturing and next-generation mobility, each episode features the founders, engineers and technology leaders building tomorrow's world.

Through candid discussions on innovation, leadership, product development and career journeys, the podcast uncovers the ideas, challenges and breakthroughs driving the world's fastest-moving industries. Whether you're an engineer, founder, investor or simply fascinated by emerging technology.

Techne Connect offers a front-row seat to the people creating what's next.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, we speak with Parsa Bakhtiari, Co-Founder of Feather Robotics, about his journey from helping launch the Tesla Model 3 to pioneering a new generation of affordable, deployable humanoid robots.

Parsa shares how his background as an Iranian immigrant shaped his entrepreneurial mindset, the lessons learned from working alongside Elon Musk, and the sacrifices required to turn an idea into a company that could redefine human–robot interaction.

Together, they explore the founding story behind Feather Robotics, the importance of choosing the right co-founder, and what it really takes to build a startup in one of the world’s most challenging industries — hardware.

From overcoming early failures and managing burnout to scaling production and hiring the right founding team, this conversation offers a candid look at the realities of entrepreneurship and the vision behind a company aiming to “give people back their time.”

The Techne Connect Podcast 🎧

Thank you for listening to Techne Connect! This podcast takes you inside the companies and conversations shaping the future of engineering.

From space and defence to robotics, AI, clean energy, advanced manufacturing and next-generation mobility, each episode features the founders, engineers and technology leaders building tomorrow's world.

Through candid discussions on innovation, leadership, product development and career journeys, the podcast uncovers the ideas, challenges and breakthroughs driving the world's fastest-moving industries. Whether you're an engineer, founder, investor or simply fascinated by emerging technology.

Techne Connect offers a front-row seat to the people creating what's next.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of The Techne Connect, Brent Bradbury, VP of Software at Stoke Space, shares how software-driven innovation is transforming the way rockets are built, tested, and launched.

He traces his unconventional path from futures trading and SaaS development to leading within the new space economy, showing how cross-industry thinking and startup agility are accelerating progress in aerospace. Brent explains how Stoke Space is building a fully reusable rocket and how their BoltLine platform is enabling faster, more efficient hardware development across the globe.

He dives into lessons learned from scaling startups, the balance between speed and precision in engineering, and why embracing discomfort is essential for growth. Brent also reflects on the boom in commercial space, how AI is being practically applied to solve real engineering challenges, and why this moment represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to redefine how humanity builds for orbit.

From agritech to aerospace, Brent’s journey embodies the spirit of innovation, cutting complexity, empowering engineers, and proving that the next era of space exploration will be built by those bold enough to rethink how things are done.

The Techne Connect Podcast 🎧

Thank you for listening to Techne Connect! This podcast takes you inside the companies and conversations shaping the future of engineering.

From space and defence to robotics, AI, clean energy, advanced manufacturing and next-generation mobility, each episode features the founders, engineers and technology leaders building tomorrow's world.

Through candid discussions on innovation, leadership, product development and career journeys, the podcast uncovers the ideas, challenges and breakthroughs driving the world's fastest-moving industries. Whether you're an engineer, founder, investor or simply fascinated by emerging technology.

Techne Connect offers a front-row seat to the people creating what's next.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of The Techne Connect, Carl Dietrich, founder and CEO of Jump Aero, shares his journey from MIT to pioneering flying cars and now building eVTOL aircraft for emergency response. Carl reflects on lessons learned in aerospace entrepreneurship, the challenges of scaling advanced air mobility, and the vision behind Jump Aero’s mission to cut rural emergency response times in half. He also dives into perseverance, innovation, regulation, and the future of aviation as drones, autonomy, and eVTOL technologies transform mobility.

The Techne Connect Podcast 🎧

Thank you for listening to Techne Connect! This podcast takes you inside the companies and conversations shaping the future of engineering.

From space and defence to robotics, AI, clean energy, advanced manufacturing and next-generation mobility, each episode features the founders, engineers and technology leaders building tomorrow's world.

Through candid discussions on innovation, leadership, product development and career journeys, the podcast uncovers the ideas, challenges and breakthroughs driving the world's fastest-moving industries. Whether you're an engineer, founder, investor or simply fascinated by emerging technology.

Techne Connect offers a front-row seat to the people creating what's next.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of The Techne Connect, Adam Ewing sits down with Morten Skov, co-founder and CTO of Sky Puzzler, a Danish deep tech startup building centralized air traffic control systems for drones. Morten shares his journey into robotics and AI, the challenges of leading a startup, and the importance of work-life balance in the fast-moving world of technology. He offers insights into simulation, human-computer interaction, and why collaboration between people and machines is essential for the future. From logistics to urban mobility, Morten discusses how drones can positively transform society and gives career advice for aspiring engineers.

The Techne Connect Podcast 🎧

Thank you for listening to Techne Connect! This podcast takes you inside the companies and conversations shaping the future of engineering.

From space and defence to robotics, AI, clean energy, advanced manufacturing and next-generation mobility, each episode features the founders, engineers and technology leaders building tomorrow's world.

Through candid discussions on innovation, leadership, product development and career journeys, the podcast uncovers the ideas, challenges and breakthroughs driving the world's fastest-moving industries. Whether you're an engineer, founder, investor or simply fascinated by emerging technology.

Techne Connect offers a front-row seat to the people creating what's next.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.