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Why We Lose 30% of All Drinking Water
Harrison Crowe-Maxwell turned a flooded street on his way to work into a robotics startup that just raised seed funding from Sequoia’s Peak XV.
In this episode of TechMates, we sit down with Harrison Crowe-Maxwell, co-founder of Puralink, a robotics company building "ferrets" to inspect and repair critical pipe infrastructure from the inside. Harrison takes us from his early days building soccer-playing robots in high school to identifying a massive global problem: 30% of the world's drinking water is lost to leaks.
He reveals the engineering secrets behind building robots that can crawl vertically up pipes, the "Apple ecosystem" vision for underground infrastructure, and how he went from bootstrapping with his co-founder to securing backing from top-tier VCs like Peak XV (formerly Sequoia India & SEA).
If you're into hard tech, robotics, or just want to know how to turn a real-world frustration into a venture-backed startup, this episode is a must-watch.
🤖 From LEGO Mindstorms to industrial robotics
💧 Solving the global water crisis with robots
🛠️ The "Best Part is No Part" engineering philosophy
🚀 Raising capital from Sequoia's Peak XV
🔮 The future of humanoid robots & AI in the physical world
🇦🇺 Building deep tech startups in Australia
Connect with Harrison Crowe-Maxwell
Puralink: https://www.puralink.com.au
Harrison’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/harrison-crowe-maxwell/
Connect with NZVC & Hosts:
🔗 Learn more about NZVC: https://www.nzvc.co.nz
Mark Pavlyukovskyy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pavlyukovskyy/
Hendrik Remigereau: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hendrik-remigereau-09a03067/
Timestamps:
00:00 - Introduction
02:00 - Early obsession with robotics & competitions
08:51 - Engineering philosophy: "The Best Part is No Part"
10:53 - Is there an "LLM moment" for robotics?
18:51 - Meeting co-founder Shion at AWS
20:52 - The "Flooded Street" moment that started PureLink
25:52 - Understanding the complex world of pipe infrastructure
36:57 - Engineering a robot that climbs vertical pipes
44:14 - From prototype to first commercial traction
46:33 - The StartMate experience & raising from Peak XV
52:13 - The "App Store" vision for underground robotics
59:09 - Robots that repair pipes autonomously
1:05:54 - The future of humanoid robots in daily life
If you enjoyed this deep dive into the future of robotics and infrastructure, please hit the Like button, Comment with your thoughts on autonomous repair robots, and Subscribe for more insights from world-class founders!
#robotics, #startups, #deeptech, #HarrisonCroweMaxwell, #Puralink, #infrastructure, #engineering, #AI, #venturecapital, #Sequoia, #PeakXV, #StartMate, #Australia, #tech, #watercrisis, #innovation, #hardware, #entrepreneurship, #futuretech, #TechMates
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By TechMatesHarrison Crowe-Maxwell turned a flooded street on his way to work into a robotics startup that just raised seed funding from Sequoia’s Peak XV.
In this episode of TechMates, we sit down with Harrison Crowe-Maxwell, co-founder of Puralink, a robotics company building "ferrets" to inspect and repair critical pipe infrastructure from the inside. Harrison takes us from his early days building soccer-playing robots in high school to identifying a massive global problem: 30% of the world's drinking water is lost to leaks.
He reveals the engineering secrets behind building robots that can crawl vertically up pipes, the "Apple ecosystem" vision for underground infrastructure, and how he went from bootstrapping with his co-founder to securing backing from top-tier VCs like Peak XV (formerly Sequoia India & SEA).
If you're into hard tech, robotics, or just want to know how to turn a real-world frustration into a venture-backed startup, this episode is a must-watch.
🤖 From LEGO Mindstorms to industrial robotics
💧 Solving the global water crisis with robots
🛠️ The "Best Part is No Part" engineering philosophy
🚀 Raising capital from Sequoia's Peak XV
🔮 The future of humanoid robots & AI in the physical world
🇦🇺 Building deep tech startups in Australia
Connect with Harrison Crowe-Maxwell
Puralink: https://www.puralink.com.au
Harrison’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/harrison-crowe-maxwell/
Connect with NZVC & Hosts:
🔗 Learn more about NZVC: https://www.nzvc.co.nz
Mark Pavlyukovskyy: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pavlyukovskyy/
Hendrik Remigereau: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hendrik-remigereau-09a03067/
Timestamps:
00:00 - Introduction
02:00 - Early obsession with robotics & competitions
08:51 - Engineering philosophy: "The Best Part is No Part"
10:53 - Is there an "LLM moment" for robotics?
18:51 - Meeting co-founder Shion at AWS
20:52 - The "Flooded Street" moment that started PureLink
25:52 - Understanding the complex world of pipe infrastructure
36:57 - Engineering a robot that climbs vertical pipes
44:14 - From prototype to first commercial traction
46:33 - The StartMate experience & raising from Peak XV
52:13 - The "App Store" vision for underground robotics
59:09 - Robots that repair pipes autonomously
1:05:54 - The future of humanoid robots in daily life
If you enjoyed this deep dive into the future of robotics and infrastructure, please hit the Like button, Comment with your thoughts on autonomous repair robots, and Subscribe for more insights from world-class founders!
#robotics, #startups, #deeptech, #HarrisonCroweMaxwell, #Puralink, #infrastructure, #engineering, #AI, #venturecapital, #Sequoia, #PeakXV, #StartMate, #Australia, #tech, #watercrisis, #innovation, #hardware, #entrepreneurship, #futuretech, #TechMates