Scaling Robotics

In Episode 14, we're joined by Jeff Mahler, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer at Ambi Robotics, for logistics. Ambi builds AI-powered robots that sort and stack parcels as they move across logistics facilities. Jeff's team has deployed over 100 robots that have handled more than 150 million packages and 250,000+ operational hours in production, which is over 30 robot years of runtime. And they've done it with a team of just 40 people.Jeff is a skeptic of generalization in physical AI. He thinks the real hard problem is mastery; can we get a robot to do one thing fast, accurately, and reliably enough that a customer like Amazon or FedEx will actually pay for it?In this episode, we discuss what that takes to pull off. We cover the harnesses that wrap learned models into production systems, build data flywheels, and drive reliability in our robots.I loved this conversation because it's clear that Jeff has put in his 10,000 hours with production robots. I'm confident you'll learn something from this one.L𝐈𝐍𝐊𝐒- Miru Blog (including episode transcripts): https://www.mirurobotics.com/blog- Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1xr38bFEhk7MSf8UvmPUBo?si=761aeb03b4464fd1&nd=1&dlsi=fa48d636a0f74df6- Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/scaling-robotics/id1857724488𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐒00:00 Introduction01:40 Mastery Over Generalization06:15 Reliable Intelligence and the AI Harness14:23 Benefits of Physical AI in Production16:35 Achieving Mastery and the Data Flywheel23:16 Skill Transfer and the Ambi Skill Suite30:02 The Future of Skills and Industry Partnerships33:07 Deploying Robots in Production35:53 Building Testing Environments39:35 Modular Hardware42:04 Integrating with Other Systems45:30 Partnership with Pickle Robot47:19 What's Next for Ambi49:40 Rapid Fire

In Episode 13, we're joined by one of the most experienced operators in Physical AI for logistics, Matt Leitch, Director of Product Operations at Pickle Robot.Pickle builds green robots that reach into shipping containers and pull boxes off the stack and onto a conveyor. Matt's team has gotten a full deployment down to as little as six hours, from the robot hitting the dock to picking its first box.This job, container unloading, is one of the most grueling jobs in logistics. Warehouse workers endure extreme heat inside containers (well over 100 degrees Fahrenheit), heavy cargo, and high injury rates.We get into what he focuses on to keep the fleet humming: building product ops muscle, running a Robot Operations Center (ROC) that remotely commands the fleet, designing maintenance-ready hardware, and the change management it takes to make customers actually want the robots. Matt also shares a fun story about how a career that started as a helicopter pilot and "Battle Captain" in the US Military shaped the way he runs operations today.If you're building or scaling a robotics operations team, or you just want to know what it really takes to run robots in the real world, this one is for you!L𝐈𝐍𝐊𝐒- Miru Blog (including episode transcripts): https://www.mirurobotics.com/blog- Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1xr38bFEhk7MSf8UvmPUBo?si=761aeb03b4464fd1&nd=1&dlsi=fa48d636a0f74df6- Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/scaling-robotics/id1857724488𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐒(00:00:04) – Introduction(00:01:01) – Background and Scale of Deployments(00:01:55) – What Is Product Operations?(00:04:12) – Handling Robot Failures and the Robot Operations Center(00:07:06) – Partnering with Customers and Training(00:08:39) – Matt's Military Background and Operations Philosophy(00:10:45) – Building Scalable Processes(00:11:58) – Lessons from Ocado and Six River Systems(00:13:42) – Scaling from Startup to Enterprise(00:15:16) – Designing for Maintenance(00:18:18) – In-House vs. Third-Party Technicians(00:20:30) – Preventative Maintenance(00:22:21) – Operating at Enterprise Scale(00:23:19) – Customer Perception and Change Management(00:27:04) – Hiring for Product Operations(00:28:56) – Key Metrics for Product Operations(00:30:19) – Why Robotics?(00:31:35) – Closing and Call to Action

In Episode 12, we speak with one of my favorite founders in robotics! Today, Edward Mehr, CEO and Founder of Machina Labs, joins us for Scaling Robotics.Machina builds RoboCraftsman, a 40-by-30-foot dual-arm robotic cell that forms sheet metal by pinching and incrementally deforming it, the way a potter shapes clay. The same cell drops its forming end effector to trim, scan, and soon heat treat and forge. They've deployed 19 robots and are working to scale this to many more, with factories being set up in the USA and the UAE.We discuss Machina's journey to get there: securing their first contracts with NASA and the Air Force, building a high-margin, semi-automated robotics business, and cultivating an engineering culture that continues to excel to this day. Ed also talks about his personal experiences that brought him to robotics and why he joined SpaceX as an early employee.If you're a robotics founder interested in how to build a team, fundraise, and create a great robotics business, this one is for you!L𝐈𝐍𝐊𝐒- Miru Blog (including episode transcripts): https://www.mirurobotics.com/blog- Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1xr38bFEhk7MSf8UvmPUBo?si=761aeb03b4464fd1&nd=1&dlsi=fa48d636a0f74df6- Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/scaling-robotics/id1857724488𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐒(00:00:04) – Introduction(00:03:00) – The Problem Machina Solves (00:06:15) – Fleet Scale and Factory Buildout(00:07:51) – Ed's Origin Story(00:13:10) – Lessons from SpaceX Culture(00:16:15) – Early Customers and Going to Market(00:18:56) – Staying Lean and Building with Humans in the Loop(00:23:20) – Culture: What Not to Copy from SpaceX(00:27:18) – Scaling: From R&D Shop to Factory Operator(00:30:49) – Bridging Engineering and the Factory Floor(00:33:15) – Telling the Story: Fundraising and Vision(00:36:55) – The Strategic Thread for Machina(00:42:03) – Operational Excellence: Learning from Toyota and SendCutSend(00:45:24) – Staying Lean with Resources(00:48:13) – Lightning Round(00:51:00) – Why Manufacturing and Robotics(00:53:22) – How to Help Machina Labs

In Episode 11, we speak with Daniel Kirstein, co-founder of Holdfast Partners, a consultancy that helps robotics and hard tech companies build their financial and commercial infrastructure. Before Holdfast, Daniel was Head of Finance at Voyage (the autonomous vehicle company acquired by Cruise) and CFO at FarmWise, an agtech company building autonomous weeding machines, where he also ran sales, procurement, and HR. He spent time at Google and TikTok before leaving last year to work full-time with robotics founders. He writes the Robotics CFO newsletter on Substack.Most robotics founders are technologists and don't have an intimate understanding of the financial considerations that affect their business. Software is more forgiving with these gaps, but hardware is ruthless. When CapEx and operational costs are high, it is crucial to understand every single financial lever that affects your business. Daniel has built the capital stack, pricing model, and working capital discipline at multiple robotics companies and now consults founders on doing the same.Daniel starts with the choice every robotics company faces: RaaS, hardware sales, or hardware-as-a-service. He has a clear framework for choosing a business model and understanding how that decision affects how you operate the company. At FarmWise, they chose RaaS, and running it well pushed FarmWise's field operations to a third (!!) of headcount. That same model opens a working capital gap, the cruelest way to fail, where success itself sinks you because orders grow faster than the cash to fill them. All of this feeds into the raise, and we end on what fundraising really takes for a hardware business.Enjoy this walkthrough of the financial machinery behind scaling a robotics fleet!L𝐈𝐍𝐊𝐒- Miru Blog (including episode transcripts): https://www.mirurobotics.com/blog- Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1xr38bFEhk7MSf8UvmPUBo?si=761aeb03b4464fd1&nd=1&dlsi=fa48d636a0f74df6- Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/scaling-robotics/id1857724488𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐒(00:00:04) – Introduction(00:03:32) – Joining Robotics as a Finance Leader(00:05:26) – Business Models in Robotics(00:07:40) – Choosing the Right Business Model(00:11:59) – Will RaaS Stick Around as Technology Matures?(00:16:21) – The Operational Realities of Running RaaS(00:18:37) – Working Capital and Cash Management(00:22:21) – Forecasting and Cash Planning for Early Stage Founders(00:25:18) – Why Debt Matters for Robotics Companies(00:29:55) – Common Pitfalls with Debt(00:31:56) – What Equipment Financiers Look For(00:33:54) – Raising Equity for Robotics Companies(00:37:09) – Show, Don't Just Tell(00:37:48) – What Investors Push Back on Most(00:40:46) – Advice for Founders Scaling Their First Fleet(00:42:02) – Why Robotics Is Worth It(00:43:25) – Closing and How to Connect