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🦾 HardTech Reads: The AI & Robotics Revolution vol.30

Welcome to the exploration of the world where founders embark on bold quests and solve non-obvious problems🤘

Issue #30 — a milestone! Thank you for being part of the journey 💙
(the remaining 29 issues you can find here)

🚀 HARDTECH NEWS: Robotics & AI Innovations

Robotics gets tactile: Amazon unveils Vulcan
Amazon’s new warehouse robot, Vulcan, can “feel”👀 its way through tasks that previously required human finesse. It can manipulate 75% of the 1M+ unique items in inventory using a novel gripper, work 20 hours a day, and handle up to 8 pounds. Amazon insists Vulcan won’t replace humans, but will instead open higher-skilled jobs — another signal that advanced robotics is augmenting labor, not erasing it.
Learn more.

Skilled trades are making a comeback 💪
LinkedIn’s latest report shows construction is now the fastest-growing industry for recent grads. Energy transition incentives and high mortgage rates are pulling talent into physical industries, outpacing tech and finance in entry-level job growth. It’s a surprising but overdue swing toward industrial resilience.
Learn more.

Hugging Face drops a $100 robotic arm 🤗
The AI-native LeRobot SO-101 robotic arm is lightweight, 3D-printed, and trained using reinforcement learning. With a camera-equipped end effector and faster assembly than its predecessor, it democratizes robotics R&D. A big deal for hobbyists, educators, and budget-constrained labs.
Learn more.

Altman’s Worldcoin expands in U.S. with major partnerships 🌎
The controversial iris-scanning startup now boasts integrations with Match, Visa, Stripe, Circle, and Kalshi. Worldcoin is positioning itself as both identity protocol and financial gateway — nudging the conversation on biometric authentication and digital rights into the mainstream.
Learn more.

Aurora to launch driverless semi-trucks in Texas 🚛
Aurora Innovation is preparing to run fully autonomous trucks across a 200-mile stretch between Dallas and Houston. Legal friction with the Motor Carrier Safety Administration is already heating up, as the company seeks to bypass human-driver-based safety requirements.
Learn more.

Rare earth wars intensify: U.S. defense caught off guard ⛏️
A new report highlights that 78% of U.S. military weapon systems rely on Chinese-sourced materials. China’s latest export restrictions — including on Korean goods heading to the U.S. — could ripple across global supply chains and stall Pentagon procurement.
Learn more.

Conscious AI? The debate begins 👩‍⚖️
A growing body of academic research is starting to take the question of AI consciousness seriously. While current systems fall short, some argue it’s time to begin scanning for signs of sentience — especially as capabilities skyrocket. Others warn it could distract from more pressing AI alignment concerns.
Learn more.

Apple’s India shift hits roadblocks 🏭
Foxconn has stopped rotating Chinese workers into Indian iPhone factories, turning to Taiwanese staff instead. Equipment shipments are being delayed in China, complicating Apple’s diversification strategy. U.S.-China tensions are clearly reshaping supply chain geopolitics.
Learn more.

Mati Carbon wins $50M XPrize for carbon removal🟢
Houston-based Mati Carbon is using enhanced rock weathering to sequester CO2 on small farms across India and Africa. By combining field-based basalt applications with AI-driven verification software and portable spectrometers, Mati beat global competition to win the $50M XPrize for Carbon Removal.
Learn more.

Pulsar Fusion unveils nuclear-powered rocket 🔋
UK-based Pulsar Fusion unveiled “Sunbird,” a dual fusion-drive spacecraft capable of hitting 329,000 mph. With mission goals including asteroid mining and deep space telescope deployment, it’s designed to tug payloads to Mars in under six months — a major step toward fast interplanetary logistics.
Learn more.

Quantum randomness breakthrough enables secure communications 💻Researchers using Quantinuum’s 56-qubit computer achieved “certified randomness,” a cryptographic breakthrough verified by classical supercomputers. The method could eventually underpin secure networks and spoof-proof protocols, finally showing quantum advantage in a real-world application.
Learn more.

Western Digital launches U.S.-based rare earth recycling program♻️
WD, in partnership with Microsoft and others, developed a domestic process to recover rare earth elements from hard drives, cutting dependence on Chinese exports. It boasts over 90% recovery efficiency, with materials like dysprosium, neodymium, and praseodymium reclaimed directly from U.S. data centers.
Learn more.

The national security case for deep-tech big bets🔐
A growing chorus of technologists and policymakers argue that defense innovation requires earlier, riskier investments in frontier tech. With China’s 2035 targets looming, the U.S. must fund deep-tech in energy, quantum, aerospace, and AI — or risk ceding technological sovereignty.
Learn more.

Kraken Robotics revenue surges on ocean tech demand 🤖
Kraken Robotics posted 31% revenue growth and expanded into subsea LiDAR with a $24.5M acquisition. With defense and offshore energy sectors demanding more underwater surveillance, Kraken is doubling down on smart sensors, batteries, and seabed imaging.
Learn more.Subscribed

🚀 Startups to Know: Game-Changers in HardTech & AI

Blue Water | $14M Seed | Autonomous naval ships for U.S. Navy
Investors: Eclipse, Riot, Impatient Ventures

Mainspring Energy | $258M Series F | Fuel-flexible linear generators for data centers
Investors: General Catalyst, Amazon Climate Pledge, Temasek, Khosla Ventures

Phoenix Tailings | $76M Series B (extended) | Domestic rare earth processing facility
Investors: Escape Velocity, Envisioning Partners, Yamaha Motor Ventures, Builders Vision, Presidio

Electra | $186M Series B | Clean iron from renewable energy & low-grade ores
Investors: Capricorn Investment Group, Temasek

Isembard | $9M Seed | On-demand precision manufacturing network
Investors: Notion Capital, 201 Ventures, NP-Hard, Space Forge founder

Electra.Aero | $115M Series B | Hybrid-electric aircraft development
Investors: Prysm Capital, Honeywell Ventures, Lockheed Martin Ventures, Safran

Northwood Space | $30M Series A | Satellite ground infrastructure
Investors: a16z, Alpine Space Ventures, Founders Fund

Nyobolt | $30M | Ultra-fast EV charging technology
Investors: IQ Capital, Scania Invest, Latitude

UbiQD | $20M Series B | Quantum dot tech for energy & agriculture
Investors: Phoenix Venture Partners, Builders VC, Builders Vision

Theseus | $4.3M Seed | Drone navigation w/o GPS
Investors: First Round, Y Combinator, Lux Capital

Chassy | $1.2M Pre-Seed | Robotics ops and testing platform
Investor: Schematic Ventures

Endor Labs | $93M Series B | AI-generated code security
Investors: DFJ, Salesforce Ventures, Lightspeed, Coatue

Exowatt | $35M Series A | Solar thermal storage
Investors: a16z, Thrive, Felicis, Starwood Capital

OnePlanet | $7M Seed | Solar panel recycling for critical metals
Investor: Khasma Capital

Glacier | $16M Series A | Robotic recycling with CV
Investors: Ecosystem Integrity Fund, Amazon Climate Pledge, Alumni Ventures

Near Space Labs | $20M Series B | High-res Earth imaging
Investors: Bold Capital, Draper, USAA, Third Sphere

True Anomaly | $260M Series C | National security autonomous spacecraft
Investors: Accel, Meritech, Eclipse, Menlo, Riot

📚FAVORITE RESOURCES

Don’t take tech too seriously and play with it from time to time 🙂

𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐨-𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐲 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 — a strategic blueprint to rebuild American power where it counts most: labs, factories, and battlefields.

📺 CoreMemory: Digital twins of the human brain
🇺🇸 𝐑𝐞𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐮𝐦 2025— On reshoring, AI race, defense tech.
🛡 Defense Hardtech Accelerator
🧠 Industry 4.0 Michigan — Boosting manufacturing competitiveness
🎙 Technology’s daily show (formerly the Technology Brothers Podcast)

🎤EVENTS

Who’s coming to HardTech Awards (Vancouver), IEEE Hard Tech Summit ( San Francisco, CA), and Reindustrialize (Detroit, Mi)? Ping me if you are there!

➖ May 12–15 Automate (Detroit, Michigan)
➖ May 17–23 ICRA 2025 (Atlanta, Georgia)
➖ May 18–21 International Electric Machines and Drives Conference (Houston, TX)
➖ May 19–23 International Conference on Robotics & Automation (Atlanta, Georgia)
➖ May 20–21 Robotics & Automation Conference (Tel Aviv, Israel)
➖HARDTECH AWARDS — if you are coming to WebSummit, join us on May 29 for HardTech Awards ceremony!