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1. Large Model Chauvinism Will Get Someone Hurt There’s this belief going around that AI models are getting so good that hardware can afford to be dumb. Sensors? The model will figure it out from vision. Safety limits? The policy will learn to avoid them. I call this Large Model Chauvinism. At our startup, it shaped decisions constantly. And to be fair, it wasn’t one person’s blind spot — most of us bought into it to some degree. The AI was genuinely impressive, and it was ea

With all eyes on an autonomous future of flight, it’s easy to forget the human pilots who will remain firmly in the cockpit for the foreseeable future. Luckily, one San Francisco-based company is remaining focused on people, even as we await the rise of the robots.  Yesterday, Navi AI—a startup using AI to improve pilot training and performance—emerged from stealth with $6.7M in funding from United Airlines Ventures, BVVC, New Vista Capital, Raptor Group, I2BF, and the Pentag

Most 3D printers are designed to produce plastic parts, such as prototypes, housings for electronics, or decorative objects. Building a working electric machine is far more complicated. Unlike a typical plastic print, devices like motors need different regions to do different jobs: some conduct electricity, others insulate it, some generate or guide magnetic fields , and others provide structural support or flexibility. A research team at MIT is trying to bring 3D printing

Looks like Epirus is making its relationship with GD Land Systems into a throuple.  This morning, directed energy counter-UAS startup Epirus announced that it’s teaming up with General Dynamics Land Systems and ground autonomy hotshot Kodiak to build a mobile, autonomous drone-zapper called the Leonidas Autonomous Ground Vehicle (AGV). The AGV will be equipped with Epirus’ signature Leonidas high-power microwave (HPM) system. For the uninitiated: instead of jamming, shooting,

Skyports raised $110M in Series C funding, led by infrastructure and construction company ACS Group. The London-based company designs, builds, and operates take-off and landing infrastructure for air taxis, and partners with electric vertical take-off and landing vehicle manufacturers.  Collaborative Robotics raised a $100M Series B round led by General Catalyst and joined by Bison Ventures, Industry Ventures, and Lux Capital. The Silicon Valley company is developing a “nov

Figure raised a $675M Series B at a $2.6B valuation from Microsoft, OpenAI Startup Fund, NVIDIA, Jeff Bezos (through Bezos Expeditions), Parkway Venture Capital, Intel Capital, and others. The Bay Area company is building “general purpose humanoid” robots for industrial use cases.  Medical Microinstruments raised $110M in Series C funding, led by Fidelity Management & Research Company. The Italian startup’s technology allows surgeons to replicate the movements of a human ha