![]() ![]() ![]() One of the classic mental models of early-stage investing is “ Invest in Lines, Not Dots.” When you see progress over weeks or months, you know the team is executing and progressing, and get a sense of the pace of improvement. This started small, training the drone and ensuring it can lift the payloads and tools required: Rather than trying to replicate our current (mystifying) standard wall structure of timber frame, insulation, and drywall they use drones to execute an age-old building method: earthen walls. This is the technology we actually need to build strong, human-scale structures. Terran is working with huge drones – like 8-10 feet across with six rotors – which will enable them to move larger, heavier materials and manipulate tools. ![]() Suddenly all of these disparate pieces snapped into a cohesive picture of the future. That company was Terran, which was using “AI and robotics to turn dirt into extraordinary homes.” You can’t build a house out of yoga blocks, but it’s a proof of concept from 2016.įull-stack architecture, Star Wars, and Youtube were all dormant seeds planted in me when we got an email from Bo’s brother Luke that a former employee of his was starting a company and raising an early round. Given the size of those drones, those blocks were super light and obviously not building a sound structure. I saw a version of this in The Book of Boba Fett (great show, btw). He even calls out a future ideal of architecture as “The ultimate goal is to hit ‘enter’ and have a building built with drones.” From CAD to Castle. It's going to come pretty quickly, because once a robot can do something you've turned labor into capital. In the 2020’s we're going to see more actual robots in the field. I think in the future most value will be created online, and you'll print it out by invoking robotics. Imagine fewer and fewer human interventions between a digital direction and an event in the physical world.Ī quote from the manuscript of the Almanack of Balaji: This includes delivery robots, 3D printers, and autonomous food prep. One of his predictions is more robots executing digital instructions autonomously. Since I’m currently working on The Almanack of Balaji Srinivasan, I have been reading his patterns and predictions for new technologies and companies. In early-stage investing, it pays to spend half your time studying the most future-thinking technologists in the world. Writing a book, watching Star Wars, and going down Youtube rabbit holes all accidentally prepared me for this investment. That’s what happened with our investment in Terran Robotics. Disparate experiences snap together and information transforms into insight, which enables action. Sometimes insights align in surprising ways. ![]()
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