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PODCAST

Building Deep Tech

The show for founders building real deep tech. Each episode features founders, executives, and builders in AI, robotics, and hardware — breaking down how they build, scale, and learn. Hosted by Ilir Aliu | 22Astronauts. Whether you’re building now or just curious — tune in.

technology

All Episodes

00:54:32

Ep 60 | Once You Know What You Want to Do, Life Gets...

Building Deep Tech ·

2025/04/10

In this episode, I talk with ⁠Eris Dhionis Sako⁠, Co-Founder & CEO of Duatic AG⁠, a robotics startup based in Zurich:Eris shares his journey from growing up in Albania and studying in Greece, to becoming a leading robotics engineer at ETH Zurich.Over the past 8+ years, he’s designed actuators, robotic arms, and more at the Robotic Systems Lab. Now, he’s taking that experience into entrepreneurship with Duatic, helping teams worldwide build better robots.We talked about his early days, what

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00:45:10

Ep 59 | Most Important Thing: The Ability To Get Shit...

Building Deep Tech ·

2025/04/03

🎙️ Episode #59: Willpower, Product Thinking & Building Vention... with Etienne Lacroix:In today’s episode, I talk with Etienne Lacroix, Founder and CEO of Vention, a company making industrial automation faster, more accessible, and more affordable for manufacturers around the world. Etienne shares the roots of his drive and discipline, shaped by a father who was full of energy and a mother who placed strict value on education. We talk about how those influences helped him develop the mindset

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00:49:49

Ep 58 | Find the Right Co-Founder... It’s Everything...

Building Deep Tech ·

2025/03/27

In this episode, I talk with Sandor Felber, a Robot Learning Researcher at MIT's CSAIL, where he’s building intelligent control systems for humanoid robots:We talk about how he got into robotics, from electric race cars at Edinburgh University Formula Student to control frameworks for teleoperation and deep reinforcement learning locomotion.Sandor has also worked at Tesla, building actuator systems, and now focuses on legged and whole-body control for humanoids.He and his co-founder, Nathan,

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00:53:03

Ep 57 | A True Master Is An Eternal Student (w/ Ryan...

Building Deep Tech ·

2025/03/20

Episode #57: Advancing Bionic and Robotic Hands with Ryan Saavedra, CEO & Founder of Alt-Bionics, Inc.In this episode, I talk with Ryan Saavedra, founder and CEO of Alt-Bionics, a company making advanced yet affordable bionic hands for both prosthetics and robotics.Ryan started Alt-Bionics in 2020 while studying Electrical Engineering at the University of Texas at San Antonio. Since then, he’s been on a mission to bridge the gap between human and robotic dexterity. We talk about the challenges

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00:53:38

Ep 56 | You Should Know Why You’re Doing It (w/...

Building Deep Tech ·

2025/03/13

In this episode, I talk with Antoine Van Malleghem, a robotics engineer and Co-Founder of Botronics:They are building the next-generation autonomous golf trolley using machine learning, and advanced computer vision.Antoine shares his journey from IT consultancy to robotics entrepreneurship, why he took a pay cut to follow his passion and the technical challenges of developing AI-driven autonomous systems. Building a company is tough.Antoine and his co-founder, Eric Piraux, had to return to

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00:50:06

Ep 55 | Just keep on building and you’ll figure out...

Building Deep Tech ·

2025/03/06

My newest guest is Frédéric Legrand, a founding engineer at Phospho (YC W24), an AI company based in Paris focused on making AI robotics more accessible.Frédéric grew up in France but spent nearly a decade in Hong Kong before returning for his higher education. With a passion for building (both in software and hardware), he’s now working on helping machine learning engineers get started with AI in robotics.At Phospho, he’s building SDKs, tutorials, and dev kits to make real-world robotics more

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00:57:00

Ep 54 | Work hard, make it fail less and get better...

Building Deep Tech ·

2025/02/27

In this episode, I talk with Sankaet Pathak, founder of Foundation. Their first product? A humanoid robot built for real-world tasks:Foundation is an advanced technology company developing autonomous machines. Why start with humanoids?To automate labour across manufacturing, logistics, and defence. Sankaet shares his journey from computer engineering and physics at the University of Memphis to leading AI and robotics innovation.We discuss why current AI models struggle with real-world physics, why

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00:47:04

Ep 53 | Make Bionic Limbs Accessible To Humans &...

Building Deep Tech ·

2025/02/20

This week, I talked with Aadeel Akhtar, PhD Akhtar, CEO and Founder of PSYONIC, a company redefining prosthetics with AI-powered bionic limbs: You might have seen him on Shark Tank or heard about PSYONIC’s Ability Hand, an advanced prosthetic that’s setting new standards for accessibility and performance.Aadeel’s story is fascinating. He started out studying neuroscience and medicine and then pivoted to building next-generation bionics.We discuss his journey from academia to entrepreneurship, what

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01:09:19

Ep 52 | Building Autonomous Household Robots (w/...

Building Deep Tech ·

2025/02/12

In this episode, I talk with Usman Roshan, founder of 7Xrobotics and Associate Professor in AI and Machine Learning at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. Usman and his co-founder are building autonomous household robots designed to tackle everyday tasks like dishwashing and laundry folding; turning AI into real, practical solutions for the home.We discuss his journey from academia to robotics entrepreneurship, his research on deep learning models for video understanding, and how he’s developing

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01:08:52

Ep 51 | Don't Found a Startup Without Decade-Long...

Building Deep Tech ·

2025/02/05

In today's 51st episode, I talk to Adrian Macneil, Co-Founder and CEO of Foxglove:Adrian Macneil is the Co-Founder & CEO of Foxglove, a purpose-built robotics development platform to increase the GDP of robotics. Coming from New Zealand with a degree in Computer Science, Adrian knew early on that his home country wasn’t big enough for his ambitions. He moved to San Francisco, the center of entrepreneurship and tech startups. He was an early employee at Coinbase, working long hours through

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00:45:43

Ep 50 | Resilience Is Born From Struggle and Grit...

Building Deep Tech ·

2025/01/30

I sit down with the Founder and CEO of Synapticon, Nikolai Ensslen:Nikolai Ensslen and Andrija Feher are the founders of Synapticon, a company reshaping motion control for robotics and industrial automation. He shares his journey from studying Engineering Science at the University of Bayreuth to building and leading a global company that seamlessly integrates servo drives, sensors, brakes, and functional safety into AI-powered systems. Nikolai shares his early influences - growing up in a creative

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01:04:06

Ep 49 | Build Great Tech & Also Lay Foundations for...

Building Deep Tech ·

2025/01/23

In this episode, I sit down with Sanjeev Sharma, the visionary Founder and CEO of Swaayatt Robots. Sanjeev shares his journey from academia to building autonomous driving technology that thrives in India's uniquely chaotic and adversarial traffic conditions. We discuss his decision to forego a PhD opportunity at UMass Amherst to bootstrap Swaayatt Robots, how he demonstrated autonomous navigation on Indian roads (a global first!!) and the incredible potential for autonomous systems in military

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00:54:03

Ep 48 | Go To The Shop Floor & Talk To More People...

Building Deep Tech ·

2025/01/16

In my latest episode, I talk to the Progressive Robotics Co-Founder & CEO Fotis Dimeas:In this episode of Kinematic Conversations, I speak with Fotis Dimeas, who moved from an academic career to co-founding Progressive Robotics, a deep-tech spin-off making robotics better for manufacturing and logistics. Fotis shares his journey from earning a Ph.D. in Robotics at the University of Patras to his research at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. We discuss the challenges of closing the

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01:03:58

Ep 47 | Co-Elevation & Healthy Challenging w/ Robert...

Building Deep Tech ·

2025/01/08

Ep 47: Robert MacKenzie former CTO and Chief Product Officer of ANYbotics:Robert is originally from Canada but has spent more than half of his life in Europe. He completed his bachelor's degree in Canada before moving to Germany, where he earned his master’s at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). His journey eventually led him to Zurich, where he completed his PhD at ETH Zurich. Over the years, Robert has worked as a senior project manager and executive in various companies before joining

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01:09:59

Ep 46 | Success is a Team Effort (w/ Christian...

Building Deep Tech ·

2025/01/01

In episode #46 I sit down with Christian Piechnick, Co-Founder and CEO of Wandelbots:We are going back in time and Christian is telling me how he started to program while he was still a kid, with his parent's first computer, helping out the company his mother was working for by writing a program. Wandelbots, a TU Dresden spin-off founded in 2017 by Christian Piechnick and a team of five, enables non-programmers to teach industrial robots faster and more cost-effectively using smart

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01:00:38

#45 | Miika Satori: The value of fixing and building...

Building Deep Tech ·

2024/12/27

Back from the holidays with a brand-new episode! #45 features Miika Satori, founder of Cambrian Robotics Miika Satori, originally from Finland, has a long background in startups and innovation. With Cambrian Robotics, he focuses on advancing robot capabilities to tackle complex tasks. In this episode, Miika reflects on his upbringing in rural Finland, where he learned the value of fixing and building from his father. We explore his early entrepreneurial ventures and his journey with Cambrian,

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01:10:13

#44 | Mehul Nariyawala: Bringing Robots Into Your...

Building Deep Tech ·

2024/12/19

In this episode, I sit down with Mehul Nariyawala, Co-founder of Matic Robots:Matic is a company on a mission to simplify home cleaning with autonomous robots powered by cutting-edge AI and vision-based technologies. Mehul shares his journey from moving to the U.S. from India at a young age, pursuing studies in bioinformatics and earning an MBA, to co-founding Flutter—acquired by Google in 2013 for ~$40M—and later co-founding Matic Robots in 2017. We also explore Mehul's insights into balancing

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00:49:30

#43 | Kelsey Pool: From Curiosity to Creation |...

Building Deep Tech ·

2024/12/14

In this episode, I speak with Kelsey Pool, a mechanical engineer, roboticist, and open-source advocate based in San Francisco:Kelsey shares her journey from studying mechanical engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder to working on groundbreaking projects in robotics and healthcare. We dive into her latest project, Zeroth-01 Bot—the world's smallest open-source end-to-end humanoid robot. Starting at just $350, it's designed to be accessible, fully hackable, and revolutionary for education

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00:50:12

#42 | Brandon King: When to Pivot, Make Bold...

Building Deep Tech ·

2024/12/04

Episode #42: with Brandon King, Mechanical Engineer and Robotics Enthusiast:In this episode, I speak with Brandon King, a Mechanical Engineering student at the University of Alabama, preparing to graduate in December 2024. Brandon brings experience from internships at Michelin and BLOX, as well as his leadership role on the Controls Team for the EcoCAR program. We explore his work in manufacturing and robotics, his approach to problem-solving in engineering, and the lessons he has learned through

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00:49:53

#41 | Christian Löchte: From Research to Robotics...

Building Deep Tech ·

2024/11/27

Episode #41, with Christian Löchte, Co-Founder of FORMHAND Automation GmbH, to explore the story behind their universal gripping technology:Christian shares his journey in robotics and mechanical engineering, spanning over 20 years, and how his passion for mechanics led to the creation of FORMHAND's flexible gripping modules. We talk about his upbringing, the challenges of building a high-tech startup, the unique applications of FORMHAND's gripping pads in logistics and production, and how they’re

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100 results

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