Before broken supply chains and resilient manufacturing were top of mind globally, forward-thinkers were already focused on solutions for digitizing these old-line industries that drew from their unique backgrounds. Saar Yoskovitz applied his academic research around speech recognition on industrial machines to detect and predict malfunctions, and went on to co-found Augury. Lior Susan parlayed his experience fueling innovation for one of the world's largest electronics manufacturers into a career investing in digital transformation as founding partner of Eclipse Ventures. 

Their shared conviction to realize Industry 4.0 through company building now seems prophetic. The success of their parallel journeys thus far involve commitment to a vision few others had and finding the right allies along the way.

Show Notes:

McKinsey: COVID-19: An inflection point for Industry 4.0

YouTube: Augury: An Industry 4.0 Unicorn

Eclipse: The Inflection Point for the Industrial Evolution

Some staggering stats: Over 90 percent of falls in memory-care facilities go unwitnessed, resulting in an industry average discovery time of 40 minutes. Worried that his mother may one day succumb to the history of Alzheimer's disease in her family, computer scientist George Netscher left his Ph.D. work at UC Berkeley's top-ranked AI research lab to launch a company focused on detecting and preventing falls through the use of computer vision and artificial intelligence. That company is SafelyYou, and George along with his COO, Shirley Nickels, join Eclipse Partner Justin Butler to share their inspiring progress and passion for elevating and evolving dementia care.

Show notes:

YouTube: SafelyYou - Using AI to Detect and Prevent Falls

TechCrunch: When grandma falls, SafelyYou is there to catch her (on video)

Eclipse: Investing in Healthcare Infrastructure

In our data-driven age, today's mainstream businesses need a combination of both cloud and “on premises” infrastructure with the same level of capabilities as tech giants like Amazon, Microsoft and Google. But the server racks they buy from traditional OEMs are still designed with software and hardware based on legacy architectures from the 1980s and '90s. So says industry veterans Bryan Cantrill and Jessie Frazelle, two of the founders of Oxide Computer Company, which is building a modern, vertically integrated on-prem solution that will allow enterprises to own — not rent — essential cloud capacity.

In conversation with Eclipse Partners Seth Winterroth and Kushagra Vaid, Bryan and Jessie also discuss the humanity of their deeply technical venture, through early implementation of their core values in the company and inspirational advice for future founders.

Show notes:

Oxide Computer Company: Initial Boot Sequence

The Cost of Cloud, a Trillion Dollar Paradox

Andrew Feldman, whose company Cerebras Systems makes the world’s largest computer chip to accelerate grand artificial-intelligence applications ranging from drug discovery to new-materials research, discusses what it takes to launch a generational company, and where the biggest entrepreneurial opportunities lie as the AI revolution unfolds across society.

In conversation with Eclipse Ventures' Kushagra Vaid, Andrew shares his experience with taking on mission-impossible challenges and explains that deep-tech builders would do better to fail in the pursuit of doing something extraordinary rather than thinking incrementally.

More info:

Cerebras Systems

IEEE Spectrum – Cerebras’ New Monster AI Chip Adds 1.4 Trillion Transistors

Eclipse Ventures

Our first episode is packed with first-hand insights into how our economy and bedrock industries are being transformed by autonomous systems, cloud computing, machine learning and other innovations. Kushagra Vaid and Lior Susan of Eclipse Ventures demystify digital transformation by discussing how these advanced technologies are being applied in the real world, through full-stack solutions built by companies like Bright Machines and Reliable Robotics, which, respectively, embody the future of smart manufacturing and commercial aviation.

More info

Bright Machines

Reliable Robotics

Eclipse Ventures

Medium: Introducing the Industrial Evolution Podcast