Patrick Sobalvarro

Chatting with ZEDEDA CEO, Said Ouissal, and he has an elegant way of explaining the evolution of industrial Edge. Zededa provides OS for orchestrating Edge AI. 2010s were about IoT/Edge Connectivity. 2020s were about Edge computing/processing. 2030s will be all about Edge AI.

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Reshoring manufacturing to the U.S. hinges entirely on advances in automation and robotics—and those advances, in turn, rely on next-generation tools like integrated development environments, foundation models, smart robotics skills, and flexible automation platforms. This isn’t merely an incremental shift; it’s the next industrial revolution. I estimate it will unlock up to $30 trillion in GDP over the next decade, as countries compete fiercely for leadership. Eclipse is our time!

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I’ve been working on the theory of why small, shippable factories are the perfect inversion to the centralized prefab factory model. It all collapsed into one line of math (credit to Gilles Retsin): Factory Efficiency = Usage × (Throughput × Product Value ) / ( CapEx + Deployment OpEx) The idea is that the closer you can drive Usage to 100 % while keeping the denominator tiny, the faster the flywheel spins.  A shippable microfactory tackles this by primarily focusing on a high Usage factor. Because the microfactory can be packed up afterwards and reused, its CapEx gets amortized over multiple projects, effectively raising its overall Usage across the year. If one project alone doesn’t fully occupy the factory, it can simply roll over to another job to maintain high Usage. Its CapEx is often an order of magnitude lower than a centralized factory (< $1M vs. $10-50M min), so the breakeven throughput is more achievable on a small pipeline of work. The real breakthrough here is portability. There is near-zero stranded capital and almost no idle time. To flesh this theory out, I wrote 3000 words on the topic for Brad Hargreaves and Thesis Driven. The article breaks down: - why “fixed factories, shipped goods” is being inverted to shipped factories, fixed goods - what a sub‑$1 M robotic cell does to CapEx per home versus a £45 M off‑site plant - early production/cost data on a shippable microfactory from Mollie Claypool, Gilles Retsin, Sam Baker and the Automated Architecture (AUAR) team - the hybrid reality of robots tackling the heavy structural components and human crews assembling faster and cheaper - technical constraints to pull this model off and future considerations on the optimal business model (own vs. rent) Major shoutout to Gilles Retsin for helping me pull this together. https://lnkd.in/eRTnbZPa

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There’s a massive opportunity in automating industrial manufacturing processes. That’s why we’re backing RobCo in their series C as they scale their physical AI driven robotics platform and expand their U.S. presence. As global labor supply continues to tighten, automation in manufacturing is shifting from “nice to have” to essential. RobCo's Robotics-as-a-Service model removes traditional friction, enabling rapid deployment and real production output in weeks – faster than most B2B software implementation timelines. In Roman Hölzl we immediately saw that rare leader – one who pairs a bold, long-term vision for transformative AI with a relentless focus on real-world productivity today. We couldn’t be more excited to back RobCo as they execute on an ambitious roadmap! Press release: https://lnkd.in/euCx6WX2 Roman Hölzl, Dennis Hauser, Arjan van Staveren, Stefan F. Heidenreich Lightspeed, Sequoia Capital, Kindred Capital VC, Greenfield Partners, Leitmotif, The Friedkin Group, Alexander Schmitt, Luciana Lixandru, Leila Rastegar Zegna, Marc Sieberger, Raz Mangel #Lingotto #LingottoInnovation #PhysicalAI cc Clemente Dadoo Lomeli

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Smart manufacturing startup CloEE | Berkeley SKYDECK'24 has raised $600,000 in Pre-Seed funding to reinvent industrial efficiency with AI. CloEE helps manufacturers unlock profit from every process by bridging machines, data systems, and frontline workers. The company's plug-and-play AI platform delivers seamless connectivity and analyzes data directly from industrial machines to provide real-time reports for continuous improvement, boosting overall equipment effectiveness (OEE). The round was co-led by Miro Vertanen and the Innovestor Angel Co-fund, with participation from Cariplo Iniziative and members of the Finnish Business Angels Network (FiBAN). The new funding will focus on R&D to explore how AI Agents can transform manufacturing platforms and will help CloEE expand sales in the Nordics, Italy, and the US. Congratulations to the co-founding team of Oleksandr Zadorozhnyi, Julia Sabitova, and Nick Gushchin. Tech.eu: https://lnkd.in/diDTqDst #IndustrialTech #Manufacturing #AI #IIoT #SmartFactory #PreSeed #Funding #VentureCapital #FinnishTech

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AI isn't just powering software. BrightAI just raised $51 million to automate inspection and other hardware-based AI capabilities. As Alexa von Tobel, co-founder of Inspired Capital put it: “So many people are so focused on the future of digital AI, but we’re excited about this new layer of AI: the physical world AI.” We are in the early innings of a series of AI-fueled innovations! https://lnkd.in/enhmafvH

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Impressive progress from our portfolio Array Labs with a $20m Series A to scale radar manufacturing and prepare for launch. Designing radar systems for mass manufacturing, borrowing from consumer electronics and telecoms, is a powerful unlock for cost, speed, and deployment at scale. The traction speaks for itself: nine-figure contracted revenue, multiple government awards, and expanding product lines. Exciting to see this next phase of execution begin. Learn more here: https://lnkd.in/e93jz4k8 #SpaceTech #DualUse #Radar #DefenceTech #NewSpace

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C10 Labs Expanding into the New England AI and innovation ecosystem! C10 Labs and RIHub have partnered to accelerate the growth of applied AI startups across Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The collaboration provides early-stage founders with shared resources, accelerator support, investor access, and mentorship in sectors like applied at the intersection of core sectors like health, energy, climate, biotech, and robotics. #AI #Startups #Innovation #NewEngland #VentureCapital. David Berlin Patricia Geli Beth Porter Marissa Flanagan

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Went deep with Heatmap News about the latest tariff fun times -- it's super important to realize that the US manufacturing ecosystem has atrophied enough that medium+ volume, non-defense startups are presently wise to start offshore until something changes. Have heard horror stories about cost structures simply not working unless you have sufficient volume to fully vertically integrate -- and that's before we increased tariffs on manufacturing inputs.

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