Building the Physical AI Stack | Travis Kalanick on TBPN

Building the Physical AI Stack | Travis Kalanick on TBPN – The a16z Show

Market views

Bullish

INDUSTRIALAI— Travis Kalanick's Atoms raised $1.7B to automate mining, food, and transportation industries with industrial AI, achieving 20-40% productivity gains in mining operations and demonstrating product-market fit across multiple sectors.
ROBOTICS— Massive opportunity in industrial robotics and automation, particularly in specialized non-humanoid robots for high-scale tasks. Example: one unnamed company spends $3.5B annually on forklift labor alone, representing significant automation potential.
MINING— Mining automation through autonomous systems is achieving proven productivity gains of 20-40% with strong customer demand and momentum. Technology has surpassed human-level productivity, creating compelling ROI for mine operators.

Bearish

TRIALLAW— Trial lawyers face structural headwind from autonomous vehicles becoming safer, reducing accident rates and litigation opportunities. Industry actively fighting back against autonomous vehicle adoption due to threat to business model.

Not investment advice.