# $2B for No Product, Robots Under $3K & Australia's Massive Miss

- Show: [Built 2 Scale](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/built-2-scale)
- Published: 2025-06-27
- Length: 1h 34m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/built-2-scale/2025-06-27-2b-for-no-product-robots-under-3k-australias-massive-miss
- Listen: https://b2spod.captivate.fm

## Summary

Hosts Matt Perrott and Scott Wilcox discuss the AI talent war, highlighted by Thinking Machines raising a $2B seed round with no product, and the democratization of robotics through Hugging Face's sub-$3K humanoid robots. They analyze the Limitless AI pendant as a wearable note-taker and coach, while debating the 'de-optimization' movement against excessive health tracking. The episode concludes with a critique of Australia's energy policy and cultural barriers, proposing an innovation hub in Darwin or Geelong to leverage local resources.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/built-2-scale/2025-06-27-2b-for-no-product-robots-under-3k-australias-massive-miss#t=0) Introduction: Noosa Beach and Office Move
- [4:21](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/built-2-scale/2025-06-27-2b-for-no-product-robots-under-3k-australias-massive-miss#t=261) Limitless Pendant Review and Wearable AI
- [10:18](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/built-2-scale/2025-06-27-2b-for-no-product-robots-under-3k-australias-massive-miss#t=618) The De-optimization Movement and Future Watches
- [17:53](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/built-2-scale/2025-06-27-2b-for-no-product-robots-under-3k-australias-massive-miss#t=1073) Future of Work: AI Orchestrators and Multitasking
- [25:41](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/built-2-scale/2025-06-27-2b-for-no-product-robots-under-3k-australias-massive-miss#t=1541) Thinking Machines $2B Round and AI Talent War
- [32:12](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/built-2-scale/2025-06-27-2b-for-no-product-robots-under-3k-australias-massive-miss#t=1932) 11 Labs, Y Combinator Startups, and Acquisitions
- [43:04](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/built-2-scale/2025-06-27-2b-for-no-product-robots-under-3k-australias-massive-miss#t=2584) Y Combinator AI Startup School and Elon Musk
- [57:46](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/built-2-scale/2025-06-27-2b-for-no-product-robots-under-3k-australias-massive-miss#t=3466) Robot Rundown: SoftBank, Tesla, and Hugging Face
- [1:11:27](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/built-2-scale/2025-06-27-2b-for-no-product-robots-under-3k-australias-massive-miss#t=4287) Tool of the Week: iPhone Home Screen Optimization
- [1:18:44](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/built-2-scale/2025-06-27-2b-for-no-product-robots-under-3k-australias-massive-miss#t=4724) Australia's Energy Crisis and Innovation Hub Vision

## Topics

- [Microcontrollers & dev platforms](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/microcontrollers-and-platforms)
- [AI & machine learning](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/ai-and-machine-learning)
- [Robotics & autonomy](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/robotics-and-autonomy)
- [Policy, trade & tariffs](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/policy-trade-and-tariffs)
- [Starting a product company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/starting-a-company)
- [Careers & education](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/engineering-careers-and-education)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- Thinking Machines (company)
- Limitless (product)
- Hugging Face (company)
- 11 Labs (company)
- Y Combinator (company)
- SoftBank (company)
- Tesla (company)
- Waymo (company)
- Figure AI (company)
- OpenAI (company)
- ChatGPT (product)
- iPhone (product)
- Slack (product)
- WeChat (product)
- Perplexity (product)
- Raycast (product)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [From the barn to the bar: AI powered robots](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robot-report-podcast/2024-04-19-from-the-barn-to-the-bar-ai-powered-robots) (The Robot Report Podcast)
- [Robo Fry Guy](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2022-10-10-robo-fry-guy) (The Amp Hour)
- [Kyle Vogt, founder of Twitch, Cruise, and The Bot Company, on AI, home robotics, and small-team innovation](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/go-no-go/2025-12-05-kyle-vogt-founder-of-twitch-cruise-and-the-bot-company-on-ai-home-robotics-and-s) (Go/No-Go)
- [104. Recapping 2022](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-next-byte-podcast/2023-01-10-104-recapping-2022) (The Next Byte Podcast)
- [2023 year in review: GenAI, humanoids dominate robotics industry](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robot-report-podcast/2023-12-21-2023-year-in-review-genai-humanoids-dominate-robotics-industry) (The Robot Report Podcast)

## Citing this page

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