# An Interview with Chrissy Meyer

- Show: [The Amp Hour](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour)
- Published: 2019-04-08
- Length: 1h 08m
- Episode: 437
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2019-04-08-an-interview-with-chrissy-meyer
- Listen: https://theamphour.com/437-an-interview-with-chrissy-meyer/

## Summary

Chrissy Meyer, partner at Root Ventures, discusses her career at Apple and Square, detailing the massive scale of manufacturing for products like the iPhone and Apple Watch, and the critical importance of Design for Manufacturing (DFM). She explains how her experience debugging production lines and managing supply chains informs her current role investing in and advising early-stage hardware startups, emphasizing the need for technical founders to understand production realities. Meyer also highlights Root Ventures' focus on deep technical due diligence and their investment in companies like Instrumental that bring machine learning to factory floors.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2019-04-08-an-interview-with-chrissy-meyer#t=0) Introduction and Root Ventures Overview
- [11:02](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2019-04-08-an-interview-with-chrissy-meyer#t=662) Apple Career and Mass Production Scale
- [28:03](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2019-04-08-an-interview-with-chrissy-meyer#t=1683) Manufacturing Challenges and Glue Machines
- [30:13](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2019-04-08-an-interview-with-chrissy-meyer#t=1813) Design for Manufacturing (DFM) Best Practices
- [45:15](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2019-04-08-an-interview-with-chrissy-meyer#t=2715) Square and Cost-Reduced Hardware
- [49:32](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2019-04-08-an-interview-with-chrissy-meyer#t=2972) Startup Failure: Pearl Automation
- [53:32](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2019-04-08-an-interview-with-chrissy-meyer#t=3212) Investing in Hardware and Manufacturing Tech

## Topics

- [Design for manufacturing & NPI](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/design-for-manufacturing)
- [Manufacturing partners & offshoring](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/manufacturing-partners)
- [Scaling production](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/scaling-production)
- [Fundraising & investors](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/fundraising)
- [AI & machine learning](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/ai-and-machine-learning)

## Most relevant to

large enterprises, early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- Root Ventures (company)
- Apple (company)
- Square (company)
- Pearl Automation (company)
- Instrumental (company)
- Foxconn (company)
- DJI (company)
- iPhone (product)
- Apple Watch (product)
- iPod Touch (product)
- Pearl (tool)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Tony Fadell on AI; hidden risks in batteries; revisiting the Galaxy Note 7](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/go-no-go/2025-10-07-tony-fadell-on-ai-hidden-risks-in-batteries-revisiting-the-galaxy-note-7) (Go/No-Go)
- [S5E33 Devon Copeland | Working for Apple & Tesla, Building a Better MFG Execution System (MES)](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2024-08-16-s5e33-devon-copeland-working-for-apple-tesla-building-a-better-mfg-execution-sys) (Being an Engineer)
- [296: The Art of Building in the Age of AI with Baukunst Co-Founder Tyler Mincey](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2026-07-17-296-the-art-of-building-in-the-age-of-ai-with-baukunst-co-founder-tyler-mincey) (Manufacturing Happy Hour)
- [S6E47 Brogan Miller | Being a Doula for Hardware Startups, Manufacturing in Asia, and How to Start Networking](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2025-11-21-s6e47-brogan-miller-being-a-doula-for-hardware-startups-manufacturing-in-asia-an) (Being an Engineer)
- [Venture Capital, Manufacturing, & Single Malt Scotch with Exposition Ventures' Karen Kerr](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2021-02-09-venture-capital-manufacturing-single-malt-scotch-with-exposition-ventures-karen) (Manufacturing Happy Hour)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2019-04-08-an-interview-with-chrissy-meyer. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to The Amp Hour.