# Ep 3 -The Hardware Story of Miko Robotics w/ Sneh | Building Conversational learning Robots for Kids

- Show: [The Hardware Story](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-hardware-story)
- Published: 2025-01-15
- Length: 1h 27m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-hardware-story/2025-01-15-ep-3-the-hardware-story-of-miko-robotics-w-sneh-building-conversational-learning
- Listen: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/thehardwarestory/episodes/Ep-3--The-Hardware-Story-of-Miko-Robotics-w-Sneh--Building-Conversational-learning-Robots-for-Kids-e2t66le

## Summary

Sneh Vaswani, Co-Founder and CEO of Miko Robotics, details the journey of building a conversational learning robot for children, from prototyping in Mumbai to scaling global retail distribution. He explains how the team used Quality Function Deployment (QFD) and 23 product pilots with 50,000 kids to validate the product before launching, and discusses the strategic importance of IP defensibility and raising venture capital from operator-investors. Vaswani also shares insights on navigating manufacturing partnerships, overcoming supply chain disruptions during the pandemic, and achieving profitability with over half a million devices shipped.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-hardware-story/2025-01-15-ep-3-the-hardware-story-of-miko-robotics-w-sneh-building-conversational-learning#t=0) Introduction and Company Background
- [8:09](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-hardware-story/2025-01-15-ep-3-the-hardware-story-of-miko-robotics-w-sneh-building-conversational-learning#t=489) Product Validation and Prototyping Strategy
- [14:18](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-hardware-story/2025-01-15-ep-3-the-hardware-story-of-miko-robotics-w-sneh-building-conversational-learning#t=858) Go-to-Market and Retail Expansion
- [19:12](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-hardware-story/2025-01-15-ep-3-the-hardware-story-of-miko-robotics-w-sneh-building-conversational-learning#t=1152) Intellectual Property and Defensibility
- [40:39](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-hardware-story/2025-01-15-ep-3-the-hardware-story-of-miko-robotics-w-sneh-building-conversational-learning#t=2439) Fundraising and Investor Selection
- [1:04:01](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-hardware-story/2025-01-15-ep-3-the-hardware-story-of-miko-robotics-w-sneh-building-conversational-learning#t=3841) Manufacturing and Supply Chain Challenges
- [1:20:20](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-hardware-story/2025-01-15-ep-3-the-hardware-story-of-miko-robotics-w-sneh-building-conversational-learning#t=4820) Pandemic Response and Quality Control

## Topics

- [Prototyping & iteration](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/prototyping)
- [Fundraising & investors](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/fundraising)
- [Manufacturing partners & offshoring](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/manufacturing-partners)
- [Intellectual property](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/intellectual-property)
- [Retail, wholesale & distribution](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/retail-and-distribution)
- [Quality & yield](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/quality-and-yield)

## Most relevant to

companies scaling up

## Mentioned

- Miko Robotics (company)
- Hamleys (company)
- Flipkart (company)
- Siemens (company)
- Altair (company)
- IIT Bombay (company)
- Chroma (company)
- Amazon (company)
- Miko 1 (product)
- Miko 3 (product)
- Alexa (product)
- Google Home (product)
- Raspberry Pi (chip)
- BeagleBone (chip)
- PCT (tool)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [From Corporate World to Freelancing to Running a Hardware Startup with Roberto Weiser of Developpa](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/predictable-designs-podcast/2020-06-29-from-corporate-world-to-freelancing-to-running-a-hardware-startup-with-roberto-w) (Predictable Designs Podcast)
- [S1 E4: Cracking the Code of Hardware Manufacturing with Scott Miller](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-builder-circle/2023-05-15-s1-e4-cracking-the-code-of-hardware-manufacturing-with-scott-miller) (The Builder Circle)
- [KiwiCo: Sandra Oh Lin](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-12-25-kiwico-sandra-oh-lin) (How I Built This)
- [S3 E7: Building Bootstrapped Hardware That Sells with Christian Reed](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-builder-circle/2026-01-13-s3-e7-building-bootstrapped-hardware-that-sells-with-christian-reed) (The Builder Circle)
- [Fictiv’s Dave Evans on designing robots for manufacturability; inside Jibo’s revival](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robot-report-podcast/2020-10-21-fictivs-dave-evans-on-designing-robots-for-manufacturability-inside-jibos-reviva) (The Robot Report Podcast)

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