Hardware Podcasts

135: Obi is Back

Thoroughly Considered · 16 Sept 2026 · 42m · Episode 135

AI in practice: one real use of AI described

What this episode covers

Tom Gerhardt and Dan Provost of Studio Neat discuss 'Obi,' an internal AI operations bot they built using Claude and Markdown documents to streamline inventory planning and ad analysis. The hosts also analyze the new iPhone Duo, debating its foldable form factor, under-screen camera technology, and the implications for future Apple hardware. Finally, Dan Provost offers a defense of flush door handles on EVs, specifically praising the visual affordance and locking status indication on the Kia EV9 compared to poorly implemented competitors like Tesla.

AI in practice

Where this conversation describes AI being used to build or deliver a product. Part of the AI in practice tracker.

Running the companyClaude

The team used Claude to compress long voice dictations of business operations into structured markdown documents, creating a legible knowledge base that connects to their data sources for inventory planning and ad analysis.

“I just was chatting with Claude, like, okay, hey, we want to do something that like gets us these goals … And what it ended up being is it's basically like a series of like 8 markdown documents. … Claude takes that and compresses it into like a formatted life, almost like a knowledge base.”

Speaker 2 · Hear it at 3:59

Most relevant to

early-stage companies

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Studio Neat, Tesla
Products
Obi, iPhone Duo, Kia EV9, Model 3
Tools
Claude, AirTable, Shopify

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