Impulse Labs founder and CEO Sam D’Amico joins ARK’s Brett Winton and Sam Korus to explore how embedding batteries into appliances—starting with the humble kitchen stove—can rewire energy infrastructure from the inside out. From his time at Oculus and Google to pioneering a 10,000-watt induction cooktop, Sam shares how Impulse is building what he calls the “modern electric technology stack,” and why that could make Impulse the Tesla of home devices.
Key Points From This Episode:
- (00:00:00) Intro
- (00:01:00) Why ARK is excited about Impulse Labs
- (00:03:20) From Oculus to appliances — Sam’s founder story
- (00:06:40) Why embedding batteries transforms the home
- (00:08:20) “The battery of things” vs. “the internet of things”
- (00:10:30) How induction cooking works — and what Impulse improves
- (00:13:30) Building a 10,000-watt coil and keeping it safe
- (00:17:35) Precision temperature control and AI-powered cooking
- (00:20:17) Using the stove’s battery as grid storage
- (00:23:59) How battery-backed appliances help with installation and energy resilience
- (00:26:30) Beyond stoves — expanding into HVAC, water heaters, laundry, and more
- (00:30:35) Distributed batteries vs. centralized storage
- (00:34:00) Infrastructure benefits from embedded storage
- (00:38:20) Why performance, not just sustainability, drives electrification
- (00:40:52) Scaling manufacturing and the factory as a product
- (00:44:03) KPIs: Deployed devices and battery gigawatt hours
- (00:47:18) Microwave experiments and future applications
- (00:49:17) The appliance market’s legacy and Impulse’s edge
- (00:51:05) The original pizza obsession that sparked the idea
