CC Pod Predictive Maintenance for a Smarter, More Resilient Grid (with Joseph Kao of Magnefy)
Dec 4, 2025
Joseph Kao, Founder and CEO of Magnefy and a Stanford spinout expert in predictive maintenance, discusses his journey from Taiwan to transforming power infrastructure. He reveals how his non-invasive magnetic sensors and edge AI forecast failures months in advance, helping utilities avoid costly outages. The conversation touches on the significant aging infrastructure challenges, the pivot to a software-first approach, and the importance of starting small while solving specific problems for greater impact.
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Recycling Roots Shaped His Mission
- Joseph grew up recycling with grandparents who fled to Taiwan, which shaped his view that resources must be reused.
- That upbringing led him to study materials science and pivot to energy and circularity work at Apple and beyond.
Aging Transformers Are A Hidden Crisis
- More than 65% of transformers are over 35 years old and many are near end-of-life.
- Aging equipment plus electrification sharply increases failure risk and grid stress.
Bandwidth Unlocks Early Fault Detection
- High-frequency magnetic sensing captures rich signals across DC to 200 MHz that reveal early failure modes.
- The wider the bandwidth and sensitivity, the earlier and more accurately you detect hidden faults.