Building Deep Tech with Ilir Aliu

In this episode, I talk with Antoine Van Malleghem, a robotics engineer and Co-Founder of Botronics:They are building the next-generation autonomous golf trolley using machine learning, and advanced computer vision.Antoine shares his journey from IT consultancy to robotics entrepreneurship, why he took a pay cut to follow his passion and the technical challenges of developing AI-driven autonomous systems. Building a company is tough.Antoine and his co-founder, Eric Piraux, had to return to consulting temporarily to fund their journey. But that didn’t shake them; they knew exactly why they were doing it.Had a great time recording this one, especially showing other forms of robots! Hope you enjoy the episode!

My newest guest is Frédéric Legrand, a founding engineer at Phospho (YC W24), an AI company based in Paris focused on making AI robotics more accessible.Frédéric grew up in France but spent nearly a decade in Hong Kong before returning for his higher education. With a passion for building (both in software and hardware), he’s now working on helping machine learning engineers get started with AI in robotics.At Phospho, he’s building SDKs, tutorials, and dev kits to make real-world robotics more approachable, all in Python.We discuss his journey into AI robotics, how Phospho is simplifying robotics development, and why lowering the entry barrier is crucial for the next wave of intelligent automation.Hope you enjoy this one!

In this episode, I talk with Sankaet Pathak, founder of Foundation. Their first product? A humanoid robot built for real-world tasks:Foundation is an advanced technology company developing autonomous machines. Why start with humanoids?To automate labour across manufacturing, logistics, and defence. Sankaet shares his journey from computer engineering and physics at the University of Memphis to leading AI and robotics innovation.We discuss why current AI models struggle with real-world physics, why Foundation is taking a different approach to autonomy, and what it will take to bring humanoid robots from labs to everyday work.This episode is packed with bold ideas and hard tech insights; hope you enjoy it!

This week, I talked with Aadeel Akhtar, PhD Akhtar, CEO and Founder of PSYONIC, a company redefining prosthetics with AI-powered bionic limbs: You might have seen him on Shark Tank or heard about PSYONIC’s Ability Hand, an advanced prosthetic that’s setting new standards for accessibility and performance.Aadeel’s story is fascinating. He started out studying neuroscience and medicine and then pivoted to building next-generation bionics.We discuss his journey from academia to entrepreneurship, what it takes to scale deep tech hardware, and why the future of prosthetics isn’t just for humans, but also for robots.It’s an inspiring convo packed with insights on deep tech, AI, and building a real-world impact startup, its low lows and high highs and how to make it through!

In this episode, I talk with Usman Roshan, founder of 7Xrobotics and Associate Professor in AI and Machine Learning at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. Usman and his co-founder are building autonomous household robots designed to tackle everyday tasks like dishwashing and laundry folding; turning AI into real, practical solutions for the home.We discuss his journey from academia to robotics entrepreneurship, his research on deep learning models for video understanding, and how he’s developing affordable, AI-powered robots with a total cost of around $7,000.Usman shares insights on the challenges of building a working product, what it takes to bridge AI research with real-world applications, his passion for art and what things to consider from a business point of view.It was a fascinating conversation... hope you enjoy today’s episode!

In today's 51st episode, I talk to Adrian Macneil, Co-Founder and CEO of Foxglove: Adrian Macneil is the Co-Founder & CEO of Foxglove, a purpose-built robotics development platform to increase the GDP of robotics. Coming from New Zealand with a degree in Computer Science, Adrian knew early on that his home country wasn’t big enough for his ambitions. He moved to San Francisco, the center of entrepreneurship and tech startups. He was an early employee at Coinbase, working long hours through its highs and lows, before joining Cruise, where he built large-scale infrastructure for autonomous vehicles. In this episode, he shares his experience as a deep tech founder, the challenges of building a platform for robotics development tools, why he sees Rust as the future of robotics, and why starting a company means committing at least 10 years to solving a real problem. This episode is for you if you're a founder, or engineer working in AI, robotics or deep tech.

I sit down with the Founder and CEO of Synapticon, Nikolai Ensslen: Nikolai Ensslen and Andrija Feher are the founders of Synapticon, a company reshaping motion control for robotics and industrial automation. He shares his journey from studying Engineering Science at the University of Bayreuth to building and leading a global company that seamlessly integrates servo drives, sensors, brakes, and functional safety into AI-powered systems. Nikolai shares his early influences - growing up in a creative household, with parents deeply involved in art and design, and a father renowned in marketing. Despite this artistic environment, Nikolai gravitated toward technology from an early age. He reflects on the challenges of standing out (like carrying a laptop in the mid-90s) and how countless hours spent with his university’s first racing team shaped his resilience. That resilience, he says, has been invaluable in his entrepreneurial journey. Also about the real economics behind robotics, and how Europe stacks up against the rest of the world in deep tech innovation. A fascinating conversation with strong opinions—don’t miss this one!

In this episode, I sit down with Sanjeev Sharma, the visionary Founder and CEO of Swaayatt Robots. Sanjeev shares his journey from academia to building autonomous driving technology that thrives in India's uniquely chaotic and adversarial traffic conditions. We discuss his decision to forego a PhD opportunity at UMass Amherst to bootstrap Swaayatt Robots, how he demonstrated autonomous navigation on Indian roads (a global first!!) and the incredible potential for autonomous systems in military and civilian applications. Sanjeev’s story is one of persistence and hard work, with insights on navigating stochastic traffic, motion planning, reinforcement learning, and working and planning with limited resources. It’s a fascinating look at how cutting-edge technology can tackle some of the world's toughest challenges.

In my latest episode, I talk to the Progressive Robotics Co-Founder & CEO Fotis Dimeas: In this episode of Kinematic Conversations, I speak with Fotis Dimeas, who moved from an academic career to co-founding Progressive Robotics, a deep-tech spin-off making robotics better for manufacturing and logistics. Fotis shares his journey from earning a Ph.D. in Robotics at the University of Patras to his research at Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. We discuss the challenges of closing the "valley of death" between research and industry and the vision behind Progressive Robotics: making robots smarter, safer, and easier to use. Tune in to hear about the realities of deep-tech entrepreneurship, the value of focusing on hands-on efforts (like spending time on the shop floor), and a closer look at Progressive Robotics' work, including side-picking solutions for palletizing and depalletizing.

Ep 47: Robert MacKenzie former CTO and Chief Product Officer of ANYbotics: Robert is originally from Canada but has spent more than half of his life in Europe. He completed his bachelor's degree in Canada before moving to Germany, where he earned his master’s at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT). His journey eventually led him to Zurich, where he completed his PhD at ETH Zurich. Over the years, Robert has worked as a senior project manager and executive in various companies before joining ANYbotics. In this episode, we talk about Robert’s journey and his studies, career milestones, and the challenges he’s faced along the way. We also explore his passion for working with people, building teams, and creating practical solutions that address real-world problems.