LtM ep14 - The State and Opportunities In Robotics, with Fady Saad of MassRobotics

MassRobotics helps startups commercialize innovations in robotics. Its ecosystem includes 350 startups, 40 corporates and over 100 VCs, PEs and LPs they advise. In this episode, Fady Saad talks about trends, acquisitions, failures and what has changed over the past decade in robotics. It is a little crash course on the robotics market.

This podcast is hosted by Benjamin Joffe (@benjaminjoffe), Partner at SOSV, a global early stage fund focused on deep tech. SOSV runs multiple accelerator programs including HAX (intelligent hardware) and IndieBio (life sciences).

To hear about new episodes, sign up to the newsletter or follow us on twitter at @LabToMarket or @SOSV.

OVERVIEW

Robotics often conjures images of giant factories or sci-fi dystopias. But what is the reality beyond the hype and fear?

Fady Saad is a former engineer who got exposed to cutting edge technologies of DARPA, NASA, the NSF and the AirForce. He grew a passion for robotics and founded MassRobotics in Boston as a robotics ‘escalator’ to help companies commercialize their innovations.

• It is now a cluster of 350 robotics companies, 50 resident startups and 40 strategic partners.
• They advise 150 VC firms, as well as investment banks, PE funds and corporates like GM and Lockheed Martin.

In this conversation, the most important takeaway is that robotics today is vastly different from 10 years ago. We also discuss:

• The nature of robots,
• The power of complex systems and emerging properties,
• The difficulty of finding viable business applications,
• Why we have a Roomba instead of a two-armed Rosey,
• Trends, Acquisitions (over $8 billion in 2019), Failures,
• The legacy of Willow Garage,
• How to apply lean startup to robotics,
• What successful companies do beyond tech skills and raising capital.

For other episodes covering robotics, listen to our podcasts with Robert Gallenberger (btov Partners), Kelly Chen (DCVC) and John Ho (Anzu Partners).

RECENT EPISODES

14. How Khosla Ventures Invests In Deep Tech — Kanu Gulati and Rajesh Swaminathan

13. Phil Morle (Main Sequence Ventures) on Australia's Deep Tech Ambitions

12. Habib Haddad and Calvin Chin (E14 Fund of MIT Media Lab) on Funding Science Fiction That Works

11. Robert Gallenberger (btov Partners) on How to Select Industrial Partners

RESOURCES ON DEEP TECH

• DeepTech Investing Report by