The Techne Connect

In this episode we speak with Cindy Comer , VP of SMS Certification and Quality at Wisk , about building the safety foundation for autonomous air taxis. Cindy shares her path from electrical engineering and systems integration into certification, and explains why she values requirements flow down, test planning, and working directly with regulators. She reflects on joining Merlin Labs as an early...

In this episode we speak with Thomas Forner , Co-Founder and CEO of Focused Energy , about building a fusion company designed to bring clean, safe and abundant baseload power to the grid. Thomas shares his path from corporate startups and software ventures into deep tech, and explains why fusion became the mission worth dedicating a decade of his life to. He reflects on the importance of timing, s...

In this episode we speak with Aleksey Matyushev , CEO and Co-Founder of Natilus , about his journey from aerospace engineering to building a new aircraft manufacturer. Aleksey shares how his family’s early hustle in Ukraine shaped his mindset, then covers lessons from earlier startups, including speed to market, supplier leverage, and pushing products out before perfection. The conversation moves...

In this episode we speak with Hui Du , Co-Founder and CTO of Ampcera , about building next generation battery technology and scaling battery innovation in the US. Hui shares his journey from rural China into engineering, entrepreneurship, and clean tech leadership. He reflects on how early leadership experience, a strong technical foundation, and hard moments in his career shaped his path into fou...

In this episode we speak with Philip Hover-Smoot , CEO at Atlas Cup , about creating a new category of professional sport in space. Philip shares his path from aviation, law, and aerospace defence into the commercial space sector, and explains how Atlas Cup plans to bring satellite racing to low Earth orbit using existing spacecraft, propulsion, and mission operations technology. He breaks down th...

In this episode we speak with Dustin Hicks , Head of Growth at Aurelius Systems , about directed energy, counter UAS, and accelerating defence innovation. Dustin shares his non traditional path from US Army military intelligence to defence acquisition, and how early exposure to uncrewed systems shaped his career. He reflects on urgent operational needs, rapid fielding, and the difference between r...

In this episode we speak with Henry Yu , Founding Software Engineer at Sunday Robotics , about building AI powered home robots designed to automate everyday tasks. Henry shares how he moved from coding projects and robotics competitions into startups and large scale software systems before joining Sunday during its earliest stage. He explains why robotics requires engineers from multiple disciplin...

In this episode Fabien Lepoutre , VP of Engineering at NoFence , shares how the company is building the world’s first virtual fencing platform for ruminants, from collar hardware to cloud infrastructure and mobile app. Fabien explains how NoFence collars enforce virtual boundaries using audio cues and a gentle pulse, why livestock adapts fast, and how the company has scaled to more than 150,000 co...

In this episode we speak with Julie Newman , VP of Engineering at Outpost , about building a next generation space reentry vehicle and shaping the future of in space logistics. Julie walks through her journey from Caltech to SpaceX, NASA JPL and Boeing, including her work on the Europa Clipper mission to Jupiter. She explains why she transitioned from large aerospace primes to startup leadership a...

In this episode we speak with Alex Wust , CEO and co founder of Wargdrones , about building defence technology that solves real battlefield problems. Alex shares his unconventional path from acting into a family run defence company, before founding Wargdrones with a clear focus on decision making, accountability, and operator led development. The conversation explores how early concepts pivoted fr...

In this episode we speak with Vinaey Kalyan , Director of Powertrain at Rivian , about launching the R2 and building EV systems from clean sheet to production. Vinaey shares his journey from electrical and mechanical engineering into turbo machinery, founding a solar startup, and spending over a decade at Honeywell before stepping into Rivian during its early growth phase. He reflects on leading t...

In this episode we speak with Kevin Stadnyk , co-founder and CEO of Obruta Space , about building autonomous spacecraft software to enable the in space economy. Kevin shares his journey from aerospace engineering and graduate research into entrepreneurship, including early lessons from starting during the pandemic and pivoting from space debris removal to autonomy software. The discussion explores...

In this episode of Behind the Power, we sit down with Puneeth Kalavase to explore how grid scale batteries, software, and data science are enabling higher penetration of renewables. They discuss grid stability, AI driven power demand, VPPs, EV integration, and the changing role of storage in modern power systems. Puneeth also shares his personal journey from physics and climate research into opera...

In this episode of The Techne Connect Behind the Vision, Stuart Landesberg , Founder and CEO of Seneca , shares his journey from serial entrepreneur to building autonomous wildfire response technology in California. Stuart explains how personal experience with wildfires led him to create Seneca, a company developing autonomous suppression drones designed to stop fires while they are still small. H...

In this episode we speak with Rob DeMillo , CEO and co-founder of Sophia Space , about commercialising compute in orbit. Rob shares his journey from JPL and the FAA into a 30 year entrepreneurial career spanning media, cloud computing and now space infrastructure. He explains how Sophia Space emerged from research into space based power and evolved into a company building high performance, passive...

In this episode we speak with Daniel Li , a clean energy executive with experience building solar and battery manufacturing facilities across the US and Europe. Daniel shares the moment that shifted his work from job to mission, after reading his son’s words about solar and the responsibility to leave a better world. They explore what it takes to build and ramp factories, how to lead teams across...

In this episode of The Techne Connect, Andy Blatchford shares his journey from farm-raised mechanical engineer to Chief Engineer in AeroVironment’s Precision Strike and Defensive Solutions group. Andy walks through his path from Raytheon Missile Systems into the drone space, including what he learned from flight testing, systems engineering rigour, and leading complex programmes under pressure. He...

In this episode of Behind the Robot, we speak with Niall McGrath , founder and CEO of Robocean . Niall shares how Robocean uses amphibious robots to scale seagrass restoration, helping organisations meet environmental compensation requirements. He also covers founder lessons, early field trials, and why robotics is becoming essential for marine recovery at scale. This episode offers clear insight...

In this episode of Behind the Power we speak with Zamiyad Dar, Senior Director of Energy Storage at Pivot Energy . Zamiyad shares his path from power systems engineering in Pakistan to a PhD in the US, then into roles at GE, New York ISO, Entergy, and finally Pivot Energy. He explains how early work integrating a large scale flywheel energy storage system shaped his confidence, and why taking risk...

In this episode we speak with Andrew Rush , co-founder and CEO of Star Catcher , about building the world’s first energy grid in space. Andrew shares his path from physics into patent law, then into space entrepreneurship, including his experience scaling Made In Space. He explains why customers buy capability, not technology, and how Star Catcher breaks an infrastructure scale vision into practic...

In this episode we spoke with Andrew Chang from Rsquared about investing in national resilience and what it means in practice. Andrew shares his route from Army counterintelligence into startups, cybersecurity, and building an incubator that helped founders work with government, before joining R Squared. He explains why the firm avoids being labelled a pure defence fund, and how their thesis spans...

Recorded onsite at Soda Auto’s SDV Hub, this episode takes you inside the thinking behind software defined vehicles. You hear from Sergey Malygin , Founder and CEO, as he shares his journey from building Arrival’s software platform to founding Soda. He explains the mission to simplify automotive software development, reduce cost and time, and unify requirements, architecture, testing, and deployme...

In this episode we speak with Erik Daehler , Senior Vice President of Sierra Space’s Defense organisation, focused on delivering national security satellite capabilities including missile warning and tracking. Erik shares how a hands-on childhood, from rebuilding cars to fixing pinball machines, shaped his engineering mindset, and how early work in remote sensing at NASA took on new urgency after...

In this episode we speak with Nico Perrin , founder of PERRINN 424 and a veteran of Formula One, Le Mans, and Formula E. Nico explains his ambition to close the performance gap between electric motorsport and Formula One by developing a digital first, fully electric race car designed to challenge the Nürburgring Nordschleife lap record. He shares his journey from race engineer and designer in Form...

In this episode of Behind The Robot, Adam Ewing speaks with Tyler Bouchard , CEO and co-founder of Flexxbotics . Tyler explains how modern manufacturing is shifting toward software defined automation and why orchestration, interoperability, and autonomy sit at the centre of scalable robotics adoption. He shares his journey from mechanical engineering and industrial automation into building Flexxbo...