How Industrial AI Will Digitize Food, Mining, and Transport
Former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick has resurfaced to unveil his latest venture, Adams, a company aiming to trigger the next industrial revolution through physical AI. By treating physical industries—like food production, real estate, and mining—as programmable atoms, Adams plans to automate multi-trillion-dollar sectors using advanced robotics and industrial software. This strategic pivot from digital ride-sharing to hard-tech industrial automation signals a massive shift in how Silicon Valley approaches legacy infrastructure.
Points clés
- Travis Kalanick introduces his new startup, Adams, which focuses on “industrial AI” to digitize the physical world by treating physical atoms like digital bits.
- Adams is building a “food computer” that automates food production and robotic logistics, aiming to reduce the cost of a prepared meal to between $6 and $8.
- In the mining sector, Kalanick claims Adams’ technology can increase output for gold mine CEOs by 20% per year using autonomous mining machines and digitized logistics.
- The company is developing a “wheelbase for robots,” providing a foundational autonomous transport platform for heavy-duty industrial tasks rather than consumer ride-sharing.
- Kalanick compares the modern resistance to industrial AI to the Second Industrial Revolution, citing historical clashes like Thomas Edison’s fear-mongering campaign against George Westinghouse’s alternating current.
- Reflecting on Uber, Kalanick admits he has no regrets about not acquiring Lyft, citing incompatible company cultures and Uber’s hardcore “meritocracy and toe-stepping” ethos.
- Adams’ current corporate culture emphasizes a “best idea wins” philosophy, a refined and highly competitive version of Uber’s early-stage aggressive dynamics.
- The latest funding round for Adams includes significant backing from a16z, with partner Ben Horowitz noting it is one of the venture capital firm’s largest checks ever written.
- Numerous former Uber executives, including former CFO Godam and former Head of Advanced Technology Group Eric Meyhofer, have joined Adams to lead its various technical and financial divisions.
- Kalanick credits Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter for shifting the tech media landscape, allowing founders to bypass traditional outlets like The New York Times and avoid overwhelming negativity.
À retenir
If you are a non-expert watching this industrial AI revolution unfold, my top recommendation is to start practicing your robotic small talk, because your next burrito delivery courier might just be a heavily armored autonomous rover. Furthermore, if you happen to own a gold mine or a commercial kitchen, you might want to hand the keys over to the nearest algorithm before you get hopelessly outpaced by an efficiency-obsessed tech billionaire. In the end, just embrace the fact that Silicon Valley is now playing real-world SimCity with our heavy infrastructure—sit back, relax, and hope they don’t accidentally “toe-step” on your house while optimizing the neighborhood.
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