Mar 27, 2026

What Tesla and SpaceX Teach Founders About Building Hardware | a16z

Ex-Tesla and SpaceX engineers Chandler Luzsicza and Turner Caldwell share the practical lessons they learned about building complex hardware and how they apply them at their own startups. They cover core principles like decision velocity, strategic vertical integration, managing the critical path without creating new bottlenecks, and using aggressive milestones as a forcing function to reveal true priorities. The discussion also delves into the value of a 'factory mindset,' the importance of a rigorous hiring process, and advice for young engineers.

Mar 17, 2026

Greetings, Earthlings: Philip Johnston of Starcloud on Data Centers in Space

Philip Johnston of Starcloud argues that space will become the primary location for AI compute within a decade. He explains how plummeting launch costs, superior solar energy economics in orbit, and the physics of heat dissipation will soon make space-based data centers cheaper and more scalable than their terrestrial counterparts, predicting a future where nearly a trillion dollars in annual CapEx shifts to space.