Why Physical AI Is the Next Big Opportunity | Deep Dives with a16z
a16z Deep Dives · 2026-04-23 · 49 min
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faqaOVQ5AxkVideo summary
Unlimited Industries targets end-to-end construction automation within 10 years, while Diode Computers aims to automate circuit-board design in two.
Erin Price-Wright talks with Unlimited Industries CEO Alex Modon and Diode Computers CEO Davide Asnaghi about bringing AI into construction and electronics. Modon says AI could generate optimized construction packages from site requirements, with full construction automation a goal within 10 years; shortening a project by three to six months can materially improve its financing. Asnaghi estimates some circuit-board design could be fully automated in two years, and says Diode’s tools already make board development 90% more efficient. The remaining challenge is the manual 20% of assembly and a shortage of usable design data. Both founders describe turning complex engineering into code-driven, model-led workflows, using simulation to test physical constraints, and designing systems to work without human intervention. They argue that automation could expand U.S. manufacturing capacity, speed data-center construction, and make ambitious hardware projects easier to launch as construction productivity declines.
Chapters
- 0:00Introductions & Physical World AI: Diode’s Code-Based Circuit Design and Unlimited Industries’ Infrastructure
- 2:00Automating Construction End to End: AI-Optimized IFC Packages and Site Robotics
- 4:36Automating Circuit Board Design & Manufacturing: Two-Year Design Outlook and the 80/20 Assembly Gap
- 10:16Changing Entrenched Industries & Vertical Integration: Construction Finance, Legacy Tools, and Multidisciplinary Teams
- 14:53Changing Entrenched Industries & Vertical Integration: Diode’s Open Compiler and the Value of Faster Delivery
- 19:21Getting AI to Understand Real-World Physics: Code-Based Circuit Design and Ontological Construction Models
- 24:38Getting AI to Understand Real World Physics: SPICE, OpenEMS, and Training Models Through Simulation
- 29:28Do We Need a Breakthrough to Close the Last Gap? Davide’s Data Debate and Alex’s Case for End-to-End Autonomy
- 34:24Humanoids, Robotics & the Future of Physical Automation: Mass-Produced Robots, PCB Assembly, and Dangerous Work
- 40:08Humanoids, Robotics & the Future of Physical Automation: Trade Skills, Data-Center Labor, and AI-Driven PCB Design
- 44:54Second Order Effects & Why This Work Matters: Easier Hardware Startups and Rebuilding US Industrial Capacity
What the full analysis includes
11 chapters · 57 key points · 11 section summaries · mind map
Preview of the first chapter · Introductions & Physical World AI: Diode’s Code-Based Circuit Design and Unlimited Industries’ Infrastructure
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