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Why Physical AI Is the Next Frontier | The a16z Show
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Applied Intuition has spent the past decade building the software that powers intelligent machines, from passenger vehicles and trucks to defense systems, mining equipment, and industrial robots. In this conversation, Marc Andreessen and Erik Torenberg sit down with Applied Intuition cofounders Qasar Younis and Peter Ludwig to discuss the emergence of physical AI and the company's latest launch, Dana, a new platform designed to accelerate the development of autonomous systems. They explore autonomous vehicles, robotics, world models, simulation, AI infrastructure, and the engineering challenges of deploying intelligence safely in the physical world. Along the way, they discuss self-driving cars, humanoid robots, global competition, and why lowering the barrier to building physical AI could unlock an entirely new generation of products and companies. Timestamps: 00:00 - Intro 01:07 - What Applied Intuition Actually Does 03:32 - Beyond Automotive: How Big Is Physical AI? 05:33 - Why Autonomy Changes What Machines Look Like 19:20 - Selling to Legacy Automakers & the GM Culture 33:10 - The State of Self-Driving Cars in 2025 42:22 - Long-Haul Trucking, Mining & Why Nobody Wants Those Jobs 49:53 - Introducing Dana: Autonomy for High Schoolers 56:47 - What Comes Next: Humanoids, Home Bots & the Long Tail Resources: Follow Qasar Younis on X: https://x.com/qasar Follow Peter Ludwig on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterwludwig/ Follow Marc Andreessen on X: https://x.com/pmarca Stay Updated: If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to like, subscribe, and share with your friends! Find a16z on X:https://x.com/a16z Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z Listen to the a16z Podcast on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5bC65RDvs3oxnLyqqvkUYX Listen to the a16z Podcast on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a16z-podcast/id842818711 Follow our host:https://x.com/eriktorenberg Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see http://a16z.com/disclosure.
Segments Timeline
Intro
"Our mission is to put intelligence on a billion machines and we think that can have a profound impact on society. Applied intuition is a physical AI company. We put intelligence on machines cars truck..."
What Applied Intuition Actually Does
">> Kazer Peter welcome to the Z podcast. >> Well, thanks for having us. Your name is >> just one of many. >> I feel like we've I think we've all each known each other for >> too long. more than I'd li..."
Beyond Automotive: How Big Is Physical AI?
">> I would love for you to talk about the following, which is when you first started the company, you know, the knock on the company, I think, was oh well, it's it's like, you know, car it's making ma..."
Why Autonomy Changes What Machines Look Like
"mean, let's build on that though for a second, which is like so things that move today or you know, historically things that move are things that have human beings at the wheel or at the controls in s..."
Selling to Legacy Automakers & the GM Culture
"General Motors and >> one of my first distributions personally. So I >> There we go. Y Cominator Y Com Y Cominator company um >> and um and you know a top end team and they they were you know by all a..."
The State of Self-Driving Cars in 2025
">> Yeah. Late double O's. Yeah. >> Late double O's. Um uh so almost basically around a little less than 20 years maybe. Um, and there have been lots of predictions over the last 20 years of like self-..."
Long-Haul Trucking, Mining & Why Nobody Wants Those Jobs
">> And what about long haul trucking? >> So long so that's what we that's the passenger side. The long haul trucking completely different economics completely different um business model. Um, there ar..."
Introducing Dana: Autonomy for High Schoolers
">> Do do you guys do do you look like it's the you know these little delivery robots? Like is that do you see a world where there's a billion of those running around? >> Yeah, I think so. I mean the u..."
What Comes Next: Humanoids, Home Bots & the Long Tail
">> So you were talking earlier about how when you know um the technology got got so good in mobile that there was a wave of these companies you know Uber, WhatsApp, Snap you know Airbnb etc. that emer..."