#183 – Daniel Trepanier | Arcadia Tractor – Autonomy, Field Robotics & Learning through Real-world Deployments

Dan Trepanier is Chief Executive Officer at Arcadia Tractor Corp., who is building an autonomous vehicle for unstructured environment. Key topics in this conversation include: The challenges of field robotics Why ball picking at golf practice ranges present the perfect beachhead for Arcadia The importance of finding paid deployments and real-world learning opportunities, quickly An intro to entrepreneurial finance How Arcadia plans to grow and scale in the coming years Links: Show notes: http://brandonbartneck.com/futureofmobility/dantrepanier https://www.linkedin.com/in/dantrepanier/ https://www.arcadiatractor.com/ Bio Dan has 30 years of experience working in technology and finance. After earning his degree in Electrical Engineering from Queen’s University (Kingston, Ontario), Dan worked in various technical and business roles including 6 years at Anadigics (NASDAQ:ANAD) where he last contributed as Director of Product Marketing. Dan was the founder and CEO of Quake Technologies, the market leader in 10 Gb/s Ethernet semiconductor technology. Through a challenging tech downturn, he led Quake to profitability and an eventual acquisition by Applied Micro Circuits Corporation (NASDAQ:AMCC). Dan joined Xambala as CEO and led a pivot away from fabless semiconductors to High Frequency Trading. Xambala became a leading market maker in U.S. Equities. Dan was part of NASDAQ’s committee to revamp the Market Structure of the Opening and Closing Auctions. Xambala was acquired by Final, an Israel based trading firm. In 2018, Dan founded Trep Capital and joined the faculty at the Leavey School of Business at Santa Clara University where he has been teaching Data Science and Finance. Dan has played various leadership roles at the business school including as Faculty Director for the MS in Business Analytics and as Director of MS Programs where he led the MSBA, MS Finance, and MS in Information Systems programs. Dan established corporate partnerships to provide all MS students with industry-led practicum projects. Dan loves to play outside. You can catch him running or mountain biking on the trails of the Peninsula Open Space Preserves. When he’s not on the trails, Dan enjoys spending time with his wife and three kids About Arcadia: Arcadia Tractor is enabling field robotics, one application at a time. Our all-electric tractors operate in unstructured environments. They are self-driving, self-charging, and self-learning. We build on each application to tackle greater complexity, add more value, and increase scale. Future of Mobility: The Future of Mobility podcast is focused on the development and implementation of safe, sustainable, effective, and accessible mobility solutions, with a spotlight on the people and technology advancing these fields. linkedin.com/in/brandonbartneck/ brandonbartneck.com/futureofmobility/