Building the Foundry for Physical AI | Mike Xia, Anvil Robotics

Mike Xia is the co-founder and CEO of Anvil Robotics - building the foundry for physical AI. They make the hardware, software, and data tools that let robotics teams go from zero to model training in days vs months. They've shipped over 100 robots, manufacture in Taiwan, and just raised a $6.5M seed round. Mike gets into the economics of building and shipping a $5,000 arm, why most teams are fighting their own hardware before they can even start on AI, and what's structurally broken in the supply chain that not enough people talk about.We cover:00:00 - Intro00:45 - What physical AI teams actually go through before training a model03:16 - Why the existing robot stack was built for a different era04:10 - What it's actually like setting up an SO-100 at home05:21 - The leap from toy arms to real payloads08:01 - What you get on day one with an Anvil dev kit09:12 - What kilohertz-rate sensor fusion actually unlocks11:19 - The false tradeoff between payload and force compliance14:35 - Why vision alone isn't enough: the dentist analogy16:15 - The economics of a $5,000 arm20:01 - Scaling from 150 robots to 200 a month21:30 - Why all customers came inbound22:10 - Retention and repeat orders24:47 - If open source isn't the moat, what is?28:15 - Why the supply chain is a relationship, not a transaction28:36 - How to do customization without becoming a services company31:30 - How many of 1,500 new robotics startups survive 24 months?34:52 - The most technically wrong thing teams are doing in 202638:57 - What happens when your whole fleet breaks and you don't know why40:40 - What will look obvious in five years42:29 - Where to learn more about AnvilAnvil Robotics: https://anvil.botThe OPTIM Update covers real-world AI, automation, robotics, industrial systems and AI Infrastructure for founders, investors, and operators.Subscribe: https://www.optim.vc