Just spent a week in China deep diving the general-purpose robotics ecosystem.
Key takeaway: while we’re vibe-coding… China is vibe-manufacturing !
A few things that stood out:
1) China has cracked “vibe manufacturing”
Startups are spinning up hardware like we spin up code.
AGIBot (3 years old) has already built ~10,000 robots.
2) The entire stack is being built in parallel.
Every serious robotics company is full-stack: hardware + controls + foundation models.
3) Data factories are real and massive.
Hundreds to thousands of people teleoperating robots 24/7 to generate training data.
In some cases, the government is literally buying robots, generating data, and selling it back to companies.
4) The supply chain is overwhelming.
Foxconn, BYD, LYitech - everyone is plugged into the same dense, hyper-responsive manufacturing base.
This is why iteration speed is so high.
5) Structural paradox: Labor is both tailwind and headwind.
Cheap, abundant skilled labor powers the supply chain…
But it also makes automation harder to justify domestically.
→ Weak ROI for robotics inside China
→ Strong incentive to export
6) Hardware is impressive. Intelligence is not (yet).
Amazing kinematics—dancing, acrobatics.
But limited ability to execute simple instructions reliably.
7) Everyone is moving up the stack
Every major CM/ODM is building their own robots—humanoids + wheeled.
Today’s suppliers will be tomorrow’s competitors.
8) Dexterity remains unsolved
Lots of prototypes. Very few real demos.
So what does this mean?
Physical AI requires strength in both bits and atoms.
Right now:
China → dominates atoms (manufacturing, supply chain, scale)
US → leads in bits (models, autonomy, software)
We are dangerously behind in atoms.
If we want to compete, incrementalism won’t cut it.
We need to:
- Build depth and breadth across the electro-mechanical supply chain
- Scale CMs / ODMs / JDMs domestically
- Move 100x faster, think 100x bigger on scaling manufacturing infrastructure
Hats off to those doing their part to advance domestic manufacturing supply chain - @makematterco, @VulcanForms, @brightmachines, @thebotcompany@gs_ai_ , @MytraUS, @mind_robotics, @tesla_optimus, @atomic_inc, @Senra_Systems, @pathrobotics, @machinalabs_,@figure_robot, @HadrianInc , @agilityrobotics
Everyone thinks founding a hit consumer app is impossible — but I think the next big thing will happen THIS year.
AI has unlocked the future but its going to look nothing like this…
1/ With a long history of partnering w/ founders from idea to IPO, we @GreylockVC are excited to announce 2 new updates to advance this mission:
1/ Fund 17, our new $1B early-stage fund
2/ Edge, a bespoke program to help founders initiate new companies
https://t.co/NGEUcOw6mq
Greylock has a long history of partnering with engineers & product leaders to initiate & incubate companies in large existing & new emerging markets. If you have interest in starting a new company with us, reach out! We are excited to partner, to help build the future together. https://t.co/IStv5U7jx3
.@saammotamedi believes: "Every company is going to be an AI company, & everything we do at work & how we live, is going to be transformed by AI."
More insight on @GreylockVC's decade of AI investing in his chat w/ @EdLudlow on @technology:
https://t.co/zkdaGAfRg5
"In the utopian vision, AI in education enhances human skills and agency, not replaces it."
So says @OpenAI's ChatGPT in its latest #Greymatter podcast w/@reidhoffman. But it’s on humans to work w/ AI to build this positive vision into reality. Listen https://t.co/dCUshfrTRm
@saranormous It’s been great working with you the past few years. You are an inspiration and source of support to many. Excited to see what you build next!
Looking to learn about all things #web3? Listen to @fungibletimes, the new pod hosted by @GreylockVC web3 investors @saranormous @christinkers & @mduboe. Find them at https://t.co/pTqBRakns4, and listen to their debut episode here https://t.co/DqgJZ2lFy2
Wow! In 2021, people in 78 countries tuned into Greylock's podcast #Greymatter on @Spotify. Thanks to all of our listeners.
Subscribe now for weekly pods with top tech entrepreneurs & investors 🎧 https://t.co/iZyTkACOcV
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1/ We at @GreylockVC are excited to announce we’ve raised $500M dedicated to seed investing. This is the industry’s largest pool of venture capital dedicated to backing founders at day one. https://t.co/j7RDGCv6mQ
1/ Today, @GreylockVC launched Castles in the Cloud, an interactive project that maps multiple data points of the cloud computing ecosystem and plots new opportunities for startup success. #castlesinthecloud🏰 ☁️ https://t.co/q1ZeseTdPw