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    Hardware hurdles and the deployment layer in physical AI investing

    The Peel Pod host says guest Bilal discussed why hardware remains hard and what makes physical AIโ€™s deployment layer attractive.

    Turner Novak ๐ŸŒ๐ŸงขTN
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    TLDR

    The Peel Podโ€™s host says Bilal spent 18 years investing in hard tech, mostly as a GP at Lux, before starting Red Glass VC in 2025 to back AI tied to the physical world. Their conversation covers why hardware remains hard, why Bilal sees the deployment layer as physical AIโ€™s most attractive area, and how venture-fund economics shape investing.

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    1 Source, first seen 3h ago

    Combined views

    3.7K

    1 Source, first seen 3h ago

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    3h ago
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    Turner Novak ๐ŸŒ๐Ÿงข@TurnerNovakNew @ThePeelPod with @bznotes! Bilal's spent 18 years investing hard tech, most of it as a GP at Lux ($7B AUM), before starting @RedGlassVC in 2025 to bet on AI that touches the physical world. Bilal was making defense tech investments 15 years ago, and he led the Series A in Applied Intuition, now a $15 billion company. We hung out for a few hours and he shared everything he's learned investing in hardware, why hardware is still hard, why the deployment layer is the most attractive area of physical AI, taking a 90% pay cut to start Red Glass, "AUM as a moat", how to become a billionaire off management fees, and why consensus investing is mostly a circle jerk. Full episode here + links below Timestamps 0:00 Leaving $7B to bet on physical AI 0:51 What most people get wrong in physical AI 4:17 Why a startup has to become a business 11:31 Hardware is still hard, so what changed? 15:40 How government went from SBIR mills to real customer 17:48 Robotics goes from hard-coded to probabilistic 23:34 Where value accrues: full stack, then wedges 25:24 How Applied Intuition became a $15B company 28:03 The deployment layer is the real prize 32:22 OpenAI and Anthropic hint what will happen in physical AI 36:14 Why customers have all the downside 37:56 The best founders paint a picture and execute 40:53 Why it's called Red Glass (founders chew glass) 42:17 Every founder hates fundraising, even Travis 44:29 Red Glass's four core values 50:49 Why founders really take your call (the $250k effect) 53:28 What Bilal looks for in a founder 58:44 Why technical founders underrate fundraising 1:00:26 The Tiger Global era 1:04:02 From $10B to $100B, the goalposts moved 1:06:21 Is this a bubble? Portfolio construction 1:08:55 Building a firm that outlasts him 1:12:13 From Nobel-lab chemist to Zero-to-One investor 1:13:45 Are small funds just outsourced associates? 1:16:35 When AUM becomes the moat 1:18:34 How big funds choke off SPV money 1:21:24 The risk of VCs backing competitors 1:23:31 Why fund economics push everyone bigger 1:26:20 Consensus investing is a circle jerk 1:29:51 You can be a billionaire on fees alone 1:33:09 Equal carry and the right to win 1:35:55 Why good ethics in VC matter3h