Episode SummaryIs AI in the Physical World the next $100 Trillion Opportunity? In this episode of Oversubscribed, we go deep into the "Hard Tech" revolution. From defence-grade autonomy to data infrastructure for robots, we dive deep into the frontier of hard tech with the founders building it. Brendan Hill sits down with Michael Irwin (Co-Founder at Breaker), Joe Harris (Founder at Alloy), and returning guest Charlie Gearside (Co-Founder at Eucalyptus / Build Australia) for a wild conversation about robotics, physical AI, national ambition, and why Australia needs to start making things again. They talk building AI that lives on the edge, the ethics of defence, hiring A-players for impossible problems, and why the next industrial revolution might start right here. It’s an unfiltered look at the people shaping Australia’s place in the age of autonomy. Time Stamps00:00 – Intro: Founders, frontier tech, and Australia’s new wave of builders 02:00 – Breaker’s origin story: building robots that act on human intent 05:00 – From drones to defense: autonomy, privacy, and life on the edge 08:20 – The hardest problems left to solve (and why easy ones are gone) 10:40 – Sponsor: Vanta – building trust and compliance for startups 12:00 – Alloy’s story: from Eucalyptus to building the data brain for robots 16:00 – Why Joe left a rocket ship to start from zero 19:30 – Building for the age of robotics: data, telemetry, and the next frontier 23:00 – Finding A-players: how ambitious missions attract ambitious people 25:00 – Culture, conviction, and what passion really looks like inside startups 27:00 – The defense dilemma: ethics, values, and the post-Ukraine mindset 30:00 – Going global: why Australia’s best founders build beyond its borders 34:00 – Build Australia: a new movement for ambition and national pride 38:00 – Manufacturing, energy, and why we stopped making things 43:00 – How robotics could solve Australia’s affordability crisis 46:00 – The humanoid debate: specialized vs. general intelligence 50:00 – Life in 2035: what robots at home might really look like 52:00 – Data, autonomy, and the next AI arms race 56:00 – How Breaker and Alloy could power each other’s missions 59:00 – Skynet, manipulation, and the ethics of AI power 1:03:00 – Competition, collaboration, and the Cambrian explosion of robotics 1:06:00 – Founder stories: from CB radios to humanoids in hack houses 1:09:00 – Building the next industrial revolution from Australia 1:10:00 – Final pitches: why you should join Breaker, Alloy, and Build Australia 1:11:00 – Outro: Vanta, Ten13, and building what comes next Oversubscribed is proudly supported by our sponsor Vanta 🦙 Vanta is the all-in-one solution for startups to become compliant quickly and build a security foundation with ease. Startup customers get $1000 off Vanta at vanta.com/oversubscribed The Day One Network Oversubscribed is part of Day One, the podcast network dedicated to founders, operators & investors.
