Building the Physical AI Stack | Travis Kalanick on TBPN

**Travis Kalanick** (0:00)
Travis Kalanick joins TBPN to discuss why he's betting his next company on industrial AI. He shares his vision behind Adams, explains how autonomy is transforming industries like mining and food production, and discusses why bringing AI into the physical world may be an even bigger opportunity than software alone.

**Jordi Hays** (0:22)
Before we start, the last time you're on here, that was for me the best moment of making the show ever. John and I, it was totally surreal, and we really enjoyed the conversation. But to me, we left that and it was almost depressing because as somebody who started getting into startups in the 2010, you were that guy.
Then I was realizing with the show, we had that conversation with you and it was a significant day for you. But it was depressing because I realized a moment like that would never actually come again where I got to basically interview. It will happen.
It will happen differently. But a childhood hero having that conversation, that's one of one for me. I don't think it will happen again. It was peak. But anyways, you've been busy since then.

**Travis Kalanick** (1:19)
I've been busy. Look, I'm super excited. It's my first OpenAI podcast.
I'm very excited about it. Also, I want to let you guys know that if you need therapy sessions for what it's like to be a made man in retirement. Sure. If that's a thing, I can help motivate you guys.

**John Coogan** (1:38)
Isn't step one of therapy in this situation, just get a jet ski?

**Travis Kalanick** (1:41)
No, it's actually denial. You got to get over the denial.

**John Coogan** (1:44)
Okay. Over the denial.
Then the acceptance.

**Travis Kalanick** (1:47)
Yeah. I don't know the 12 steps.

**Jordi Hays** (1:50)
Yeah.

**John Coogan** (1:51)
Everyone just knows denial and acceptance.

**Jordi Hays** (1:53)
They don't know any of the other ones.

**John Coogan** (1:55)
Grieving, bargaining, there's a couple others in there, but you do go through that. It's natural.

**Travis Kalanick** (1:59)
Yeah.

**John Coogan** (1:59)
It happens, but then you start building.

**Jordi Hays** (2:01)
Yeah, that's really good.

**Travis Kalanick** (2:02)
If you guys need advice, you need therapy, I'm here for you.

**Jordi Hays** (2:04)
I love it.

**Travis Kalanick** (2:05)
I know the retard maxing is you're not supposed to do therapy. I'm just saying there are benefits.

**Jordi Hays** (2:09)
Especially with your new partners. They're like, if they're one thing, they wrote into the fundraising round, they wrote into the docs, like, cannot go to therapy.

**Travis Kalanick** (2:16)
That would be amazing.

**John Coogan** (2:17)
Podcasts are modern therapy for men. This is what men do. They don't go to therapy.

**Jordi Hays** (2:23)
You should have office hours for founders, but they have to just come out on a jet ski while you're going, and you're going 70 miles an hour, and you'll coach them.

**Travis Kalanick** (2:32)
I am starting to teach many founders and people in tech world how to water ski, how to wake surf. A bunch of my engineers already, so there was one guy who didn't know how to swim, but I got him behind the boat, wake surfing.

**Jordi Hays** (2:45)
Whoa, whoa, whoa. Is that a life jacket?

**John Coogan** (2:48)
Life jacket.

**Travis Kalanick** (2:49)
Life jacket. It sounds weirder than it is, but it was still very weird.

**John Coogan** (2:53)
It's high risk.

**Jordi Hays** (2:54)
Yeah, it was good.

**John Coogan** (2:55)
Potentially.

**Travis Kalanick** (2:57)
OK, cool.

**John Coogan** (2:58)
The business.

**Jordi Hays** (2:58)
Business. Going well.

**Travis Kalanick** (2:59)
Dude, it's business time. Got to put on the business socks.

**Jordi Hays** (3:02)
Unfinished business.

**Travis Kalanick** (3:03)
Unfinished business. So yeah, I announced earlier today we did a $1.7 billion raise. There's some noise that's going to happen.

**Jordi Hays** (3:21)
We're going to do another one from downtown. I'm getting it next time.
I'll come over the top.

**Travis Kalanick** (3:31)
So much noise. So much noise.

**John Coogan** (3:34)
I feel like you came in very relaxed.

**Jordi Hays** (3:36)
Walk us through.

**Travis Kalanick** (3:37)
I think it's been what?

**Jordi Hays** (3:37)
Four months since we talked. Three or four months.

**Travis Kalanick** (3:40)
I'm like, Yeah, I think we talked in April or March.

**Jordi Hays** (3:45)
I think March.

**John Coogan** (3:46)
Yeah.

**Travis Kalanick** (3:47)
Oh, that's right. Yes. Early March.

**John Coogan** (3:48)
Four months. What happened with the business to unlock the next round?

**Travis Kalanick** (3:56)
I mean, we continue to go up and to the right, but like the announcement of Adams was, we are going to do physical automation, physical AI, what we are calling industrial AI to transform these industries one at a time.