a16z podcast: Diode CEO on using AI to bring circuit board manufacturing back to the US
MattPerault · x · 2026-10-21
In the a16z AI Policy Brief podcast, Matt Perault talks with Diode cofounder and CEO Davide Asnaghi about turning America's AI progress into a manufacturing advantage. Key points:
- PCBs are the bottleneck: printed circuit boards delay medical devices and robots by months, and US supply is concentrated in Asia.
- Software-meets-factory: Diode's Brooklyn factory combines AI-powered board design with in-house production — engineers write code and run the line under one roof.
- Empowering workers: automation lets workers oversee more output and exercise more judgment, making domestic advanced hardware manufacturing competitive.
- Asnaghi previously built hardware at Apple and medical device companies.
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