a16z podcast: AI compresses PCB design work from a year to days
MattPerault · x · 2026-10-22
a16z's AI Policy Brief podcast hosts Diode cofounder and CEO Davide Asnaghi on turning America's AI strength into a manufacturing advantage.
- PCB design, testing and manufacturing remain a bottleneck in nearly every electronic product, and the U.S. depends heavily on manufacturing capacity concentrated in Asia.
- Diode combines AI-powered circuit board design with in-house manufacturing: at its Brooklyn factory, engineers write code and run the production line under one roof, compressing machine-programming work from a year to days.
- Drawing on his time at Apple and medical device companies, Asnaghi argues that connecting software and electrical engineering directly to production shortens development cycles and improves quality.
- They also discuss how automation lets workers oversee more production and exercise greater judgment.
Related event: Diode CEO on using AI circuit-board design to revive US manufacturing(4 posts)→
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