David Inggs went from catching snakes in South Africa to building robots that Fortune 500 companies rely on. As co-founder of Rocos (acquired by DroneDeploy), he cracked the code on how to remotely control robot fleets at scale—and now he’s revealing what most AI robotics startups get dangerously wrong.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
✅ The "gold rush" trap – Why most robotics startups fail (and how Rocos survived)
✅ Shocking truth about humanoid robots – Why Boston Dynamics’ tech is both overhyped and underrated
✅ How to sell to enterprises – The playbook for landing oil/gas, mining, and defense clients
✅ Silicon Valley vs. New Zealand – Why building deep tech outside the Bay Area is an advantage
✅ Acquisition secrets – How Rocos got bought without ever pitching to investors
Why This Episode Will Change Your Mind About AI & Robotics:
🤖 "Robots are still dumb" – David’s brutal take on why AI won’t fix robotics anytime soon
🛑 The hidden risk – Why cloud providers (AWS, Google) could wipe out startups overnight🇳🇿 Underdog advantage – How a NZ company out-engineered global competitors
⚡ The next big wave – What’s coming after drones and warehouse bots
🔗 Connect with David Inggs:
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/david-inggs
🔗 Learn more about NZVC:
Website: https://www.nzvc.co.nz
Mark Pavlyukovskyy - https://www.linkedin.com/in/pavlyukovskyy/
Hendrik Remigereau - https://www.linkedin.com/in/hendrik-remigereau-09a03067/
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