Kalanick describes his vision for 'food computers' that automate manufacturing and logistics to drastically reduce meal costs. ✦ AI generated
Travis Kalanick · a16z Podcast · 2026-08-14 · original ↗
starts at this moment · 7:51
The real question is, can you make a meal that's prepared and delivered to you so efficient that it approaches the cost of going to the grocery store? ... It means that your manufacturing has to be automated. So, we have robotics that basically do the production of food. Let's call that between six and eight between six and $8 per meal. ... You roboticize production. You roboticize the logistics and transportation of of of food, but you still need a space to do it. This goes back to that sort of atoms-based computer, right? You still need real estate, industrial real estate where that robotic production happens and where the robotic logistics occurs. That's our food computer.
verbatim transcript · starts at 7:51
7:51prepared and delivered to you so efficient that it approaches the cost of going to the grocery store? You're like, okay, well, that's a pretty good question. If you can do it, it's awesome, but what would it take? Well, it means that your manufacturing has to be automated. So, we have robotics that basically do the production of food. Let's call that between six and eight between six and $8
8:16per meal. Okay. Um there's lots of cool things we're going to do in the future here. Um you also need to be able to move the food whether it be inside of a facility that where it's being made or actually robotic couriers, what I like to call autonomous burritos. You roboticize production. You roboticize the logistics and transportation of of of food, but you still need a space to do it.
8:45This goes back to that sort of atomsbased computer, right? You still need real estate, industrial real estate where that robotic production happens and where the robotic logistics occurs. That's our food computer. Adam's mining. Uh we have a really cool mission. Uh, I've gotten super geeked out on mining. I love it. Like I I'm loving it more every day. Um, uh, more productive minds to power Earth's industries. What makes super
9:15intelligence? Well, it's it's chips and its energy. We know that. Where are the chips come from? Chips come from the ground. Where's the energy come from? And a lot of people are like, "Oh, it comes from the sun." Yeah, it comes from the sun. But how are you capturing it from the sun? From stuff made from the ground, right? So being in the ground at this sort of almost like this primitive of