Digitizing the physical world means treating atoms like bits, with manufacturing as the CPU, real estate as storage, and transport as the network for physical objects.
Kalanick explains his framework for digitizing the physical world by mapping computing concepts to physical processes. ✦ AI generated
Travis Kalanick · a16z Podcast · 2026-08-14 · original ↗
starts at this moment · 4:40
Look, we know what bits are. Bits, the bits world is a computer. And those of us who were engineers, computer science, etc., and some of us who weren't, we know what that is. The three core computing resources, CPU manipulates the bits, storage stores bits, network moves bits from point A to point B. But if you're digitizing the physical world, you're treating atoms like bits. And you're like, well, I know that CPU manipulates the bits. What manipulates atoms? That's manufacturing or digitized manufacturing. Storage stores bits. What stores atoms? That's real estate. Network moves bits from point A to point B. What moves atoms? Well, that's transport or logistics. ... We look at what we do as industrial AI. And I sort of have a nice little definition there. Systems of software, sensors, robotics, and AI used to automate operations of entire industrial sectors.
verbatim transcript · starts at 4:40
4:40Look, we know what bits are. Bits, the bits world is a computer. And those of us who were engineers, computer science, etc., and some of us who weren't, we know what that is. The three core computing resources, CPU manipulates the bits, storage stores bits, network moves bits from point A to point B. But if you're digitizing the physical world, you're treating atoms like bits. And you're like, well, I know that CPU
5:06manipulates the bits. What manipulates atoms? That's manufacturing or digitized manufacturing. Storage stores bits. What stores atoms? That's real estate. Network moves bits from point A to point B. What moves atoms? Well, that's transport or logistics. So, we didn't exactly think of it, we were close, but we didn't exactly think of it this way at the time. But Uber was network for the physical world, digitized transportation, but it's not totally
5:35digitized like you see the Whimos out there. Okay, now we're getting we're getting there. Of course, I think people are still driving them from the Philippines or something like this. But but they're go it's going digital. But the thing is and and this is something that's interesting for entrepreneurs generally especially in the physical world digitized manufacturing and digitized real estate still has a long way to go. Huge amount of innovation uh
6:00left to go. And so we have advanced. We've been working really hard. A lot of folks think I'm back but like I'm like dude I've been working my ass off the whole time. I just haven't been talking about it. Um, what if what if you're making atomsbased computers, digitized manufacturing, real estate and network for the physical world or or sorry, CPU uh storage and network for the physical
6:27world. What if you're just the OEM that makes food computers, mining computers or take your industry and put computer behind it? What if you are doing sort of this you're making industrial atomsbased computers? That's kind of how we think about what we do. And you know, we look around us and you're like the physical world, you're like, you look, open AAI is doing really well. Anthropic was was doing pretty
6:52well. Um, but look around you. Everything we see, whether it's this room or any room or anywhere you go, everything you see was either grown or mined, manufactured and moved. Everything. And so we look at what we do as industrial AI. And I sort of have a nice little definition there. Systems of software, sensors, robotics, and AI used to automate operations of entire industrial sectors. Okay, that's what we
7:27do. I don't know if anybody else does it. I mean, there are people doing it that they don't they don't call it this. We're one of the main guys doing this. Okay, so we're going to go through a couple of our of our atomsbased computers. So, the first one's a food computer, Adam's food, infrastructure for better food. The real question is, can you make a meal that's
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
- ·数字化物理世界就是像处理比特一样处理原子
- ·制造是原子世界的 CPU,负责操作原子
- ·房地产是原子世界的存储,负责存放原子
- ·运输或物流是原子世界的网络,负责移动原子
- ·这是软件、传感器、机器人和 AI 系统的结合
- ·用于自动化整个工业部门的运营