Edward Schmit

I agree with Luc Vincent on the importance of outcome-verified data. Many incidents are near-misses that got unlucky. Training on near-misses teaches robotaxis the equivalent of defensive driving.

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#SiliconValley's often overlooked city is making its presence felt. #Fremont is fast becoming a major manufacturing hub for next generation technologies - EVs, Semiconductor, High-tech, as well as services and logistics. “The full leasing of Fremont Technology Center marks a significant milestone for our City and highlights the power of collaboration between the public and private sectors. The rapid lease-up by leading companies in AI hardware and electric vehicle manufacturing affirms Fremont’s role as a premier hub for advanced industries in Silicon Valley. I’m proud to have supported the rezoning of this project alongside my City Council colleagues, whose unanimous vote helped turn a long-vacant retail site into a vibrant center for middle-income manufacturing jobs. This project is a testament to what can be achieved with a clear vision, strong partnerships, and a commitment to economic prosperity,” Fremont Mayor Raj Salwan. https://lnkd.in/gsr5ifVn

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San Mateo has never been a backdrop for silence. It’s where UNION Labs Ventures set roots in 2018, born from Nate Williams and Chris Kim leaving August Home not just with resumes padded by an acquisition, but with perspective. Williams carried scars and wins from Motorola Mobility, August Home, and a tour as EIR at Kleiner Perkins. Kim brought the precision of a physicist who scaled security at eBay and Bank of America before running tech at August. One side commercial, one side technical. Together, they built a fund for the stage where breakthroughs exist but buyers still need convincing. That makes Nate Williams’ latest drop matter. He published Everyone Sells, Everyone! Field-Tested Sales & BD Tactics for DeepTech Founders on LinkedIn Pulse. No whiteboard philosophy. No empty frameworks. This was trench-level guidance from someone who’s carried #quota, run sales orgs, and #negotiatedexits. The community noticed. Alexander Shartsis, CEO of Perfect Price and fractional CRO, engaged. Itamar Novick, GP at Recursive Ventures, joined in. When peers who live in sales strategy lean in, it signals the content is more than commentary, it’s an operating manual for #founders trying to sell physics to industries that run on caution. Union Labs’ credibility comes from execution. The firm manages ~$43M in assets with 29 investments and 4 exits across climate, proptech, and mobility. Recent activity includes Urban Sky’s $30M Series B, Foundation EGI’s $7.6M seed, and SirenOpt’s $6.6M seed. Backing from Kleiner Perkins, GV (Google Ventures), and strategic players in utilities, insurance, and communications expands reach. This is a venture shop built around hard problems that demand more than money. Deeptech requires long build cycles, complex integrations, and cautious customers. Most investors talk about it; few can advise through it. Williams can. His track record at August Home, culminating in its 2017 sale to ASSA ABLOY Group, proves he knows how to turn invention into acquisition. That credibility sets Union Labs apart in a field where SaaS instincts rarely translate to industrial adoption. This article is more than content, it’s positioning. LPs are pressing deeptech investors to show faster traction. #Founders are under pressure to prove revenue early. The investors who can coach #commercialization will win the best deals. If Union Labs’ portfolio shows sharper go-to-market results, Williams’ guidance shifts from thought leadership to proof of an operator-investor edge. What happens next matters: more articles, maybe a structured playbook, maybe even an #accelerator built on these methods. A second fund raise looks likely with exits in hand. The test: whether portfolio companies applying these tactics deliver commercial wins. That’s where Union Labs’ advantage becomes measurable. #Sales #SalesTech #DeepTech #SaaS #Innovation #StartupEcosystem #TechEcosystem #TechNews If software engineering peace of mind is what you crave, Vention is your zen.

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Phoenix didn’t wait for autonomy. They operationalised it. What this interview makes clear is simple: autonomous vehicles don’t scale because of technology alone they scale because of operators, infrastructure, and real-world deployment. That’s the part most of the conversation still misses. In London, we already have: • Dense, complex urban environments • High-value passenger demand • Regulated, licensed fleets • Existing EV infrastructure • And critically — experienced operators managing vehicles at scale every single day The question isn’t if autonomy comes to cities like London. The question is who is ready to operate it when it arrives. Because when AV lands properly, it won’t be won by software alone. It will be won by those who can: • Deploy fleets • Maintain vehicles • Manage utilisation • Handle real passengers • And integrate media, data, and revenue layers into every journey This is where the opportunity really sits. We’ve spent years building exactly that foundation not in theory, but on the streets, in one of the most complex cities in the world. The future of mobility isn’t just autonomous. It’s operated. Autonomy doesn’t replace operators it makes the right ones invaluable. #AutonomousVehicles #UrbanMobility #SmartCities #MobilityInfrastructure #ElectricVehicles #FutureOfTransport #Robotaxi #London #Innovation #MobilityTech

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We need to educate the general public on this issue. SB1507 has the very real potential, if enacted, of being the last straw for startups and founders. Rather than building jobs and building the income tax coffers - the result will be to shrink the tax base even more (in case Oregon needed more bad economic news). Please speak to your representatives. We need to build an economic future, and yes that might mean tough choices, but don't create incentives for tomorrow's growth engines to build their jobs in some other state.

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This week’s update from WD was one of the more substantive I’ve seen. Having been in a position of advising on high-density platforms, what stood out wasn’t just bigger drives, but how well the technology aligns with real AI infrastructure constraints—bandwidth, power, and the ability to scale without re-architecting. The 40TB UltraSMR ePMR drive is already shipping, with a clear path to higher densities through parallel ePMR and HAMR adoption. HBDT, Dual Pivot Technology, and the move toward open, platform-level APIs signal that high-density HDD isn’t standing still—it’s getting smarter and more performant where it matters. Looking forward to what’s next. https://lnkd.in/gFB6WdZG

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Not every AR device serves the same purpose, and that’s something we design for intentionally. Some need to prioritize size and power efficiency. Others need maximum brightness and field of view. In each case, our waveguides and light engines are tailored as a system to match the use case. This piece explains how our teams approach that co-optimization process and why flexibility in display design is so important to building AR that works across applications. Proud to be part of a team that’s always building with the user in mind. https://lnkd.in/dg9G4mZH

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