Pioneers Podcast Por Siemens Digital Industry Software arte de portada

Pioneers

Pioneers

De: Siemens Digital Industry Software
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Ideas alone can’t change the world. It takes grit. In this podcast, Siemens sits down with startup founders, ecosystem partners and more in a quest to get to the bottom of what makes startups (and the people in them) tick. At Siemens, we understand the struggles of early-stage startups. Let us remove the barriers on your startup journey by helping you transform your engineering ideas into real, marketable products with industry-leading software solutions. Join the Siemens Startups Program to grow your startup to its full potential. Want to get in touch? Reach out here.Siemens Digital Industry Software
Episodios
  • The Robot That Comes to Your Car: Inside Kiwi Charge’s Vision for Scalable EV Charging

    The Robot That Comes to Your Car: Inside Kiwi Charge’s Vision for Scalable EV Charging
    Feb 6 2026
    Abdel Ali, founder and CEO of Kiwi Charge, shares how broken EV charging becomes when you don’t control the parking space, electrical capacity, or building ownership. Instead of accepting the limitation, he built a radically different solution: mobile, robot-based EV chargers that bring power directly to parked vehicles. What you’ll discover today… (04:20) Why EV charging in multi-tenant buildings is one of the biggest bottlenecks in EV adoption (05:30) The real cost problem with fixed chargers—and why 80% of installation spend isn’t value-adding (09:30) Subscription vs pay-per-use: rethinking the EV charging business model (12:30) How one robot can replace up to 30 Level-2 chargers using AI and scheduling (15:30) Building a robotics startup without an engineering background (17:50) From pilots to partnerships with developers and automakers (21:25) How SmartTO supports hard-tech founders through long development cycles (29:50) De-risking hardware startups with pilots, living labs, and digital twins (35:10) The hardest lessons learned scaling a physical, infrastructure-driven company (36:50) Advice for founders tackling climate and infrastructure problems (41:00) Kiwi Charge’s vision for EV charging five years from now More about the episode In this episode of Siemens Pioneers: Startups from Dream to Reality, host Pang Cau sits down with Abdel Ali, founder and CEO of Kiwi Charge, and Paulina from SmartTO, a Toronto-based mobility incubator supporting hard-tech innovation. Kiwi Charge is tackling one of the least glamorous—but most critical—challenges in the EV ecosystem: charging in existing buildings. Rather than retrofitting parking garages with costly fixed infrastructure, Kiwi Charge uses autonomous mobile robots that navigate parking lots and charge vehicles overnight. The result is a flexible, scalable, and capital-efficient alternative that works within today’s electrical constraints. Abdel shares how his background in venture capital shaped a market-first approach—validating willingness to pay before committing to expensive hardware development. Paulina offers a behind-the-scenes look at how incubators like SmartTO help founders de-risk deep-tech ideas through mentorship, applied research, living labs, and digital twins. If you’re building in climate tech, infrastructure, robotics, or any hardware-heavy space, this conversation offers practical insights into turning constraints into competitive advantage. Connect with us Peng-Sang Cau LinkedIn Website Abdel Ali LinkedIn Website Dr. Paulina Karwowska-Desaulniers LinkedIn
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    44 m
  • From Spider-Man to Spidey Tek: How Roberto Velozzi is Spinning the Future of Sustainable Materials

    From Spider-Man to Spidey Tek: How Roberto Velozzi is Spinning the Future of Sustainable Materials
    Oct 31 2025
    What if Spider-Man’s web were real? For Roberto Velozzi, founder and CEO of Spidey Tek, that question turned into a lifelong pursuit, and eventually, a business. What you’ll discover today… (02:10) The “aha moment” that turned science fiction into science fact (05:00) Early adopters and investors who believed before mass production (06:30) Scaling spider silk using an alfalfa-based production platform (11:40) Partnerships, fundraising, and the $5 million scale-up plan (18:00) The power of building the right team and leadership under pressure (18:50) Refugee roots, resilience, and redefining what “hard” really means (19:50) Advice for scientists and engineers building hard-tech startups (23:30) The five-floor elevator pitch that sums up Spidey Tek’s trillion-dollar potential More about the episode Originally from El Salvador, Roberto’s journey from comic-book fan to biotech innovator has been anything but ordinary. After decades of research, his team discovered how to produce spider silk proteins at scale—creating a material that’s stronger than steel, lighter than carbon fiber, and completely biodegradable. In this episode, Roberto shares how Spidey Tek went from lab experiment to a company attracting attention from aerospace giants, automotive manufacturers, and materials science firms across the world. With a production model built on alfalfa plants and partnerships that remove traditional manufacturing barriers, Spidey Tek stands at the edge of a sustainable-materials revolution. If you’re an investor, innovator, or anyone fascinated by nature-inspired technology, this conversation is a masterclass in turning impossible science into scalable impact. Connect with us Peng-Sang Cau LinkedIn Website Roberto Velozzi LinkedIn
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    27 m
  • From PhD Lab to Industry Leader: Paul Webster’s Journey to a Hard Tech Exit

    From PhD Lab to Industry Leader: Paul Webster’s Journey to a Hard Tech Exit
    Sep 30 2025
    What if your PhD side project could turn into a multimillion-dollar acquisition in just five years—without going through endless VC rounds? What you’ll discover… The crucial pivot that took Laser Depth Dynamics from medical imaging to manufacturing—and why it made all the difference How leveraging your university ecosystem can give you world-class R&D resources without the overhead Why empathy might be the most underrated skill for technical founders The role strategic partnerships played in landing Laser Depth Dynamics’ very first customer How to prepare your company for acquisition from day one Where to find it… (2:00) From PhD research into optical coherence tomography to a startup idea (5:15) The big pivot: starting a technology business (8:00) Using the university ecosystem to develop and test prototypes (9:40) Strategic partnerships with IPG Photonics and securing first customers (13:40) Building marketing assets that engineers often overlook (19:05) Understanding product-market fit in B2B hard tech (25:10) Finding and cultivating early adopter customers (28:15) Funding strategies without heavy VC involvement (46:32) Leadership styles and growth over time (50:15) Preparing for acquisition and knowing when to sell More about the episode Turning cutting-edge research into a viable, market-ready product is never easy—especially in hard tech, where the path from prototype to profitability is often long and capital-intensive. But Paul Webster, Chief Technology Officer and General Manager at IPG Photonics Canada, managed to do just that with Laser Depth Dynamics, the company he co-founded while finishing his PhD at Queen’s University. In this episode of Pioneers, host Peng-Sang Cau dives deep into Paul’s journey from academic research to successful acquisition. You’ll hear how he pivoted from medical imaging to manufacturing to shorten time-to-market, leveraged the resources of the university ecosystem to refine his prototype, and built strategic relationships—most notably with IPG Photonics—that fast-tracked his path to customers and growth. Paul also reveals how empathy, overbuilt hardware, and smart pricing decisions helped him win early adopters, how he avoided the common pitfalls of hard tech fundraising, and why preparing for acquisition starts on day one. For founders, investors, and innovators in deep tech, this episode offers a masterclass in turning research into a thriving business. Connect with us Peng-Sang Cau LinkedIn Website Paul Webster LinkedIn
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    57 m
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