Building Neuralink’s Machine Shop

The Analog #129

May 06, 2025

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Another engineers and founders dinner is coming up, this time in Seattle, WA on May 15th. Applications are open with limited seats (~30) – hardware engineers, leaders, founders, and investors are all welcome!

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Interesting Links 🏭

Most manufacturing startups fall into one of three buckets: software to run factories, services that make parts, or new ways to make the parts themselves. The past few years have seen a wave of funding flow into each of these categories, driven in large part by a16z’s American Dynamism push and a broader effort to rebuild industrial capacity:

Software companies build tools for running production: MES, test tracking, work instructions. It’s a traditional SaaS playbook with fewer network effects, but often more deeply embedded once adopted. [Ground Control, First Resonance, Dirac]
Services companies own the machines and make parts for others, with an edge in vertically integrated automation and operations. [Hadrian, Senra Systems]
Process innovation companies change the way parts are made, and are typically quite rare by nature. They blend R&D and materials science to rethink/invent manufacturing methods and use them to sell parts. [Rangeview, Machina Labs]

*A “robo-formed” truck hood from Machina Labs*

How the Falcon Wing Doors on the Tesla Model X work, but explained with Legos. Highly recommend watching the video for a visual breakdown. The doors use a two-hinge system, with each hinge operating independently. The main hinge near the roofline is supported by torsion springs that hold most of the door’s weight when open. A pair of electric actuators assist the lift and handle closing, since the springs can’t pull the door back down. Midway up the door is a second hinge, actuated by two liftgate-style struts (the same type used in trunk lids) in a push-pull setup. These allow the upper section to fold inward, where each hinge is controlled separately via sensors to avoid nearby obstacles. It’s one of the most clever (and overengineered) solutions to a problem most cars avoid entirely, and Tesla famously regretted rushing it into production.

*From Tesla’s First Responder Handbook: each door uses two torsion springs to handle most of the lift, while push-pull struts at the second hinge manage the fold-in motion.*

Presented by yours truly: an interview with the Head of Machine Shop at Neuralink. Definitely worth reading if you’ve ever tried to stand up a shop or prototyping space inside a fast-moving hardware org. He walks through the layouts, workflows, and systems behind Neuralink’s two internal shops both built for low-volume, high-mix work and tight engineering loops. If you ever find yourself shopping for a new mill, he has a handy eight-step framework for evaluating any machine:

1) Type of machine – 3-axis or 5-axis? Vertical, horizontal, or a mill-turn?
2) Automation – Will it need automation right away, or should I plan for it later?
3) Work envelope – Check X, Y, and Z travel plus table size. It should fit the largest prototype I expect to make, with some buffer.
4) Spindle – Taper and maximum RPM.
5) Tool changer – Make sure it has enough capacity for our mix of jobs.
6) Brand – Reliability, support, and control system familiarity all factor in.
7) Cost – Total cost including tooling and setup.
8) Lead time – I’ve seen quotes with 10-month delivery times, so that’s a real constraint.

The terahertz spectrum is a large, underused gap in the electromagnetic spectrum that bridges the gap between microwave and optical spectra. This may change in coming decades as new semiconductor materials such as gallium nitride (GaN), gallium arsenide (GaAs) and indium phosphide (InP). Northrop Grumman demonstrated an InP transistor that can deliver 9dB of amplification at 1 THz 10 years ago! Applications of THz tech include radio astronomy (98% of photons after Big Bang visible), medical applications ranging from imaging to tumor treatment, and niche short range, high bandwidth communication protocols.
Some companies win by building; others win by sitting on scarce resources. SpaceX is accusing satellite rival Echostar (parent company of Dish Network and Boost Mobile) of doing the latter in the radio spectrum, and using Starlink satellites to perform a spectrum analysis of the 2 GHz band and argue that Echostar isn’t making meaningful use of spectrum it was granted to serve 70% of the U.S. population. Starlink does have a vested interest as its U.S. network is nearing capacity, with users in high-demand regions now facing $250 congestion fees. Reclaiming or sharing the underused spectrum would help expand Starlink’s available bandwidth in its most valuable market.
- If you’re unfamiliar with spectrum analysis: it measures the strength of radio signals across different frequencies, showing which parts of the spectrum are active, how strongly they’re being used, and by whom (if you can identify the source).

One fun link to round out the week: Zach, an early reader of the newsletter, just launched a Kickstarter for his Crowsbeak Multi-Tool: an all-in-one tool built for everything from backyard barbecues to campsite repairs.
Sponsored: nTop’s Computational Design Summit 2025 is happening June 24 in Los Angeles — a one-day event for engineers, designers, and product teams. Hear how teams at Lockheed Martin, Siemens Energy, and others are using computational design and AI to accelerate development. Free to attend for qualified professionals — sign up here!

Presented by Quilter: Move Fast. Fix Less. Win More.

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Startup News 🚀

Emmi AI raised $17.1M in a seed funding round (the largest seed round in Austrian startup history!) to speed up industrial simulations with AI. Instead of relying on traditional solvers, the company trains deep learning models to run simulations like computational fluid dynamics or stress tests in a fraction of the time, turning hours-long runtimes into seconds or minutes. The core idea is to bring real-time performance to tools that usually take hours, and unlock faster iterations in industries like aerospace and automotive. The funding round was led by 3VC and Speedinvest, with participation from Serena and PUSH VC.
True Anomaly raised $260M in Series C funding to expand its autonomous space defense platform. The company has two core products: the Jackal spacecraft for multi-orbit missions (on-orbit inspection, surveillance) and Mosaic, a real-time platform for space domain awareness and threat response. The funding will go toward expanding facilities, growing the team, and launching four missions across three orbits in the next 18 months. The round was led by Accel, with backing from Meritech, ACME, and others bringing total funding to $400M since 2022.

Electra raised $186M in a Series B funding to its scale clean iron production technology. The Colorado-based company uses a patented electrochemical process powered by renewable energy to extract 99% pure iron from low-grade ores, offering a path to decarbonize one of the dirtiest industrial sectors. Steelmaking accounts for nearly 10% of global CO₂ emissions, and Electra’s approach could significantly cut that footprint. The company plans to open a demonstration plant in 2025 to showcase its low-carbon iron production for industrial partners. The round was co-led by Capricorn Investment Group and Temasek.
Exowatt raised $70M in a Series A funding to scale production of its modular solar thermal energy system. The Exowatt P3 captures solar energy and stores it as high-temperature heat in a long-duration thermal battery, delivering carbon-free electricity for data centers and industrial applications. The company’s business model targets energy-intensive sectors like AI data centers, with a demand backlog exceeding 90 GWh from hyperscalers and energy developers. The round was led by Felicis, with participation from Andreessen Horowitz.

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