Early in the pandemic, Jaya Iyer began seriously considering a career change. By that point, she had two degrees in mechanical engineering and eight years of experience working in aerospace. Iyer, the lead spacecraft structures engineer at a subsidiary of Boeing Co., consulted with someone she had worked with at SpaceX, Elon Musk’s rocket company. Her friend suggested she get in touch with their former colleague Benson Tsai, who’d been tapping some of the bright minds from the company and other aerospace firms around Los Angeles to solve a novel technical challenge.
When Iyer was at Space Exploration Technologies Corp., Tsai was developing battery technology for the company’s satellites and spacecraft. Now he makes pizza. Perplexed and a little intrigued, Iyer agreed to a meeting. “It was outlandish to the point where, ‘Please, tell me more,’ ” she says. Tsai regaled her with his vision of a robot on wheels capable of making a pizza from scratch. Someone would drive the truck to an office park, shopping center or residential area; customers would order through an app; and the robot would do the rest. Tsai had already persuaded venture capitalists—a group that would soon include a firm run by Jay-Z—to invest millions of dollars. He’d assembled a team of 40 or so rocket scientists and other technologists to, as Tsai describes it, “solve pizza.”
この記事は Bloomberg Businessweek US の January 09, 2023 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は Bloomberg Businessweek US の January 09, 2023 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
Instagram's Founders Say It's Time for a New Social App
The rise of AI and the fall of Twitter could create opportunities for upstarts
Running in Circles
A subscription running shoe program aims to fight footwear waste
What I Learned Working at a Hawaiien Mega-Resort
Nine wild secrets from the staff at Turtle Bay, who have to manage everyone from haughty honeymooners to go-go-dancing golfers.
How Noma Will Blossom In Kyoto
The best restaurant in the world just began its second pop-up in Japan. Here's what's cooking
The Last-Mover Problem
A startup called Sennder is trying to bring an extremely tech-resistant industry into the age of apps
Tick Tock, TikTok
The US thinks the Chinese-owned social media app is a major national security risk. TikTok is running out of ways to avoid a ban
Cleaner Clothing Dye, Made From Bacteria
A UK company produces colors with less water than conventional methods and no toxic chemicals
Pumping Heat in Hamburg
The German port city plans to store hot water underground and bring it up to heat homes in the winter
Sustainability: Calamari's Climate Edge
Squid's ability to flourish in warmer waters makes it fitting for a diet for the changing environment
New Money, New Problems
In Naples, an influx of wealthy is displacing out-of-towners lower-income workers