Nico Wittenborn retweeted
"Most hardware engineering is actually software engineering in disguise."
12 years ago I founded Boom, as a software engineer doing hardware for the first time. I’m probably the least handy founder in hard tech. My 12 y/o son does my soldering and 3D printing for home projects, and I’ve struggled with imposter syndrome the whole way through. What business does a software guy have building supersonic jets and turbines?
More than a decade in, the most insane realization is that software is the key to reaccelerating hardware engineering. But in a way that I don’t think is widely understood or implemented, even in the burgeoning hard tech community.
Most hardware engineering is actually software engineering in disguise. It’s spreadsheet “code,” engineering calculations done as one-offs. Eg wing structural loads in, spar sizing design out. Thermal loads in, air conditioning system sizing out.
Everything is a calculation, and calculation is software. But these calculations are done essentially by hand, as if we are doing arithmetic but have not yet discovered algebra.
Hardware engineers have baby software, built in spreadsheets, the kind of crappy software I wrote as a kid before I understood architecture, unit tests, APIs, version control, and everything else that makes modern software good.
Our airplanes and engines are built with the software sophistication of a script kiddie.
So what we tell our engineers: don’t design the hardware, design the *algorithm* for designing the hardware. And take the algorithm seriously—as an algorithm and as a first-class engineered software system.
Never design a piece of hardware, such that you couldn’t redesign it tomorrow with a different set of assumptions.
This all sounds obvious, yet our experience at Boom is that it changes everything.
Ten years ago we couldn’t afford to build much software. We had a small team—and there were few software engineers with the curiosity, brilliance, and vision required to learn hardware engineering.
But now AI changes the equation. Now everyone can code. The software engineers define the architecture. The hardware people bring the physics and engineering know-how.
We have a turbomachinery design tool that lets one engineer do in realtime what previously took 100 engineers six months. Another tool auto-generates 65% of entire aircraft structure. I’m sure we’ll figure out the other 35% too. Eventually these should not be multiple tools, but one integrated physics model of a complete vehicle, airframe and powertrain.
The results speak for themselves. A boomless supersonic airplane built by 50. A full scale supersonic turbine made by 150. And with this approach, I don’t think we’ll need that many more people to build and certify a supersonic airliner.
You don’t need a big team to build big things—not when everyone on the team is a software engineer.
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Nico Wittenborn retweeted
What is true progress?
In startup land, it's easy to get myopic about what true progress is. Funding, ARR, launch videos is all razzmatazz.
These things matter. We're all playing to win.
Being valued 9 figs and backed by top VC can certainly feel like progress. Yet the scoreboard only tells half the story.
Compressed wealth cycles create a need for supersonic progress. Somewhere along the way, it's easy to confuse moving faster with moving forward.
It's particularly easy to fall into this trap when building. More output, more urgency, more chaos. A lot of activity but not necessarily progress.
To me, progress is as much an internal odyssey as an external one. It's not just about what you're building, but who you're becoming along the way.
Can you look yourself in the mirror and genuinely say you're making progress?
Why are you even here?
In startup land, it's easy to get myopic about what true progress is. Funding, ARR, launch videos is all razzmatazz.
These things matter. We're all playing to win.
Being valued 9 figs and backed by top VC can certainly feel like progress. Yet the scoreboard only tells half the story.
Compressed wealth cycles create a need for supersonic progress. Somewhere along the way, it's easy to confuse moving faster with moving forward.
It's particularly easy to fall into this trap when building. More output, more urgency, more chaos. A lot of activity but not necessarily progress.
To me, progress is as much an internal odyssey as an external one. It's not just about what you're building, but who you're becoming along the way.
Can you look yourself in the mirror and genuinely say you're making progress?
Why are you even here?
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Nico Wittenborn retweeted
Your designs now live in your pocket📱
Check a measurement at the hardware store. Show the machinist exactly what you need. Walk a client through the latest version over coffee, at full scale in AR, right there on the table.
Shapr3D is now on iPhone. Every design you make on yncs to your phone automatically. Open it, view it, export it to print or production or wherever it needs to go next.
(With Duo support coming soon 😉)
Download Shapr3D for iPhone now!
Check a measurement at the hardware store. Show the machinist exactly what you need. Walk a client through the latest version over coffee, at full scale in AR, right there on the table.
Shapr3D is now on iPhone. Every design you make on yncs to your phone automatically. Open it, view it, export it to print or production or wherever it needs to go next.
(With Duo support coming soon 😉)
Download Shapr3D for iPhone now!
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Nico Wittenborn retweeted
Introducing Zenith. Our in-house designed flight computer, purpose-built for advanced reentry.
From Mach 20+ hypersonic flight to a precise, soft landing, Zenith orchestrates nearly every system on Arc.
From Mach 20+ hypersonic flight to a precise, soft landing, Zenith orchestrates nearly every system on Arc.
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Nico Wittenborn retweeted
Sandbar won't make another AI assistant.
We built Stream MCP so you can move your context anywhere, and Universal Dictation so you can whisper with every app.
Stream is an extension of you thinking that connects to the tools you already use.
We built Stream MCP so you can move your context anywhere, and Universal Dictation so you can whisper with every app.
Stream is an extension of you thinking that connects to the tools you already use.
Hearing more people talk about @sandbar. Their marketing videos are on point.
But I’m not sure how it will fare as yet-another-personalized-ai-assistant in this crowded space.
Assuming it can deliver on battery life, the ring form factor is smart but the software experience (voice, memory, interaction) is what is critical.
Do we bet a non-frontier lab company can make this great at a competitive price point, that also has longevity?
sandbar.com
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Nico Wittenborn retweeted
Exactly a year ago today, we launched Starcloud-1 to space. To celebrate its birthday 🥳, we have put together some previously unseen footage we have from around the launch. I particularly like the footage we have of the @Starcloud_ kids! 😅👌
Starcloud-1 is operating today with n space, still the most powerful SI compute on orbit. With it we became the first entity to do training and high powered inference on orbit, and we now have 3 more launches coming up in the next year! We are planning to move almost all compute off Earth 🚀
See the careers page on our website if you want to join this awesome team!
Starcloud-1 is operating today with n space, still the most powerful SI compute on orbit. With it we became the first entity to do training and high powered inference on orbit, and we now have 3 more launches coming up in the next year! We are planning to move almost all compute off Earth 🚀
See the careers page on our website if you want to join this awesome team!
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Nico Wittenborn retweeted
Hate SF Halloween
What do you mean you were the Hugging Face Incident
What do you mean you were the Hugging Face Incident
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went from solo (v1) to a team of 4 (v4)
some of the best decisions I have made
some of the best decisions I have made
11/1 is the anniversary of the 1st close of @adjacent v1 now exactly 7 years ago
proud of the founders we got to partner with
the focus evolved with the adjacent possible
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