X, the moonshot factory 76d ago

If current trends continue, more than 3 billion people around the world will soon lack adequate housing. This episode of The Moonshot Podcast explores X’s moonshots for the built environment, and how teams at X have reimagined the building process to address the global housing crisis. Astro Teller first sits down with Michelle Kaufmann, a renowned architect and one of X’s earliest hires. Michelle and her team at Flux created software that acted as “intelligent clay” for building design projects, calculating costs and structural requirements in real-time. Next, he chats with Adrian Walker and Julia Ling from recent X graduate Anori. The Anori team is transforming the building and development process using AI. Adrian and Julia discuss why the built environment needs a moonshot, how current processes stymie innovation, and how bringing stakeholders together on a shared platform will dramatically improve and accelerate all aspects of building. 0:00 - Intro 01:17 - Meet Architect Michelle Kaufmann 03:18 - How Michelle’s first company reimagined architecture 04:25 - The “crisis moment” that created a moonshot 07:07 - Project Genie, X’s first moonshot for the built environment 10:33 - The limitations of traditional building processes 11:45 - Genie becomes Flux, an independent company 14:13 - The “intelligent clay” that helped design buildings in real-time 15:02 - Why Flux wound down 16:40 - Michelle’s return to Google to run The Lab 18:13 - Bringing joy to tough problems 19:12 - Meet Adrian Walker and Julia Ling, Anori 20:00 - Why the built environment needs a moonshot 21:58 - Anori’s approach to this challenge 24:46 - Today’s processes vs. Anori’s system 26:02 - How the current building process stymies innovation 27:07 - How Anori’s platform brings siloed work together 29:36 - Anori’s learning from outside the lab 32:34 - The team’s motivations for tackling this challenge 33:35 - Anori’s long-term vision 34:19 - Conclusion – Hosted by Astro Teller, Captain of Moonshots, The Moonshot Podcast goes behind the scenes with creators and inventors trying to find radical solutions and breakthrough technologies to the world’s biggest problems. These are the untold stories of innovation from 16 years of Alphabet’s moonshot factory. The Moonshot Podcast is a Pique Action production for X, The Moonshot Factory, produced in association with Blanchard House. If you want to take your own moonshots, we've developed a certificate course with MasterClass on how to take bold ideas and translate them into real world impact. Check it out here: https://www.masterclass.com/certificates/breakthrough-innovation-strategy-from-bold-idea-to-business-impact