Hadrian: The Factory of the Future

In this episode of Research Radio, Kyle Harrison interviews Chris Power, the founder and CEO of Hadrian, about his company's mission to revitalize American manufacturing. Power discusses the historical decline of U.S. industrial power, attributing it to a shift from prioritizing tangible production to financial returns. He explains how Hadrian aims to build the factory of the future by integrating software, robotics, and human expertise to achieve greater efficiency and quality in manufacturing, particularly for the defense and aerospace industries. Power emphasizes the importance of standardizing hardware and software, simplifying complex tasks to enable a new workforce to learn quickly, and using a human-in-the-loop approach to automation. They also discuss the company's growth, competitive landscape, and future opportunities, including expanding into new materials and building dedicated facilities for specific customers, as well as the importance of financial engineering to fund capital expenditures. Power highlights the need for cheap energy, strategic partnerships for mining and pharmaceutical manufacturing, and attracting talent to bolster U.S. industrial capabilities.