The Tech Trek Factory operating systems and the AI hardware crunch
Karan Talati, cofounder and CEO at First Resonance, joins me to unpack what modern manufacturing really looks like inside factories that build rockets, drones, reactors, and other complex hardware. We dig into why only a small slice of factories run on real systems today, what a true factory operating system unlocks, and how that connects directly to national security and the AI boom.
If you care about where all of this new compute, energy, and defense hardware will actually come from, this conversation gives you a clear view of the stack, the gaps, and the opportunity.
Key takeaways
• Only a small fraction of factories in the United States use a manufacturing execution system, which leaves a huge gap between legacy on prem tools, paper processes, and generic workflow apps that were never built for hardware work
• Cloud infrastructure and open interfaces now make it possible to deploy a purpose built factory operating system at a cost and speed that works for both fast moving startups and long standing suppliers
• Reindustrialization does not mean bringing every product back onshore, it means being deliberate about the layers of manufacturing that matter most for national security, chips, optics, and other high value components
• The real foundation for modern manufacturing is talent, there is a major chance to re skill people into highly technical, well paid roles in aerospace, semiconductors, energy, and more
• AI and agent style workflows will sit across design, manufacturing, and field operations so that hardware teams can close feedback loops, shorten timelines, and make better decisions with the data they already generate
Timestamped highlights
[00:40] Karan explains what First Resonance does and why he calls it a factory operating system for complex industries like aerospace, defense, energy, and autonomy
[01:55] How we ended up with only about fifteen percent of factories running on an MES, and why most hardware work still lives on paper, spreadsheets, and ad hoc tools
[06:49] A clear walkthrough of how offshoring looked like a rational path for decades, and why it created hidden risk across chips, optics, and other critical components
[11:46] Which parts of manufacturing should come back onshore, why you do not want everything local, and how workforce strategy fits into the new industrial map
[16:35] What a horizontal stack across design, factory systems, test, and field data can look like, and how AI agents can keep teams in sync across that stack
[23:02] The real timelines of hardware in the age of AI, why software is speeding up physical development, and why examples like SpaceX and TSMC matter for the next decade
A line that stayed with me
“Hardware and software are not separate worlds, they are one system that is now converging faster than most people realize.”
Practical moves for tech leaders
• Map your current manufacturing and hardware workflows, even if you are at a software first company, find the paper, spreadsheets, and disconnected tools that support anything physical you ship
• Look for one or two places where a factory operating system or modern MES could remove handoffs, for example design changes that take weeks to reach the line or test data that never feeds back into engineering
• Treat manufacturing careers as part of your talent strategy, help your teams see these roles as high skill and high impact, not as a side track
Call to action
If this episode gave you a clearer view of how hardware, AI, and national security tie together, share it with one other person who should be thinking about the factory side of their roadmap.
Follow and subscribe to The Tech Trek so you never miss deep dives like this, and connect with me on LinkedIn if you want more conversations at the edge of data, engineering, and real world impact.