Oxide and Friends

Robert "RFK" Keith, Oxide hardware engineer who performed lab surgery and physical debugging. Nathanael Huffman, power and quality engineer who analyzed 12V/IBC behavior. They recount chasing elusive hardware resets, capturing 12V droops with scopes, instrumenting hot‑plug controllers, and working with the IBC maker to reprogram undervoltage logic. Fast-paced troubleshooting, manufacturing tests, and fleet mitigations.

Steve Tuck, Oxide CEO overseeing strategy and fundraising, walks through the $200M Series C raise and why it landed so quickly after the B. Short takes cover the tranche structure, timing (closed on Christmas Eve), investor demand, board dynamics, and how the capital will fund supply chain, manufacturing, Cosmo hardware, and global scaling.

Evan Ratliff, journalist and podcaster who built Harumo AI, discusses running a company staffed by agentic AIs. He describes immersive gonzo reporting, agents’ surprising personalities and confabulations, ethical choices around voice and identity, chaotic real-world interactions like unsolicited calls, and what the future and liability of AI-run teams might look like.

Grady Booch, software engineering pioneer and cofounder of Rational Software, shares stories from building early computers to shaping object-oriented design. He walks through SAGE, the software crisis, UML, and how packages, frameworks, and LLMs reshape engineering. Conversation touches on durable versus disposable software, the limits of LLMs, and timeless skills like abstraction, coupling, cohesion, and judgment.

Rain Paharia, a software engineer known for his Rust libraries, and David Crespo, an experienced web developer and LLM enthusiast, join the discussion on the evolving landscape of software engineering. They tackle how LLMs can enhance engineering rigor rather than diminish the role of coders. Topics include leveraging LLMs for efficient API testing, automating code reviews, and uncovering real bugs in unfamiliar codebases. The duo emphasizes the importance of strong type systems and documentation practices to maintain code quality in this tech-driven era.

In this engaging discussion, Simon Willison, a web developer known for his advocacy of open-source and AI, predicts that skepticism about AI-generated code will rapidly fade. Steve Klabnik, a seasoned software developer, foresees the ongoing challenges of orchestrating multiple AI agents. Ian Grunert offers insights on consumer trends in devices, including rising demand for Waymo and cautious expectations for new AI products. They all explore the potential impact of AI on society and how it may reshape various industries by 2026.

Bryan and Adam reflect on the highlights from 2025, sharing favorite moments and images. They dive into the surprising Hacker News reaction to using LLMs at Oxide and recommend the quirky Shell Game podcast. Their discussion celebrates the evolution of episode images, humor, and ingenious references, including deleted Simpsons jokes. They tackle significant themes like debugging and community engagement, while also highlighting listener stories and industry milestones. Tune in for laughs and insightful commentary!

Cliff Biffle, a firmware and systems engineer, and Matt Keeter, a hardware debugging expert on the Oxide team, dive into a perplexing issue where multiple service processors became unresponsive. They explore the surprising root cause linked to an Ethernet driver bug, analyzing network behavior and thermal metrics. Cliff explains how a management-counter interrupt triggered repeated task activations, revealing a hidden fault. The discussion wraps up with insights on the broader implications and how such fixes can benefit future projects.

Join Alan Hanson, an Oxide engineer skilled in debugging storage issues, Andy Fiddaman, a ZFS-analysis expert, and Matt Ahrens, co-inventor of ZFS, as they unravel a 18-year-old ZFS data corruption bug. They discuss the confusion over initial corruption, revealing write-ordering mishaps during ZIL transaction replay. Insights from Ahrens' earlier work aided in diagnosing the persistent problem. Tune in for fascinating tales of cross-team collaboration and technical breakthroughs that refine data integrity in storage systems!

Liz Zalman, a founder and coauthor of Founder vs. Investor, shares her candid experiences with tough term sheets and the stress of last-minute deal changes. Jerry Neumann, an investor and coauthor, discusses why VCs sometimes retract offers, citing fear and career risks. Seth Winterroth, an Oxide investor, highlights the importance of supportive investor relationships during crises. Together, they dive into the nuances of founder-investor dynamics, board responsibilities, and the value of transparency in negotiations.