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Volteras
Matt Mandel – May 29, 2025
One of the most exciting trends in energy is the rise of programmable power. Energy devices have become increasingly software-controllable. Developers can now build large virtual energy systems out of many small decentralized assets. We’ve been investing across the programmable [...] Read more
You Can Just Program Biology
Matt Mandel – May 13, 2025
Cactos
Matt Mandel – Feb 12, 2025
Presto
Matt Mandel – Feb 6, 2025
Electric vehicles are a prime example of how electricity will be used in more complex ways as we electrify everything to reduce carbon emissions. As batteries, they enable shifting electricity usage in time, and as vehicles, they enable shifting usage [...] Read more
Collaborative Intelligence
Matt Mandel – Nov 20, 2024
Humans are not simple creatures. Although we like to present ourselves as coherent wholes to the outside world, on the inside, we’re divided. Marvin Minsky argues in The Society of Mind that minds are composed of smaller agents, each with [...] Read more
Blixt
Matt Mandel – Mar 20, 2024
Existing electrical infrastructure is ill-suited to our current needs. It was developed for a world where we simply sent firm AC power from centralized power plants to end-customers. Today, however, electricity flows multi-directionally, as both AC and DC, and more [...] Read more
Vertically Integrated and AI-First
Matt Mandel – Feb 22, 2024
Co-authored with Jared Hecht A new pattern is emerging that we are excited about at USV: entrepreneurs are upgrading physical industries with an AI-first and vertically integrated approach. Instead of selling software to industry incumbents, startups are increasingly deciding to [...] Read more
AI Aesthetics
Matt Mandel – Feb 1, 2024
The word “technology” comes from the Greek word techne, which refers to an art or skill or practice. Plato writes a lot about the concept, often making reference to artists such as flute players as canonical examples of those engaged [...] Read more
Making Energy Programmable
Matt Mandel – Dec 13, 2023
We’ve previously written about the storage gap. The proliferation of solar has led to an abundance of energy when the sun is out and a dearth when it’s not. Batteries help address this gap by storing excess energy in times [...] Read more