First Resonance

Last Thursday we brought together operators from across the South Bay hardtech scene for an evening at Topgolf El Segundo. Great conversation about where AI is actually meeting the physical world, from edge deployment on real hardware to production floors solving problems that used to be theoretical. Thank you to everyone who joined us, and to the teams at ARC Boats, Astrolab, Relay Industries, Castelion, AdAstra Talent Advisors, and General Galactic who brought their people out. Would you like to attend our next Topgolf event? Drop a comment below and we'll add you to the list!

Last week our team spent an afternoon on-site with Icarus, watching firsthand as they build out serious manufacturing capability for high-altitude stratospheric systems. Getting to walk that floor with them, at exactly the moment they're scaling it, is the kind of front-row seat that reminds us why we do this work. These are the moments that get us fired up: being in the room, seeing the vision come together in person, and building alongside people doing genuinely important work. Grateful for partners like Icarus, and excited for everything ahead as they keep pushing forward.

Last week the hard tech community came together at First Resonance HQ to watch the USA take on Bosnia and Herzegovina in the World Cup. We co-hosted with our friends at Relay Industries, USA won 2-0, and the room was electric. Not a bad way to celebrate America's 250th and another year of First Resonance. It's not lost on us that the people in that room, founders, operators, and builders, are doing some of the most important work in manufacturing today. Any chance to bring that community together outside of a conference or a product demo is one we'll take. Thanks to Robert Johns and the Relay Industries team. 🇺🇸 ⚽ Want to come to our next event? Drop a comment below and we'll keep you in the loop.

What a night at Topgolf! We brought together our team and some incredible partners for an evening of friendly competition, good conversation, and a few surprisingly impressive swings. It was energizing to see so many faces from the hard-tech community come out — a huge thank you to our friends at ARC Boats, CHAOS Industries, Radiant, and Rainmaker Technology Corporation, and more for joining us and making it a memorable evening. These moments of connection matter. Building the future of manufacturing is a team sport, and it's events like these that remind us why the community we're part of is so special. Want to join us in July? Leave a comment! Until next time — see you on the tee box. #FirstResonance #HardTech #Manufacturing #TeamCulture #Topgolf #Community

Manufacturing automation is having a moment — and it should. In a sharp new Los Angeles Times piece, David Nusbaum makes the case that automation is the foundation of the next era of hardware, and that AI is poised to accelerate it dramatically. Our CEO Karan Talati emphasizes the increased focus on operational scale and manufacturing rigor to enable the promised outcomes for hardware companies. It echoes what we believe at our core: the hardest part of building world-changing hardware isn't the design — it's the capacity, scale, and operations behind it. The companies that invest in operational excellence early are the ones that reach production, scale, and market. That's the work we do every day. We partner with the teams defining new categories in space, defense, nuclear energy, and aviation — helping them build the operations to bring that hardware to market faster, cheaper, and at scale. LA is the home of next-generation hardware. Just as importantly, it's the home of the supply chain and operations that make that hardware real. We're proud to serve companies pushing the envelope on manufacturing excellence here and globally. Read more: https://lnkd.in/eSyMSZQA

First Resonance is proud to be named to the Los Angeles Times Top 50 Aerospace & Defense Companies! Moreover, it is incredible to be amongst the companies on this list that are either rooted in deep legacy in aerospace and defense in Los Angeles or are some of the new cutting-edge innovations that are so necessary to move the world forward. We are humbled and proud to be based in the epicenter of hard tech advancement in the world. Thank you to the teams building hard things and for trusting (ION) to run the factory floor. From procedures to traceability to the certifiable record, we're here for the manufacturers redefining aerospace and defense. Onward. 🚀 https://lnkd.in/giQsdEF9

First Resonance CEO Karan Talati recently joined a powerhouse panel at Kinect by Hardware FYI: “From One to Rate: Scaling Manufacturing is the Business.” Alongside James Cuseo, the discussion spanned everything from James’ early days building Mac products at Apple to how today’s manufacturing teams are pushing the limits of scale while fighting to maintain operational excellence. Huge thanks to everyone who joined, asked smart questions, and contributed to an inspiring conversation about the future of manufacturing.

🛠️ Defense tech is no longer just a design race. It’s a manufacturing race. Anduril Industries’ recent funding round doubled its valuation to $61 billion. But the real story is where the capital is going: factory expansion, workforce growth, and inventory to ramp production. National security now depends on execution and production scale—not just prototypes. But you can’t scale 21st-century defense hardware using 20th-century technology. To turn billions in capital into deployed hardware at speed, modern defense manufacturers need a software-driven Factory OS: ⏩ Faster Prototype-to-Production: Software must evolve as fast as the product does. 🔐 Bulletproof Traceability: With strict regulations and pressure to eliminate foreign-sourced components, manual paperwork is a national security risk. Manufacturers need an automated digital thread across every component and process. 🔮 Scalable Capacity: In volatile supply chains, software must dynamically map constraints to forecast reliable build dates. The hardware race is here. To build faster, you must transform your factory floor. How is your team modernizing its production software to keep up with the defense supercycle? #DefenseTech #AdvancedManufacturing #Aerospace #SupplyChain #NationalSecurity #FactoryOS

Join us for an eventful Manufacturing Happy Hour in Los Angeles 🚀 Tomorrow evening, beginning 5 pm at Arts District Brewing Company at 828 Traction Ave. We'll see you there! #losangeles #hardtech #manufacturing #eventalert #latech