In this episode, we invited Tesoro Venture Capital Founder and Managing Partner Andy Lombard to share how he identifies future industry leaders amid the trillion-dollar global race in semiconductors and AI.
Developing a new chip often takes close to a decade and requires tens of millions of U.S. dollars in investment. Tesoro approaches this challenge through a model it calls “Codependent Innovation,” working in close collaboration with ecosystem partners such as TSMC, Cadence, and Amkor. By embedding startups directly into this network, Tesoro helps establish real-time feedback loops that significantly shorten development cycles. Andy explains in detail how Tesoro’s accelerator programs are designed to compress both R&D timelines and costs, with an ambitious goal: to cultivate the next generation of TSMC’s most important global customers within the next five years.
Beyond investment strategy, Andy also discusses how Tesoro is working to replicate the success of Taiwan’s Hsinchu Science Park in the “Silicon Desert” of Phoenix. Tesoro is actively connecting leading universities—such as the University of Arizona and National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University—with advanced research centers, focusing on frontier domains including Physical AI, robotics, photonics, and AI chips engineered for extreme environments such as space.
In this episode, we take a closer look at how Tesoro supports Taiwanese and global startups as they establish a presence in the U.S. market. Through cross-border collaboration and what Andy describes as a “corridor effect,” Tesoro aims to accelerate the commercialization of next-generation hard technologies and help shape a truly global ecosystem for physical, real-world AI.

在本集節目中，我們邀請到 Tesoro Venture Capital 的創辦人兼管理合夥人 Andy Lombard，與我們分享他如何在價值兆元的半導體與 AI 競賽中挖掘未來的產業巨頭。開發一顆晶片通常需要耗時十年並投入數千萬美金，但 Tesoro 透過「共同依賴式創新（Codependent Innovation）」模式，與台積電 (TSMC)、Cadence 及 Amkor 等生態系夥伴緊密合作，為新創公司建立即時的反饋機制。Andy 詳細介紹了他們如何透過加速器計畫壓縮研發時間與成本，目標是在未來五年內，為台積電培養出下一批最重要的全球大客戶。
從新竹到鳳凰城：打造實體 AI 的全球生態系
除了投資策略，Andy 也探討了如何將台灣新竹科學園區的成功模式，複製到亞利桑那州鳳凰城的「矽沙漠」。Tesoro 致力於串聯全球頂尖大學（如亞利桑那大學與陽明交大）與研究中心，鎖定「實體 AI (Physical AI)」、機器人、光子學以及專為太空極端環境設計的 AI 晶片等前瞻領域。我們將深入了解 Tesoro 如何協助台灣及全球的新創團隊落腳美國市場，並透過跨國合作的「廊道」效應，推動次世代硬科技的商業化進程。

This episode of Deep Dive provides a comprehensive recap of CES 2026, highlighting a pivotal shift in the technology landscape from Generative AI (chatbots) to "Agentic AI" and "Physical AI." The discussion focuses on how AI is moving beyond the screen and cloud into the physical world to become the foundational infrastructure of consumer technology.

The hosts explain that this new era is defined by "agency"—software that proactively anticipates user needs and executes tasks across devices without waiting for prompts—marking a departure from the passive tools of the past few years.

The episode details specific innovations driving this shift, particularly the rise of local AI processing on PCs and smartphones to ensure privacy and speed (the "AI PC" era). It covers major developments in robotics, such as Hyundai's industrial integration of Boston Dynamics and new home assistants from Samsung and LG that aim to be helpful rather than just novelties.

Furthermore, the discussion touches on the explosion of health tech following new FDA guidance, featuring non-invasive monitoring and smart wellness devices, ultimately painting a picture of a future where technology becomes an invisible, proactive, and helpful layer in daily life.

這集 podcast 針對剛落幕的 CES 2026 進行了深入的趨勢分析，重點在於人工智慧（AI）的重大轉型：從單純的「生成式 AI」（如對話機器人）進化為具備主動執行能力的「代理 AI」（Agentic AI）與「實體 AI」（Physical AI）。節目指出，AI 已不再只是雲端上的軟體，而是成為各種硬體設備的基礎架構（Infrastructure）。透過 Lenovo 的情境感知筆電、Samsung 與 LG 的智慧家電生態系等案例，主持人解釋了 AI 如何從「等待指令」轉變為「預測需求並主動執行」，真正實現跨裝置的無縫協作。

除了軟體代理，節目也探討了 AI 進入實體世界的硬體突破。重點涵蓋了 NVIDIA 與現代汽車（Boston Dynamics）在工業與居家機器人上的進展，以及為了支援這些「邊緣運算」所需的強大晶片（如 NVIDIA RTX 50 系列與各家 NPU）。此外，討論觸及了 FDA 新規範放寬後帶來的健康科技爆發，例如非侵入式血糖監測與智慧馬桶等。整體而言，CES 2026 標誌著科技正從數位的對話框，大步邁向能感知、移動並協助人類處理實體任務的時代。

VC Talks: Shao-Yu Jheng (Harvard) | Why Reindustrialization Won't Work Without Global Supply Networks

As reshoring and industrial policy return to the center of U.S. economic strategy, supply chains are increasingly framed as matters of national security and sovereignty. But history tells a more complicated story. In this episode of VC Talks, Uly revisits Left for Dead, a 1997 study on the revival of U.S. electronics, to question whether bringing manufacturing back home was ever the true driver of America’s industrial recovery.

Joined by Shao-Yu Jheng, a postdoctoral researcher in Economics at Harvard University, the conversation reframes the 1980s–90s comeback as a story of network leadership rather than national production. The episode examines why the Japanese manufacturing model ran into structural limits, how Taiwan and overseas Chinese (OC) production networks enabled coordination at scale, and why control over global supply networks—rather than factory location alone—proved decisive. Looking ahead, the discussion challenges today’s reshoring debate by asking what industrial policy can realistically change, and where its influence fundamentally ends.

在美國近年大力推動再工業化與製造回流的政策背景下，供應鏈被重新視為國家競爭力的核心資產。然而，歷史是否真的支持「把工廠搬回國內」就能重建產業實力？本集《VC Talks》回到一篇 1997 年探討美國電子產業復甦的研究〈Left for Dead〉，試圖從產業史的角度，重新檢視當前對 reshoring 的普遍想像。

主持人 Uly 與哈佛大學經濟學博士研究員鄭紹鈺深入對談，指出美國在 1980 至 1990 年代的產業反彈，並非來自製造回流，而是成功主導橫跨多國的生產網絡。節目聚焦日本製造模式的結構性限制，以及臺灣與海外華人（OC）產業網絡如何在關鍵時刻提供彈性、效率與協調能力，成為美國科技體系得以延續競爭優勢的隱形支柱。本集不只回顧歷史，也直指一個當代問題：在高度全球化的供應鏈體系中，真正的產業力量，究竟掌握在國家邊界，還是網絡控制之中？




📍 About Host: Uly Su
General Partner, Addins Venture
#CrossBorderMentor #StartupExpansion #TaiwanToSiliconValley
🌏 A cross-border mentor who supports startups in entering global markets, with deep experience in fundraising, talent strategy, and international operations across the U.S. and Taiwan.
🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ulysu/

📚 Learn more about Taiwan’s startup ecosystem 👉🏼 https://meetstartup.pse.is/4jhd5u

🚀 Stay connected with Taiwan–Silicon Valley innovation via the Startup Island TAIWAN Silicon Valley Hub:
https://sv.startupisland.tw/