I sat down with Manas Punhani, Senior Associate at Woven Capital (Toyota’s growth fund), to dig into how growth investors judge traction, price risk, and help founders scale in industrial tech, robotics, and “physical AI.”We broke down what Toyota’s backing really changes, how to balance moonshots with near-term wins, and the operational details factories care about beyond pure throughput.What we coverHow growth investors read “proof points,” set milestones, and think about $50M–$100M revenue paths and exitsWhat Toyota’s network of engineers means for diligence, pilots, and real BD—plus how to enter Japan the right wayRobotics ROI today: safety, uptime, battery swapping, and why throughput alone won’t close a dealFunding moonshots with discipline: using “tech unlocks” between rounds when revenue isn’t the right yardstick yetTraits that stand out at Series A–C: self-awareness, honest plans to profitability, and crisp operating cadenceWhere the next wave might come from: embodied AI on the factory floor and “unsexy” sectors now enabled by agentsGuest Manas Punhani — Senior Associate, Woven CapitalMore about Woven Capital https://www.woven.vcConnect with Manas https://www.linkedin.com/in/sdi-academy-manas-punhani/Connect with me Greg Toroosian https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregtoroosian/

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