automotive-design
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The Expensive Art of Asking What If
Luminary spends compute up front so engineers can ask better questions later. Its physics AI models bring aerodynamic and crash predictions into the early, still-changeable hours of product design.
Jordan Taylor Is Teaching AI to Respect the Sketch
The Vizcom co-founder began with car sketches, eight months of savings and one viral Reddit post. His bet now is that AI can accelerate the messy middle of design without taking the pencil out of the designer's hand.
Cadillac Is Rewiring a 124-Year-Old Luxury Machine
The brand that once made tailfins a national mood is attempting a harder trick: carrying American luxury into the electric age without sanding off its personality.
Vizcom
Vizcom is a San Francisco AI design platform that turns rough sketches into full-fidelity, photorealistic renders in seconds. Founded in 2021 by former Honda and NVIDIA designer Jordan Taylor and CTO Kaelan Richards, it is built for industrial, automotive, footwear and consumer-product designers who want to move from idea to visualization without leaving one tool. The company preserves original line work, proportions and intent while layering on materials, lighting and depth - positioning itself as the 'Figma for the physical world.' Backed by $52M in venture funding and used by more than 700,000 designers and 150+ companies including Ford, New Balance, Dell and Estee Lauder.
Satoshi Sugie
Satoshi Sugie is the Co-founder and CEO of WHILL, a San Mateo-based personal mobility company that has reimagined the electric wheelchair as a design-forward consumer product. Drawing on his automotive design background at Nissan, Sugie co-founded WHILL in 2012 with a mission to redefine how people perceive and use mobility devices. Under his leadership, WHILL has grown to 350 employees, expanded to 30+ countries, raised over $153 million in funding, and deployed nearly one million autonomous rides at airports worldwide including Tokyo's Haneda, Rome Fiumicino, and Narita. Named to Silicon Valley Business Journal's 40 Under 40 in 2017 and recognized by TIME Magazine's 50 Best Inventions, Sugie's approach treats mobility not as a medical necessity but as an aspirational lifestyle product.