Ben Marcus

@bscholl @flyjsx Now serving Santa Monica!

Just landed back in Denver via @flyjsx. JSX puts the joy and simplicity back in flying—you can show up a few min before the flight and just walk on.

The 20th century was shaped by the airplane. Not the semiconductor. The next phase looks similar: breakthroughs in the physical world, accelerated by software—not defined by it. That’s the idea behind The Kinetic Age.

Taking flight by turning traffic into air. @jobyaviation celebrates American innovation and the new Golden Age of Flight with NYC’s first electric air taxi demo from JFK to Manhattan. $JOBY

Santa Monica residents — do you have a strong opinion about keeping the airport closed or open? Let me know!

What?? You can now buy Bamba at Trader Joe's? Amazing!

This week I chaired a Research & Technology Subcommittee hearing on strengthening U.S. leadership in robotics and the rise of “physical AI.” Robotics is already transforming industries such as manufacturing, healthcare, and logistics, but China and others are investing aggressively while the U.S. still lacks a national strategy. My bipartisan National Commission on Robotics Act will help ensure America stays competitive and turn innovation into real world results for our workforce and economy.

@bznotes Jay has been a dear friend of mind for 15 years. He's a great guy... we're lucky to have him as a leader in Congress during this AI era.

A bipartisan commission to study, accelerate, incentivize, and promote robotics is a good idea to strengthen US leadership in the space, enable a capable supply chain, create dominant companies that will field deploy at scale, and provide guardrails and advisory to prevent harmful use.

Congrats to @SkydioHQ on committing $3.5 billion to expand U.S. manufacturing and secure American drone dominance! Under @POTUS’s leadership, we’re building a strong, secure American drone supply chain that protects our national security and keeps the U.S. at the forefront of this critical technology.

“We are not going to forget it," a senior Emirati official said of the assistance from Israel and Netanyahu at a critical moment. “It was a real eye-opening moment. To see who our real friends are," the Emirati official said.

@FaceTheNation @jonostrower @margbrennan This surge in fuel prices will lead to record profits for the airlines. They’re going to learn that customers are willing to pay much higher fares. When fuel costs come back down, fares will stay high and margins will be much higher.

NEW: Chevron CEO Mike Wirth says aviation is “going to probably get worse over the next few weeks” because of a jet fuel supply crunch that's also pushed up ticket prices driven by America's war in Iran. He tells @margbrennan the effects could last through the summer.

BREAKING: Skydio Raises $110 Million Series F at a $4.4B Valuation "The most significant fact in our Series F is how little we are raising. Despite investor demand to put substantially more into the company.. our capital needs are rapidly decreasing." CEO Adam Bry (@adampbry) joins Sourcery to share @SkydioHQ's funding process, 9 figures in revenue (!!), commercial scale, military + public safety use cases, & their manufacturing edge at Skydio's Hayward factory. Skydio is the largest drone factory in the US at scale production. Skydio by the numbers: - $110M Series F at $4.4B post money - 9 figures in annual revenue, strong unit economics - ~900 employees - 60,000 autonomous flying robots shipped - 3.4M+ customer flights - 3,800+ enterprise customers - 1,200+ public safety agencies (doubled YoY) - 45 of 51 state transportation agencies - Every branch of the US military plus 29 allies - 11M+ Americans live within 2 miles of a Skydio DFR Dock In this conversation, we cover: - Series F and the unit economics behind a $4.4B valuation - $50M, 3,000 drone US Army contract and tripling production in 2026 - R10 indoor drone and F10 fixed wing - Turning down DJI's acquisition offer in 2014 - Getting sanctioned by the Chinese government in 2024 - Drone as First Responder: Public Safety customers in 42/50 states, 42% auto theft reduction in SF - Built a China independent supply chain & US manufacturing at scale - Flying agentic AI & the future of autonomous robotics - Adam's hottest take on the robotics hype cycle If you're interested in reindustrializing America, drones, AI, robotics, & fundraising in hard tech, this one's for you. 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐒 (00:00) Adam Bry, CEO of Skydio (00:54) Inside Skydio Factory (01:31) Series F & Scaling (03:17) Customers And Growth (04:10) Origins & Reliability (08:04) Civilian Missions Focus (09:19) Drones For Public Safety (12:29) Edge Compute & Partners (14:20) Expanding Drone Lineup (17:10) Beating China & DJI (19:34) US Supply Chain Resilience (21:33) Reindustrialization Timeline (22:35) Hiring & Leadership (27:12) AI Agentic Drones (30:08) Metrics & Operating Model (31:49) Hottest Take And Advice

1/ Skydio has raised $110 million in Series F financing, led by existing investors. This round raises our valuation to $4.4 billion. 🧵

The future of air travel has arrived. Today, @SecDuffy announced groundbreaking new airspace software that will modernize America’s skies and dramatically REDUCE delays. The GOLDEN AGE OF TRAVEL IS HERE! ✈️

@SecDuffy Even the 2026 one looks 50 years old. How about iPads and Starlink? Would be 1,000,000 times better

‼️ CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS? 😳 These are BOTH voice switches being used in air traffic control towers LEFT: 1991 technology RIGHT: 2026 technology We’re replacing outdated systems with crystal-clear digital voice switches that streamline communication when every second matters most

ATC Modernization is HERE This is exactly what we’re doing at USDOT ⬇️ STAY TUNED FOR TOMORROW when we walk America through it all ✈️

A decade of doing things differently, designed around how flying should feel. And we’re just getting started...️ ​ Here’s to 10 years of joyful, simple travel experiences and all that is to come.

Congrats @billythalheimer! Awesome to see that bird (err… boat) in the air!

Scott is a great dude. Awesome interview

They were built at the Santa Monica Airport!

Today @hermeuscorp is announcing a $350M Series C financing led by @khoslaventures, bringing our valuation to $1B. Everything we do is with one goal in mind: build the fastest unmanned aircraft in the world for the American warfighter. To our investors, thank you for your faith and trust in us. To our team, you continue to amaze me with your ingenuity, commitment, and fire for tackling some of the hardest and most meaningful problems in aerospace. To those who want to build the fastest aircraft in the world - we’re hiring. This is a return to the roots of American innovation. More from me here: hermeus.com/newsroom-conte…