Ep. 105 | Inside the Mind of a Growth-Stage Investor with Manas Punhani

I sat down with Manas Punhani, Senior Associate at Woven Capital (Toyota’s growth fund), to dig into how growth investors and growth-stage 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 cover

● How growth-stage investors read “proof points,” set milestones, and think about $50M–$100M revenue paths and exits
● What Toyota’s network of engineers means for diligence, pilots, and real BD—plus how to enter Japan the right way
● Robotics ROI today: safety, uptime, battery swapping, and why throughput alone won’t close a deal
● Funding moonshots with discipline: using “tech unlocks” between rounds when revenue isn’t the right yardstick yet
● Traits that stand out at Series A–C: self-awareness, honest plans to profitability, and crisp operating cadence
● Where the next wave might come from: embodied AI on the factory floor and “unsexy” sectors now enabled by agents

#machinemindsshow #machineminds #automation #automationandrobotics #artificialintelligence
#insidethemindofagrowthstageinvestorwithmanaspunhani #insidethemindofagrowthstageinvestor #manaspunhani #growthstageinvestors #toyotasgrowthfund #wovencapital #seniorassociates #industrialtech #physicalai #proofpoints #toyotasnetworkofengineers #fundingmoonshots #techunlocks #embodiedai

Episode Highlights:
00:00 Machine Minds Show Introduction
03:48 This Technology is Valuable and Customers
07:26 Potential of Robotics and Automation
12:02 What Parts of Toyota Could be Potential Customer
17:22 Valley to Cash Flow Positivity
23:13 Pretty Shortsighted for Big Projects
29:40 Drive Collaboration and Interaction
35:53 Can You Have Battery Swapping
41:26 Focus on Customer Development

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Connect with Manas Punhani on LinkedIn:
  / sdi-academy-manas-punhani  

More about Woven Capital on LinkedIn:
  / wovencapital  

Company Website:
https://www.woven.vc