From Tesla to CloudKitchens: Lessons Shaping a New AI Manufacturing Venture

Adi Prasad, now CEO of AI manufacturing firm Matter, reflects on formative experiences at two high-profile tech companies. At Tesla, he worked on scaling the Falcon Wing door project and watched Elon Musk deconstruct complex issues using first-principles, challenging conventional assumptions while balancing technical depth with business acumen. A subsequent role at CloudKitchens, founded by former Uber chief Travis Kalanick, taught him disciplined scaling through zero-based budgeting and a sharp focus on return on investment.

Armed with an MBA from Harvard Business School, Prasad applied these lessons to create Matter, which aims to treat American manufacturing as a software problem. The startup’s inaugural autonomous factory, spanning 54,000 square feet in Sunnyvale, employs over two dozen staff and targets the production of drones and robotic systems.