Uploaded July 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Davide Asnaghi and Lenny Khazan started Diode Computers with a question: why does hardware design still move so slowly? Drawing on their backgrounds in software and electrical engineering, they set out to reframe circuit board design as a software problem. One that AI could help solve.
They went from building a tool to catch design mistakes to creating an end-to-end AI-powered system that generates production-ready boards. Along the way, they discovered that most companies didn’t want a better tool — they wanted the whole solution. That insight led to rapid growth, real customers, and over 100 boards designed in just a few months, all by a two-person team. Today, they announced $11.4M in Series A funding led by a16z.
This is the story of two engineers trying to make hardware move at software speed, and the infrastructure making it possible.
Learn more about Diode Computers at https://diode.computer.
Apply to Y Combinator: ycombinator.com/apply
Chapters:
00:22 - What is Diode?
00:31 - Customer Base and Early Growth
00:51 - The Origin Story
02:46 - Initial Challenges and Pivot
04:01 - Finding the Right Problem
05:02 - First Successful Deal
05:29 - Realization and Validation
06:40 - Reframing PCB Design as a Software Problem
11:28 - Technical Choices and Challenges
11:56 - Innovative Language Design
12:31 - Infrastructure and Security
13:33 - Future Prospects
14:21 - Recruitment and Team Building
Davide Asnaghi and Lenny Khazan started Diode Computers with a question: why does hardware design still move so slowly? Drawing on their backgrounds in software and electrical engineering, they set out to reframe circuit board design as a software problem. One that AI could help solve.
They went from building a tool to catch design mistakes to creating an end-to-end AI-powered system that generates production-ready boards. Along the way, they discovered that most companies didn’t want a better tool — they wanted the whole solution. That insight led to rapid growth, real customers, and over 100 boards designed in just a few months, all by a two-person team. Today, they announced $11.4M in Series A funding led by a16z.
This is the story of two engineers trying to make hardware move at software speed, and the infrastructure making it possible.
Learn more about Diode Computers at https://diode.computer.
Apply to Y Combinator: ycombinator.com/apply
Chapters:
00:22 - What is Diode?
00:31 - Customer Base and Early Growth
00:51 - The Origin Story
02:46 - Initial Challenges and Pivot
04:01 - Finding the Right Problem
05:02 - First Successful Deal
05:29 - Realization and Validation
06:40 - Reframing PCB Design as a Software Problem
11:28 - Technical Choices and Challenges
11:56 - Innovative Language Design
12:31 - Infrastructure and Security
13:33 - Future Prospects
14:21 - Recruitment and Team Building
