Subvolts take AI-driven engineering dramatically speeds up physical product design and evaluation. Jul 1, 2026 - Developers
- Learn how AI tools can dramatically speed up the iterative design and testing process for physical products.
- Business
- Discover how AI-native engineering offers a competitive advantage by compressing development cycles and improving product performance.
This interview provides a practical look at how AI is being applied to accelerate physical product development in key industries.
1000 Designs a Day: Neural Concept's Thomas von Tschammer on AI-Native Engineering
Audio streams from Erik Torenberg, Nathan Labenz. Your place is remembered on this device.
From Subvolts
Summary and analysis by Subvolts editorial, AI-assisted.
This episode of The Cognitive Revolution features Thomas von Tschammer of Neural Concept discussing AI-native engineering. He explains how physics-aware AI accelerates the design and evaluation of physical products, citing examples like Jaguar Land Rover increasing aerodynamic evaluations from 50 to 1,500 daily. The conversation highlights AI's role in shifting numerical simulation later in the engineering process and expanding early design exploration.
Imagine designing a car part. AI can now test thousands of designs in minutes, not weeks. This helps companies build better products faster by using computers to explore many options early on.
This episode is for engineers and product developers interested in how AI is transforming physical product design. It shows how AI-native approaches can compress development cycles and boost performance, offering a competitive edge. Listeners will learn how AI integrates with, rather than replaces, traditional simulation methods, impacting industries from automotive to manufacturing. This aligns with frontier labs' focus on applying AI to real-world engineering challenges.
- HostNathan Labenz
- GuestThomas von Tschammerco-founder and Managing Director US, Neural Concept
- Guest: Thomas von Tschammer, Neural Concept
- Episode Title: 1000 Designs a Day: Neural Concept's Thomas von Tschammer on AI-Native Engineering
- Show: The Cognitive Revolution
- Length: 89 minutes
- Jaguar Land Rover Evaluations: Increased from ~50 to 1,500 daily
Thomas von Tschammer, co-founder and Managing Director US of Neural Concept, argues that physics-aware AI is driving a third revolution in engineering physical products. Neural Concept’s models learn from simulation and test data to evaluate 3D designs in minutes, helping Jaguar Land Rover move from about 50 external-aerodynamics evaluations per day to 1,500 and enabling battery cool-plate suppliers to cut development cycles while improving performance. The episode explains why AI is not replacing numerical simulation, but shifting it later in the process while expanding early design exploration across automotive, Formula 1, and manufacturing workflows. The stakes are competitive: companies that make engineering iterations AI-led can compress development cycles, while legacy OEMs risk falling further behind faster-moving Chinese and digital-native hardware competitors.
For full show notes, links, and references, read the episode page:
https://www.cognitiverevolution.ai/1000-designs-a-day-neural-concept-s-thomas-von-tschammer-on-ai-native-engineering/
Mercury: Command is Mercury’s new conversational interface, giving you natural-language access to your finances and helping you take actions within your existing permissions and approval policies. Visit https://mercury.com to learn more and apply online in minutes.
Sponsor:
Claude:
Claude by Anthropic is an AI collaborator that understands your workflow and helps you tackle research, writing, coding, and organization with deep context. Get started with Claude and explore Claude Pro at https://claude.ai/tcr
CHAPTERS:
(00:00) About the Episode
(03:52) Special Sponsor
(05:40) AI design revolutions
(12:00) Physics models and data (Part 1)
(18:40) Sponsor: Claude
(20:32) Physics models and data (Part 2)
(21:56) Copilots and workflows
(33:22) Automation versus engineers
(40:39) Industry speed gaps
(48:26) Foundation models and racing
(58:03) Surprising AI designs
(01:06:15) Adoption and differentiation
(01:17:02) Robotics and abundance
(01:24:36) Episode Outro
(01:28:10) Outro
PRODUCED BY:
SOCIAL LINKS:
Website: https://www.cognitiverevolution.ai
Twitter (Podcast): https://x.com/cogrev_podcast
Twitter (Nathan): https://x.com/labenz
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/nathanlabenz/
Youtube: https://youtube.com/@CognitiveRevolutionPodcast
Spotify: WithCameron Berg, Everett Hildenbrandt, Grigore Rosu, Phil Maher WithThomas Sohmers, swyx, Evan Miyazono, Edward Hu Page generated Oct 19, 2026. Summaries are Subvolts' own; the audio, artwork and notes belong to Erik Torenberg, Nathan Labenz.1 h 27AI:AM: Where's the Steering Wheel? My Agent Set the Password, Hidden Valence, Proofs Find Linux Bugs
2 h 192 h 021 h 28AI:AM: A Level We Shouldn't Pass? Notes from The Curve + Tokens vs. Salaries & Is SaaS Cooked?
Questions people ask
