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These ex-Tesla supply chain managers started an AI inventory firm
The AI venture aims to revolutionize supply chain and demand management through its software platform.
Two former supply chain managers at Tesla have started their own AI inventory firm, which aims to make demand and inventory planning more efficient.
Neal Suidan, Tesla’s former Senior Manager of Global Demand Planning, and Michael Rossiter, former Director of Sales Operations and Senior Manager of Business Planning, announced the launch of Atomic on Tuesday, an AI platform geared toward supply planning. The launch was made alongside the announcement of a $3 million seed funding round from former DVx Ventures, the capital fund run by former Tesla President Jon McNeill, as well as the firm Madrona.
“Planners are the unsung heroes of consumer brands, holding together supply chains through spreadsheets and sheer force of will,” Suidan wrote in a post on LinkedIn. “But they deserve better tools. We built Atomic to be the inventory planning system we always wished we had.”
“Michael and Neil experienced this pain firsthand as leaders at Tesla in the supply chain, and I saw that work first hand — because they worked for me,” McNeill said in an interview with Tech Crunch.
The former Tesla president also explains how delicate the balance between supply and demand is, while a primary part of Atomic’s approach to the software platform is giving business operators the tools to manage these factors more quickly and easily.
“If you have too much capital tied up in inventory, you could really harm the business,” McNeill adds. “And if you have too little, where you don’t have the right things in stock when the customer is ready to purchase, then you’re costing yourself big time.”
Atomic says its AI planning software has previously helped early customers cut inventory costs by between 20 and 50 percent, allowing users to easily simulate scenarios based on real-time data and scenarios.
READ MORE ON FORMER TESLA PERSONNEL: Former Tesla executive aims to raise $50 million for energy startup
Suidan worked with Tesla for nearly six years, while Rossiter was with the company for about two years. Both of the managers also worked closely with McNeill at the time.
The former Tesla president also highlighted the difficulty in ramping Model 3 production as part of the project’s inspiration, a period that Elon Musk has said brought the company weeks away from bankruptcy and had him sleeping on the Fremont factory floor.
McNeill also recalled the Model 3 production ramp in a post on LinkedIn:
Back in 2018, we had a big problem at Tesla.
We needed to scale Model 3 production from 20k to 100k cars per quarter. But the existing supply chain systems simply couldn’t handle this growth. With only a month of cash left, we had to keep the cars moving.
We were far too dependent on spreadsheets for planning. They couldn’t keep up with the business and it was having a serious negative impact.
Neal Suidan and Michael Rossiter, both leading global demand planning, created something remarkable out of necessity: a unit-level planning system that could simulate and track individual cars through the entire supply chain and match them to demand. This reduced Tesla’s inventory from 75 days to just 15, unlocking billions of dollars in working capital at a time when every dollar mattered.
Fast forward 7 years and it occurred to us that thousands of companies can use this. They are now bringing that framework to customers with Atomic.
Several former Tesla employees and executives have gone on to start their own firms, most recently including former SVP Drew Baglino, who announced the grid hardware venture Heron Power last week. Another notable one includes JB Straubel, a Tesla co-founder, who went on to start the battery recycling company Redwood Materials.
This former Tesla engineer now heads a federal tech department
Energy
Tesla launches Cybertruck vehicle-to-grid program in Texas
The initiative was announced by the official Tesla Energy account on social media platform X.
Tesla has launched a vehicle-to-grid (V2G) program in Texas, allowing eligible Cybertruck owners to send energy back to the grid during high-demand events and receive compensation on their utility bills.
The initiative, dubbed Powershare Grid Support, was announced by the official Tesla Energy account on social media platform X.
Texas’ Cybertruck V2G program
In its post on X, Tesla Energy confirmed that vehicle-to-grid functionality is “coming soon,” starting with select Texas markets. Under the new Powershare Grid Support program, owners of the Cybertruck equipped with Powershare home backup hardware can opt in through the Tesla app and participate in short-notice grid stress events.
During these events, the Cybertruck automatically discharges excess energy back to the grid, supporting local utilities such as CenterPoint Energy and Oncor. In return, participants receive compensation in the form of bill credits. Tesla noted that the program is currently invitation-only as part of an early adopter rollout.
The launch builds on the Cybertruck’s existing Powershare capability, which allows the vehicle to provide up to 11.5 kW of power for home backup. Tesla added that the program is expected to expand to California next, with eligibility tied to utilities such as PG&E, SCE, and SDG&E.
Powershare Grid Support
To participate in Texas, Cybertruck owners must live in areas served by CenterPoint Energy or Oncor, have Powershare equipment installed, enroll in the Tesla Electric Drive plan, and opt in through the Tesla app. Once enrolled, vehicles would be able to contribute power during high-demand events, helping stabilize the grid.
Tesla noted that events may occur with little notice, so participants are encouraged to keep their Cybertrucks plugged in when at home and to manage their discharge limits based on personal needs. Compensation varies depending on the electricity plan, similar to how Powerwall owners in some regions have earned substantial credits by participating in Virtual Power Plant (VPP) programs.
News
Samsung nears Tesla AI chip ramp with early approval at TX factory
This marks a key step towards the tech giant’s production of Tesla’s next-generation AI5 chips in the United States.
Samsung has received temporary approval to begin limited operations at its semiconductor plant in Taylor, Texas.
This marks a key step towards the tech giant’s production of Tesla’s next-generation AI5 chips in the United States.
Samsung clears early operations hurdle
As noted in a report from Korea JoongAng Daily, Samsung Electronics has secured temporary certificates of occupancy (TCOs) for a portion of its semiconductor facility in Taylor. This should allow the facility to start operations ahead of full completion later this year.
City officials confirmed that approximately 88,000 square feet of Samsung’s Fab 1 building has received temporary approval, with additional areas expected to follow. The overall timeline for permitting the remaining sections has not yet been finalized.
Samsung’s Taylor facility is expected to manufacture Tesla’s AI5 chips once mass production begins in the second half of the year. The facility is also expected to produce Tesla’s upcoming AI6 chips.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently stated that the design for AI5 is nearly complete, and the development of AI6 is already underway. Musk has previously outlined an aggressive roadmap targeting nine-month design cycles for successive generations of its AI chips.
Samsung’s U.S. expansion
Construction at the Taylor site remains on schedule. Reports indicate Samsung plans to begin testing extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography equipment next month, a critical step for producing advanced 2-nanometer semiconductors.
Samsung is expected to complete 6 million square feet of floor space at the site by the end of this year, with an additional 1 million square feet planned by 2028. The full campus spans more than 1,200 acres.
Beyond Tesla, Samsung Foundry is also pursuing additional U.S. customers as demand for AI and high-performance computing chips accelerates. Company executives have stated that Samsung is looking to achieve more than 130% growth in 2-nanometer chip orders this year.
One of Samsung’s biggest rivals, TSMC, is also looking to expand its footprint in the United States, with reports suggesting that the company is considering expanding its Arizona facility to as many as 11 total plants. TSMC is also expected to produce Tesla’s AI5 chips.
News
Anti-Tesla union leader ditches X, urges use of Threads instead
Tesla Sweden and IF Metall have been engaged in a bitter dispute for over two years now.
Marie Nilsson, chair of Sweden’s IF Metall union and a prominent critic of Tesla, has left X and is urging audiences to follow the union on Meta’s Threads instead.
Tesla Sweden and IF Metall have been engaged in a bitter dispute for over two years now.
Anti-Tesla union leader exits X
In a comment to Dagens Arbete (DA), Nilsson noted that her exit from X is not formally tied to IF Metall’s long-running labor dispute with Tesla Sweden. Still, she stated that her departure is affected by changes to the platform under Elon Musk’s leadership.
“We have stayed because many journalists pick up news there. But as more and more people have left X, we have felt that the standard has now been reached on that platform,” she said.
Jesper Pettersson, press officer at IF Metall, highlighted that the union’s departure from X is only indirectly linked to Tesla Sweden and Elon Musk. “Indirectly it does, since there is a lot of evidence that his ownership has caused the change in the platform to be so significant.
“We have nevertheless assessed that the platform had value for reaching journalists, politicians and other opinion leaders. But it is a microscopic proportion of the public and our members who are there, and now that value has decreased,” Petterson added.
IF Metall sees Threads as an X alternative
After leaving X, IF Metall has begun using Threads, Meta’s alternative to the social media platform. The union described the move as experimental, noting that it is still evaluating how effective the platform will be for outreach and visibility.
Pettersson acknowledged that Meta also does not operate under Sweden’s collective bargaining model, but said the union sees little alternative if it wants to remain visible online.
“In a perfect world, all large international companies would be supporters of the Swedish model when they come here. But unfortunately, the reality is not like that. If we are to be visible at all in this social media world, we have to play by the rules of the game. The alternative would be to become completely invisible, and that would not benefit our members,” he said.
Tesla launches Cybertruck vehicle-to-grid program in Texas
Samsung nears Tesla AI chip ramp with early approval at TX factory
