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How Shivon Zilis Operated as Elon Musk’s OpenAI InsiderAs the first week of trial in Musk v. Altman comes to a close, one person has emerged as a critical behind-the-scenes manager of communications and egos in OpenAI’s early years: Shivon Zilis.A longtime employee of Musk and the mother to four of his children, Zilis joined OpenAI as an adviser in 2016. She later served as a director of its nonprofit board from 2020 until 2023 and has worked as an executive at Musk’s other companies, Neuralink and Tesla.When asked about the nature of his relationship with Zilis in court, Musk offered several answers. At one point, he called her a “chief of staff.” Later, a “close adviser.” At another point, he said “we live together, and she’s the mother of four of my children,” though Zilis said in a deposition that Musk is more of a regular guest and maintains his own residence. Last September, Zilis told OpenAI’s attorneys that she became romantic with Musk around 2016 after she had become an informal adviser to OpenAI. They had their first two children in 2021, she said.But OpenAI’s lawyers have made the case in witness testimonies and evidence that her most important role, as it pertains to this lawsuit, is being a covert liaison between OpenAI and Musk, even years after he left the nonprofit’s board in February 2018.“Do you prefer I stay close and friendly to OpenAI to keep info flowing or begin to disassociate? Trust game is about to get tricky so any guidance for how to do right by you is appreciated,” Zilis wrote in a text message to Musk on February 16, 2018, days before OpenAI announced he was leaving the board. Musk responded, “Close and friendly, but we are going to actively try to move three or four people from OpenAI to Tesla. More than that will join over time, but we won’t actively recruit them.”When asked about this exchange on the witness stand, Musk said he “wanted to know what’s going on.”In the same text thread, Musk wrote, “There is little chance of OpenAI being a serious force if I focus on Tesla AI.” Zilis reaffirmed him, saying: “There is very low probability of a good future if someone doesn’t slow Demis down,” referring to Demis Hassabis, the leader of Google DeepMind, who Musk has said he didn’t trust to control a superintelligent AI system. “You don’t realize how much you have an ability to influence him directly or otherwise slow him down. I think you know I’m not a malicious person, but in this case it feels fundamentally irresponsible to not find a way to slow or alter his path.”Roughly two months later, in an email from April 23, 2018, Zilis updated Musk on OpenAI’s fundraising efforts and progress on a project to develop an AI that could play video games. In the same message, she said she had reallocated most of her time away from OpenAI to his other companies, Neuralink and Tesla, but told him, “If you’d prefer I pull more hours back to OpenAI oversight please let me know.”Almost a year earlier, in the summer of 2017, OpenAI’s cofounders had started negotiating changes to the organization’s corporate structure—Musk wanted control of the company to start out. In an email from August 28, 2017, Zilis wrote to Musk that she had met with OpenAI president Greg Brockman and cofounder Ilya Sutskever to discuss how equity would be divided up in the new company. She summarized points from the meeting, including that Brockman and Sutskever thought one person shouldn’t have unilateral power over AGI, should they develop it. Musk wrote back to Zilis, “This is very annoying. Please encourage them to go start a company. I’ve had enough.”#Shivon #Zilis #Operated #Elon #Musks #OpenAI #Insidermodel behavior,artificial intelligence,openai,elon musk,sam altman,neuralink,musk v. altman trial

How Shivon Zilis Operated as Elon Musk’s OpenAI Insider

As the first week of trial in Musk v. Altman comes to a close, one person has emerged as a critical behind-the-scenes manager of communications and egos in OpenAI’s early years: Shivon Zilis.

A longtime employee of Musk and the mother to four of his children, Zilis joined OpenAI as an adviser in 2016. She later served as a director of its nonprofit board from 2020 until 2023 and has worked as an executive at Musk’s other companies, Neuralink and Tesla.

When asked about the nature of his relationship with Zilis in court, Musk offered several answers. At one point, he called her a “chief of staff.” Later, a “close adviser.” At another point, he said “we live together, and she’s the mother of four of my children,” though Zilis said in a deposition that Musk is more of a regular guest and maintains his own residence. Last September, Zilis told OpenAI’s attorneys that she became romantic with Musk around 2016 after she had become an informal adviser to OpenAI. They had their first two children in 2021, she said.

But OpenAI’s lawyers have made the case in witness testimonies and evidence that her most important role, as it pertains to this lawsuit, is being a covert liaison between OpenAI and Musk, even years after he left the nonprofit’s board in February 2018.

“Do you prefer I stay close and friendly to OpenAI to keep info flowing or begin to disassociate? Trust game is about to get tricky so any guidance for how to do right by you is appreciated,” Zilis wrote in a text message to Musk on February 16, 2018, days before OpenAI announced he was leaving the board. Musk responded, “Close and friendly, but we are going to actively try to move three or four people from OpenAI to Tesla. More than that will join over time, but we won’t actively recruit them.”

When asked about this exchange on the witness stand, Musk said he “wanted to know what’s going on.”

In the same text thread, Musk wrote, “There is little chance of OpenAI being a serious force if I focus on Tesla AI.” Zilis reaffirmed him, saying: “There is very low probability of a good future if someone doesn’t slow Demis down,” referring to Demis Hassabis, the leader of Google DeepMind, who Musk has said he didn’t trust to control a superintelligent AI system. “You don’t realize how much you have an ability to influence him directly or otherwise slow him down. I think you know I’m not a malicious person, but in this case it feels fundamentally irresponsible to not find a way to slow or alter his path.”

Roughly two months later, in an email from April 23, 2018, Zilis updated Musk on OpenAI’s fundraising efforts and progress on a project to develop an AI that could play video games. In the same message, she said she had reallocated most of her time away from OpenAI to his other companies, Neuralink and Tesla, but told him, “If you’d prefer I pull more hours back to OpenAI oversight please let me know.”

Almost a year earlier, in the summer of 2017, OpenAI’s cofounders had started negotiating changes to the organization’s corporate structure—Musk wanted control of the company to start out. In an email from August 28, 2017, Zilis wrote to Musk that she had met with OpenAI president Greg Brockman and cofounder Ilya Sutskever to discuss how equity would be divided up in the new company. She summarized points from the meeting, including that Brockman and Sutskever thought one person shouldn’t have unilateral power over AGI, should they develop it. Musk wrote back to Zilis, “This is very annoying. Please encourage them to go start a company. I’ve had enough.”

#Shivon #Zilis #Operated #Elon #Musks #OpenAI #Insidermodel behavior,artificial intelligence,openai,elon musk,sam altman,neuralink,musk v. altman trial

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As the first week of trial in Musk v. Altman comes to a close, one person has emerged as a critical behind-the-scenes manager of communications and egos in OpenAI’s early years: Shivon Zilis.

A longtime employee of Musk and the mother to four of his children, Zilis joined OpenAI as an adviser in 2016. She later served as a director of its nonprofit board from 2020 until 2023 and has worked as an executive at Musk’s other companies, Neuralink and Tesla.

When asked about the nature of his relationship with Zilis in court, Musk offered several answers. At one point, he called her a “chief of staff.” Later, a “close adviser.” At another point, he said “we live together, and she’s the mother of four of my children,” though Zilis said in a deposition that Musk is more of a regular guest and maintains his own residence. Last September, Zilis told OpenAI’s attorneys that she became romantic with Musk around 2016 after she had become an informal adviser to OpenAI. They had their first two children in 2021, she said.

But OpenAI’s lawyers have made the case in witness testimonies and evidence that her most important role, as it pertains to this lawsuit, is being a covert liaison between OpenAI and Musk, even years after he left the nonprofit’s board in February 2018.

“Do you prefer I stay close and friendly to OpenAI to keep info flowing or begin to disassociate? Trust game is about to get tricky so any guidance for how to do right by you is appreciated,” Zilis wrote in a text message to Musk on February 16, 2018, days before OpenAI announced he was leaving the board. Musk responded, “Close and friendly, but we are going to actively try to move three or four people from OpenAI to Tesla. More than that will join over time, but we won’t actively recruit them.”

When asked about this exchange on the witness stand, Musk said he “wanted to know what’s going on.”

In the same text thread, Musk wrote, “There is little chance of OpenAI being a serious force if I focus on Tesla AI.” Zilis reaffirmed him, saying: “There is very low probability of a good future if someone doesn’t slow Demis down,” referring to Demis Hassabis, the leader of Google DeepMind, who Musk has said he didn’t trust to control a superintelligent AI system. “You don’t realize how much you have an ability to influence him directly or otherwise slow him down. I think you know I’m not a malicious person, but in this case it feels fundamentally irresponsible to not find a way to slow or alter his path.”

Roughly two months later, in an email from April 23, 2018, Zilis updated Musk on OpenAI’s fundraising efforts and progress on a project to develop an AI that could play video games. In the same message, she said she had reallocated most of her time away from OpenAI to his other companies, Neuralink and Tesla, but told him, “If you’d prefer I pull more hours back to OpenAI oversight please let me know.”

Almost a year earlier, in the summer of 2017, OpenAI’s cofounders had started negotiating changes to the organization’s corporate structure—Musk wanted control of the company to start out. In an email from August 28, 2017, Zilis wrote to Musk that she had met with OpenAI president Greg Brockman and cofounder Ilya Sutskever to discuss how equity would be divided up in the new company. She summarized points from the meeting, including that Brockman and Sutskever thought one person shouldn’t have unilateral power over AGI, should they develop it. Musk wrote back to Zilis, “This is very annoying. Please encourage them to go start a company. I’ve had enough.”

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Verstappen taking his time on F1 future <div id="content-body-70927473" itemprop="articleBody"><p>Max Verstappen said he was ​taking his time in deciding his Formula One future and called recent ‌rule changes merely a ‘tickle’ rather than what was really ​required.</p><p>Red Bull’s four-time world champion is no fan of ⁠the sport’s new engine era and has suggested he is unhappy enough to walk away.</p><p>The uncertainty around him has increased after McLaren announced the ‌Dutchman’s race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase would be joining them by 2028 at the latest.</p><p>“I still have time and I’m ‌taking my time,” Verstappen, 28, told reporters on Thursday ‌ahead ⁠of the Miami Grand Prix weekend. “What I said in ⁠Japan is still the same, but I also still have a lot of time.”</p><p><b>ALSO READ | <a href="https://sportstar.thehindu.com/motorsport/f1/f1-drivers-welcome-engine-rule-changes-say-more-change-needed-reactions-miami-gp/article70927457.ece" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Formula One drivers, including Verstappen, react to rule changes</a></b></p><p>Verstappen said Lambiase’s move had no bearing on his future and there were no ​hard feelings.</p><p>He once said he ‌would stop racing if Lambiase was no longer his race engineer, the voice in his ear over the team radio during the race, but he distanced himself from that stance on ‌Thursday and made clear he would have to find someone ​else.</p><p>“Otherwise I don’t get to drive,” Verstappen said grinning. “I think also, you know, times change. I would ⁠be an idiot to try and keep him. It’s not only about me all the time.</p><p>“The future, that’s what we are looking at ‌now. You know, with a different race engineer. I’m sure we’ll find solutions for that as well.”</p><p class="publish-time" id="end-of-article">Published on May 01, 2026</p></div> #Verstappen #time #future

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One of the most important things happening on Earth today is the solar energy build-out. Around the world, companies and countries are racing to deploy solar and batteries to achieve energy independence and limit the effects of climate change.

That build-out, though, is running into a labor market challenge, with a limited supply of workers to meet a growing demand for installation. Robots could be an answer, but industrial robots have historically struggled in unstructured environments, at least until now. The latest generation of AI models may have changed that equation.

That’s the driving idea behind Gritt, a start-up founded by two Carnegie Mellon-trained roboticists, CEO Puneet Puri and CTO Vishal Dugar. The company exited stealth Tuesday morning with a $26 million Series A round of funding led by Obvious Ventures with participation from Union Square Ventures and Active Impact Investment. That brings its total funding to $34 million, following an earlier seed round backed by First Round Capital, Climactic, Congruent Ventures, and VSC Ventures. The startup is building an intelligent system to “help civilization build infrastructure faster,” in Puri’s words.

“Our thesis is that if we truly want to speed up construction,” Puri tells TechCrunch, “you need an intelligence which can work in the outdoor, chaotic environments of these construction sites, and it has to be generalizable enough that it can work in these varied environments.”

Rather than building its own robots from scratch, Gritt uses off-the-shelf hardware—thus far, rented skidders and robotic arms built by companies like Kawasaki—to build platforms that are controlled by its AI models. The first job its systems handle is unloading large, glass solar panels, carrying them toward the metal frames where they need to be installed, and positioning them on the frames with sub-millimeter accuracy so workers can fasten them.

“There are people who used to build rockets that went into space and had infinite budget for the smallest little part, and then there are people who know what it means to get into dirty, dull, and dangerous jobs and scale them like mad,” said Andrew Beebe, the partner at Obvious Ventures who led Gritt’s Series A round. “These guys are in the second camp, and that’s a special kind of entrepreneur that has the technical chops, the AI, and the machine vision skills to make it work.”

Gritt has two systems currently deployed in the field, using the data they collect to improve their behavior. Puri says that a typical eight-person crew workers can install 800 panels a day, but the same crew working with Gritt’s systems can install 3,000 to 4,000 panels each day.

Now, the company says it is contracted to help install 2.8 gigawatts of solar panels in the next 18 months, and that its customers include three of the top 10 US power construction companies. The company hopes to be operating 48 of its systems within the next six months.

TechCrunch spoke to one Gritt customer who declined to be identified for competitive reasons, but who was enthusiastic about the system’s ability to improve his work. He expects it to be easier to work at remote sites where it is difficult to attract workers, and anticipates a reduction in injuries since workers won’t have to repeatedly lift 100-pound panels overhead.

Gritt is competing against companies with their own panel-installing robots like Luminous Robotics, Cosmic, and China’s Trinabot. Those companies are building their own hardware, rather than focusing on off-the-shelf vehicles and arms like Gritt, a difference that could shape who grows faster and with a leaner cost structure as demand grows.

Gritt wants to add new manipulation tasks to its system so it can fasten the solar panels, drill posts, and even build the racks they sit on. Longer term, it also wants to move into other common, labor-intensive construction tasks, like tying rebar before concrete is poured over it.

What’s enabled the startup to pursue this vision? Mainly, the rise of new AI models, the founders say.

“Making a system for one solution was still possible to some extent five years ago, right?” Puri said, but AI is now making that work generalizable — the same underlying pipeline can be reused and improve across tasks. As an example, he noted that training the system to stack cinder blocks took weeks, while a similar demo with rebar tying took just a day using the same software.

But training new tasks is just the beginning of Gritt’s vision. The founders believe the suite of sensors and intelligence its systems bring to worksites can do more than install panels; it can boost management and decision-making. For instance, they imagine their system noticing a trench is open while a storm approaches, allowing it to alert workers to cover it before rain damages components, or flagging missing inventory.

“Gritt becomes now this layer of physical AI, which is doing this dextrous, labor-intensive task, plus it can help you take decisions on the site,” Puri said.

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.

#Gritt #exits #stealth #million #robots #build #solar #plantsthen #TechCrunchExclusive">Gritt exits stealth with million for robots to build solar plants—then, everything else | TechCrunch One of the most important things happening on Earth today is the solar energy build-out. Around the world, companies and countries are racing to deploy solar and batteries to achieve energy independence and limit the effects of climate change. That build-out, though, is running into a labor market challenge, with a limited supply of workers to meet a growing demand for installation. Robots could be an answer, but industrial robots have historically struggled in unstructured environments, at least until now. The latest generation of AI models may have changed that equation. That’s the driving idea behind Gritt, a start-up founded by two Carnegie Mellon-trained roboticists, CEO Puneet Puri and CTO Vishal Dugar. The company exited stealth Tuesday morning with a million Series A round of funding led by Obvious Ventures with participation from Union Square Ventures and Active Impact Investment. That brings its total funding to million, following an earlier seed round backed by First Round Capital, Climactic, Congruent Ventures, and VSC Ventures. The startup is building an intelligent system to “help civilization build infrastructure faster,” in Puri’s words. “Our thesis is that if we truly want to speed up construction,” Puri tells TechCrunch, “you need an intelligence which can work in the outdoor, chaotic environments of these construction sites, and it has to be generalizable enough that it can work in these varied environments.” Rather than building its own robots from scratch, Gritt uses off-the-shelf hardware—thus far, rented skidders and robotic arms built by companies like Kawasaki—to build platforms that are controlled by its AI models. The first job its systems handle is unloading large, glass solar panels, carrying them toward the metal frames where they need to be installed, and positioning them on the frames with sub-millimeter accuracy so workers can fasten them. “There are people who used to build rockets that went into space and had infinite budget for the smallest little part, and then there are people who know what it means to get into dirty, dull, and dangerous jobs and scale them like mad,” said Andrew Beebe, the partner at Obvious Ventures who led Gritt’s Series A round. “These guys are in the second camp, and that’s a special kind of entrepreneur that has the technical chops, the AI, and the machine vision skills to make it work.” Gritt has two systems currently deployed in the field, using the data they collect to improve their behavior. Puri says that a typical eight-person crew workers can install 800 panels a day, but the same crew working with Gritt’s systems can install 3,000 to 4,000 panels each day. Now, the company says it is contracted to help install 2.8 gigawatts of solar panels in the next 18 months, and that its customers include three of the top 10 US power construction companies. The company hopes to be operating 48 of its systems within the next six months. TechCrunch spoke to one Gritt customer who declined to be identified for competitive reasons, but who was enthusiastic about the system’s ability to improve his work. He expects it to be easier to work at remote sites where it is difficult to attract workers, and anticipates a reduction in injuries since workers won’t have to repeatedly lift 100-pound panels overhead. Gritt is competing against companies with their own panel-installing robots like Luminous Robotics, Cosmic, and China’s Trinabot. Those companies are building their own hardware, rather than focusing on off-the-shelf vehicles and arms like Gritt, a difference that could shape who grows faster and with a leaner cost structure as demand grows. Gritt wants to add new manipulation tasks to its system so it can fasten the solar panels, drill posts, and even build the racks they sit on. Longer term, it also wants to move into other common, labor-intensive construction tasks, like tying rebar before concrete is poured over it. What’s enabled the startup to pursue this vision? Mainly, the rise of new AI models, the founders say. “Making a system for one solution was still possible to some extent five years ago, right?” Puri said, but AI is now making that work generalizable — the same underlying pipeline can be reused and improve across tasks. As an example, he noted that training the system to stack cinder blocks took weeks, while a similar demo with rebar tying took just a day using the same software. But training new tasks is just the beginning of Gritt’s vision. The founders believe the suite of sensors and intelligence its systems bring to worksites can do more than install panels; it can boost management and decision-making. For instance, they imagine their system noticing a trench is open while a storm approaches, allowing it to alert workers to cover it before rain damages components, or flagging missing inventory. “Gritt becomes now this layer of physical AI, which is doing this dextrous, labor-intensive task, plus it can help you take decisions on the site,” Puri said. When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.#Gritt #exits #stealth #million #robots #build #solar #plantsthen #TechCrunchExclusive

Gritt, a start-up founded by two Carnegie Mellon-trained roboticists, CEO Puneet Puri and CTO Vishal Dugar. The company exited stealth Tuesday morning with a $26 million Series A round of funding led by Obvious Ventures with participation from Union Square Ventures and Active Impact Investment. That brings its total funding to $34 million, following an earlier seed round backed by First Round Capital, Climactic, Congruent Ventures, and VSC Ventures. The startup is building an intelligent system to “help civilization build infrastructure faster,” in Puri’s words.

“Our thesis is that if we truly want to speed up construction,” Puri tells TechCrunch, “you need an intelligence which can work in the outdoor, chaotic environments of these construction sites, and it has to be generalizable enough that it can work in these varied environments.”

Rather than building its own robots from scratch, Gritt uses off-the-shelf hardware—thus far, rented skidders and robotic arms built by companies like Kawasaki—to build platforms that are controlled by its AI models. The first job its systems handle is unloading large, glass solar panels, carrying them toward the metal frames where they need to be installed, and positioning them on the frames with sub-millimeter accuracy so workers can fasten them.

“There are people who used to build rockets that went into space and had infinite budget for the smallest little part, and then there are people who know what it means to get into dirty, dull, and dangerous jobs and scale them like mad,” said Andrew Beebe, the partner at Obvious Ventures who led Gritt’s Series A round. “These guys are in the second camp, and that’s a special kind of entrepreneur that has the technical chops, the AI, and the machine vision skills to make it work.”

Gritt has two systems currently deployed in the field, using the data they collect to improve their behavior. Puri says that a typical eight-person crew workers can install 800 panels a day, but the same crew working with Gritt’s systems can install 3,000 to 4,000 panels each day.

Now, the company says it is contracted to help install 2.8 gigawatts of solar panels in the next 18 months, and that its customers include three of the top 10 US power construction companies. The company hopes to be operating 48 of its systems within the next six months.

TechCrunch spoke to one Gritt customer who declined to be identified for competitive reasons, but who was enthusiastic about the system’s ability to improve his work. He expects it to be easier to work at remote sites where it is difficult to attract workers, and anticipates a reduction in injuries since workers won’t have to repeatedly lift 100-pound panels overhead.

Gritt is competing against companies with their own panel-installing robots like Luminous Robotics, Cosmic, and China’s Trinabot. Those companies are building their own hardware, rather than focusing on off-the-shelf vehicles and arms like Gritt, a difference that could shape who grows faster and with a leaner cost structure as demand grows.

Gritt wants to add new manipulation tasks to its system so it can fasten the solar panels, drill posts, and even build the racks they sit on. Longer term, it also wants to move into other common, labor-intensive construction tasks, like tying rebar before concrete is poured over it.

What’s enabled the startup to pursue this vision? Mainly, the rise of new AI models, the founders say.

“Making a system for one solution was still possible to some extent five years ago, right?” Puri said, but AI is now making that work generalizable — the same underlying pipeline can be reused and improve across tasks. As an example, he noted that training the system to stack cinder blocks took weeks, while a similar demo with rebar tying took just a day using the same software.

But training new tasks is just the beginning of Gritt’s vision. The founders believe the suite of sensors and intelligence its systems bring to worksites can do more than install panels; it can boost management and decision-making. For instance, they imagine their system noticing a trench is open while a storm approaches, allowing it to alert workers to cover it before rain damages components, or flagging missing inventory.

“Gritt becomes now this layer of physical AI, which is doing this dextrous, labor-intensive task, plus it can help you take decisions on the site,” Puri said.

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.

#Gritt #exits #stealth #million #robots #build #solar #plantsthen #TechCrunchExclusive">Gritt exits stealth with $34 million for robots to build solar plants—then, everything else | TechCrunch

One of the most important things happening on Earth today is the solar energy build-out. Around the world, companies and countries are racing to deploy solar and batteries to achieve energy independence and limit the effects of climate change.

That build-out, though, is running into a labor market challenge, with a limited supply of workers to meet a growing demand for installation. Robots could be an answer, but industrial robots have historically struggled in unstructured environments, at least until now. The latest generation of AI models may have changed that equation.

That’s the driving idea behind Gritt, a start-up founded by two Carnegie Mellon-trained roboticists, CEO Puneet Puri and CTO Vishal Dugar. The company exited stealth Tuesday morning with a $26 million Series A round of funding led by Obvious Ventures with participation from Union Square Ventures and Active Impact Investment. That brings its total funding to $34 million, following an earlier seed round backed by First Round Capital, Climactic, Congruent Ventures, and VSC Ventures. The startup is building an intelligent system to “help civilization build infrastructure faster,” in Puri’s words.

“Our thesis is that if we truly want to speed up construction,” Puri tells TechCrunch, “you need an intelligence which can work in the outdoor, chaotic environments of these construction sites, and it has to be generalizable enough that it can work in these varied environments.”

Rather than building its own robots from scratch, Gritt uses off-the-shelf hardware—thus far, rented skidders and robotic arms built by companies like Kawasaki—to build platforms that are controlled by its AI models. The first job its systems handle is unloading large, glass solar panels, carrying them toward the metal frames where they need to be installed, and positioning them on the frames with sub-millimeter accuracy so workers can fasten them.

“There are people who used to build rockets that went into space and had infinite budget for the smallest little part, and then there are people who know what it means to get into dirty, dull, and dangerous jobs and scale them like mad,” said Andrew Beebe, the partner at Obvious Ventures who led Gritt’s Series A round. “These guys are in the second camp, and that’s a special kind of entrepreneur that has the technical chops, the AI, and the machine vision skills to make it work.”

Gritt has two systems currently deployed in the field, using the data they collect to improve their behavior. Puri says that a typical eight-person crew workers can install 800 panels a day, but the same crew working with Gritt’s systems can install 3,000 to 4,000 panels each day.

Now, the company says it is contracted to help install 2.8 gigawatts of solar panels in the next 18 months, and that its customers include three of the top 10 US power construction companies. The company hopes to be operating 48 of its systems within the next six months.

TechCrunch spoke to one Gritt customer who declined to be identified for competitive reasons, but who was enthusiastic about the system’s ability to improve his work. He expects it to be easier to work at remote sites where it is difficult to attract workers, and anticipates a reduction in injuries since workers won’t have to repeatedly lift 100-pound panels overhead.

Gritt is competing against companies with their own panel-installing robots like Luminous Robotics, Cosmic, and China’s Trinabot. Those companies are building their own hardware, rather than focusing on off-the-shelf vehicles and arms like Gritt, a difference that could shape who grows faster and with a leaner cost structure as demand grows.

Gritt wants to add new manipulation tasks to its system so it can fasten the solar panels, drill posts, and even build the racks they sit on. Longer term, it also wants to move into other common, labor-intensive construction tasks, like tying rebar before concrete is poured over it.

What’s enabled the startup to pursue this vision? Mainly, the rise of new AI models, the founders say.

“Making a system for one solution was still possible to some extent five years ago, right?” Puri said, but AI is now making that work generalizable — the same underlying pipeline can be reused and improve across tasks. As an example, he noted that training the system to stack cinder blocks took weeks, while a similar demo with rebar tying took just a day using the same software.

But training new tasks is just the beginning of Gritt’s vision. The founders believe the suite of sensors and intelligence its systems bring to worksites can do more than install panels; it can boost management and decision-making. For instance, they imagine their system noticing a trench is open while a storm approaches, allowing it to alert workers to cover it before rain damages components, or flagging missing inventory.

“Gritt becomes now this layer of physical AI, which is doing this dextrous, labor-intensive task, plus it can help you take decisions on the site,” Puri said.

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.

#Gritt #exits #stealth #million #robots #build #solar #plantsthen #TechCrunchExclusive
introducing the ASUS Pad T3201. The new tablet combines a premium OLED screen, performance, and portability. It has been built using the MediaTek Dimensity 8300 SoC and targets those users who like to stream, game, study, and work while traveling. The tablet’s launch date is set for August 6.

ASUS Pad T3201 Specifications and Features

ASUS Pad T3201 Launched in India With OLED Display: Price, Features, and Availability ASUS has expanded its product lineup in India by introducing the ASUS Pad T3201. The new tablet combines a premium OLED screen, performance, and portability. It has been built using the MediaTek Dimensity 8300 SoC and targets those users who like to stream, game, study, and work while traveling. The tablet’s launch date is set for August 6. ASUS Pad T3201 Specifications and Features ASUS has designed the Pad T3201 for both entertainment and productivity. It is equipped with a 12.2-inch dual-layer OLED screen featuring 2.8K resolution and a 144 Hz refresh rate. The display can deliver up to 2,000 nits of brightness and support the 100% DCI-P3 color gamut, making it perfect for entertainment such as watching movies, gaming, and reading. The phone runs on the MediaTek Dimensity 8300 chipset and features 8 GB of LPDDR5X RAM. It runs on Android 16 and ensures efficient use for the user. ASUS has also equipped the device with Wi-Fi 6E, which provides a reliable, fast internet connection. Buyers can choose 128GB or 256GB storage, while a microSD card expands storage up to 1TB. The ASUS Pad T3201 packs a 9,000mAh battery with 45W fast charging support. ASUS says the battery charges from 0 to 50 percent in about 30 minutes. The tablet weighs 523g and measures 6.5mm thin, making it easy to carry. It also includes quad speakers with Dolby Atmos for immersive sound. For photography and communication, the tablet includes a 13MP rear camera and a 5MP front camera. It supports ASUS Pen 2.0, a Bluetooth keyboard, and GlideX for seamless file sharing. ASUS also bundles a protective folio case with the device. Users can also use Google Circle to Search without switching apps. Launch and Availability The ASUS Pad T3201 is set to launch in India on August 6 at 12 PM. This product will be sold both online at Flipkart and the ASUS E-Shop website. Offline purchasing is possible at ASUS and ROG stores, as well as Reliance Digital, among others. At the moment, ASUS has not announced the tablet’s price. #ASUS #Pad #T3201 #Launched #India #OLED #Display #Price #Features #AvailabilityAsus

ASUS has designed the Pad T3201 for both entertainment and productivity. It is equipped with a 12.2-inch dual-layer OLED screen featuring 2.8K resolution and a 144 Hz refresh rate. The display can deliver up to 2,000 nits of brightness and support the 100% DCI-P3 color gamut, making it perfect for entertainment such as watching movies, gaming, and reading. The phone runs on the MediaTek Dimensity 8300 chipset and features 8 GB of LPDDR5X RAM. It runs on Android 16 and ensures efficient use for the user. ASUS has also equipped the device with Wi-Fi 6E, which provides a reliable, fast internet connection. Buyers can choose 128GB or 256GB storage, while a microSD card expands storage up to 1TB.

The ASUS Pad T3201 packs a 9,000mAh battery with 45W fast charging support. ASUS says the battery charges from 0 to 50 percent in about 30 minutes. The tablet weighs 523g and measures 6.5mm thin, making it easy to carry. It also includes quad speakers with Dolby Atmos for immersive sound. For photography and communication, the tablet includes a 13MP rear camera and a 5MP front camera. It supports ASUS Pen 2.0, a Bluetooth keyboard, and GlideX for seamless file sharing. ASUS also bundles a protective folio case with the device. Users can also use Google Circle to Search without switching apps.

Launch and Availability

The ASUS Pad T3201 is set to launch in India on August 6 at 12 PM. This product will be sold both online at Flipkart and the ASUS E-Shop website. Offline purchasing is possible at ASUS and ROG stores, as well as Reliance Digital, among others. At the moment, ASUS has not announced the tablet’s price.

#ASUS #Pad #T3201 #Launched #India #OLED #Display #Price #Features #AvailabilityAsus">ASUS Pad T3201 Launched in India With OLED Display: Price, Features, and Availability ASUS has expanded its product lineup in India by introducing the ASUS Pad T3201. The new tablet combines a premium OLED screen, performance, and portability. It has been built using the MediaTek Dimensity 8300 SoC and targets those users who like to stream, game, study, and work while traveling. The tablet’s launch date is set for August 6. ASUS Pad T3201 Specifications and Features ASUS has designed the Pad T3201 for both entertainment and productivity. It is equipped with a 12.2-inch dual-layer OLED screen featuring 2.8K resolution and a 144 Hz refresh rate. The display can deliver up to 2,000 nits of brightness and support the 100% DCI-P3 color gamut, making it perfect for entertainment such as watching movies, gaming, and reading. The phone runs on the MediaTek Dimensity 8300 chipset and features 8 GB of LPDDR5X RAM. It runs on Android 16 and ensures efficient use for the user. ASUS has also equipped the device with Wi-Fi 6E, which provides a reliable, fast internet connection. Buyers can choose 128GB or 256GB storage, while a microSD card expands storage up to 1TB. The ASUS Pad T3201 packs a 9,000mAh battery with 45W fast charging support. ASUS says the battery charges from 0 to 50 percent in about 30 minutes. The tablet weighs 523g and measures 6.5mm thin, making it easy to carry. It also includes quad speakers with Dolby Atmos for immersive sound. For photography and communication, the tablet includes a 13MP rear camera and a 5MP front camera. It supports ASUS Pen 2.0, a Bluetooth keyboard, and GlideX for seamless file sharing. ASUS also bundles a protective folio case with the device. Users can also use Google Circle to Search without switching apps. Launch and Availability The ASUS Pad T3201 is set to launch in India on August 6 at 12 PM. This product will be sold both online at Flipkart and the ASUS E-Shop website. Offline purchasing is possible at ASUS and ROG stores, as well as Reliance Digital, among others. At the moment, ASUS has not announced the tablet’s price. #ASUS #Pad #T3201 #Launched #India #OLED #Display #Price #Features #AvailabilityAsus

the ASUS Pad T3201. The new tablet combines a premium OLED screen, performance, and portability. It has been built using the MediaTek Dimensity 8300 SoC and targets those users who like to stream, game, study, and work while traveling. The tablet’s launch date is set for August 6.

ASUS Pad T3201 Specifications and Features

ASUS Pad T3201 Launched in India With OLED Display: Price, Features, and Availability ASUS has expanded its product lineup in India by introducing the ASUS Pad T3201. The new tablet combines a premium OLED screen, performance, and portability. It has been built using the MediaTek Dimensity 8300 SoC and targets those users who like to stream, game, study, and work while traveling. The tablet’s launch date is set for August 6. ASUS Pad T3201 Specifications and Features ASUS has designed the Pad T3201 for both entertainment and productivity. It is equipped with a 12.2-inch dual-layer OLED screen featuring 2.8K resolution and a 144 Hz refresh rate. The display can deliver up to 2,000 nits of brightness and support the 100% DCI-P3 color gamut, making it perfect for entertainment such as watching movies, gaming, and reading. The phone runs on the MediaTek Dimensity 8300 chipset and features 8 GB of LPDDR5X RAM. It runs on Android 16 and ensures efficient use for the user. ASUS has also equipped the device with Wi-Fi 6E, which provides a reliable, fast internet connection. Buyers can choose 128GB or 256GB storage, while a microSD card expands storage up to 1TB. The ASUS Pad T3201 packs a 9,000mAh battery with 45W fast charging support. ASUS says the battery charges from 0 to 50 percent in about 30 minutes. The tablet weighs 523g and measures 6.5mm thin, making it easy to carry. It also includes quad speakers with Dolby Atmos for immersive sound. For photography and communication, the tablet includes a 13MP rear camera and a 5MP front camera. It supports ASUS Pen 2.0, a Bluetooth keyboard, and GlideX for seamless file sharing. ASUS also bundles a protective folio case with the device. Users can also use Google Circle to Search without switching apps. Launch and Availability The ASUS Pad T3201 is set to launch in India on August 6 at 12 PM. This product will be sold both online at Flipkart and the ASUS E-Shop website. Offline purchasing is possible at ASUS and ROG stores, as well as Reliance Digital, among others. At the moment, ASUS has not announced the tablet’s price. #ASUS #Pad #T3201 #Launched #India #OLED #Display #Price #Features #AvailabilityAsus

ASUS has designed the Pad T3201 for both entertainment and productivity. It is equipped with a 12.2-inch dual-layer OLED screen featuring 2.8K resolution and a 144 Hz refresh rate. The display can deliver up to 2,000 nits of brightness and support the 100% DCI-P3 color gamut, making it perfect for entertainment such as watching movies, gaming, and reading. The phone runs on the MediaTek Dimensity 8300 chipset and features 8 GB of LPDDR5X RAM. It runs on Android 16 and ensures efficient use for the user. ASUS has also equipped the device with Wi-Fi 6E, which provides a reliable, fast internet connection. Buyers can choose 128GB or 256GB storage, while a microSD card expands storage up to 1TB.

The ASUS Pad T3201 packs a 9,000mAh battery with 45W fast charging support. ASUS says the battery charges from 0 to 50 percent in about 30 minutes. The tablet weighs 523g and measures 6.5mm thin, making it easy to carry. It also includes quad speakers with Dolby Atmos for immersive sound. For photography and communication, the tablet includes a 13MP rear camera and a 5MP front camera. It supports ASUS Pen 2.0, a Bluetooth keyboard, and GlideX for seamless file sharing. ASUS also bundles a protective folio case with the device. Users can also use Google Circle to Search without switching apps.

Launch and Availability

The ASUS Pad T3201 is set to launch in India on August 6 at 12 PM. This product will be sold both online at Flipkart and the ASUS E-Shop website. Offline purchasing is possible at ASUS and ROG stores, as well as Reliance Digital, among others. At the moment, ASUS has not announced the tablet’s price.

#ASUS #Pad #T3201 #Launched #India #OLED #Display #Price #Features #AvailabilityAsus">ASUS Pad T3201 Launched in India With OLED Display: Price, Features, and Availability

ASUS has expanded its product lineup in India by introducing the ASUS Pad T3201. The new tablet combines a premium OLED screen, performance, and portability. It has been built using the MediaTek Dimensity 8300 SoC and targets those users who like to stream, game, study, and work while traveling. The tablet’s launch date is set for August 6.

ASUS Pad T3201 Specifications and Features

ASUS Pad T3201 Launched in India With OLED Display: Price, Features, and Availability ASUS has expanded its product lineup in India by introducing the ASUS Pad T3201. The new tablet combines a premium OLED screen, performance, and portability. It has been built using the MediaTek Dimensity 8300 SoC and targets those users who like to stream, game, study, and work while traveling. The tablet’s launch date is set for August 6. ASUS Pad T3201 Specifications and Features ASUS has designed the Pad T3201 for both entertainment and productivity. It is equipped with a 12.2-inch dual-layer OLED screen featuring 2.8K resolution and a 144 Hz refresh rate. The display can deliver up to 2,000 nits of brightness and support the 100% DCI-P3 color gamut, making it perfect for entertainment such as watching movies, gaming, and reading. The phone runs on the MediaTek Dimensity 8300 chipset and features 8 GB of LPDDR5X RAM. It runs on Android 16 and ensures efficient use for the user. ASUS has also equipped the device with Wi-Fi 6E, which provides a reliable, fast internet connection. Buyers can choose 128GB or 256GB storage, while a microSD card expands storage up to 1TB. The ASUS Pad T3201 packs a 9,000mAh battery with 45W fast charging support. ASUS says the battery charges from 0 to 50 percent in about 30 minutes. The tablet weighs 523g and measures 6.5mm thin, making it easy to carry. It also includes quad speakers with Dolby Atmos for immersive sound. For photography and communication, the tablet includes a 13MP rear camera and a 5MP front camera. It supports ASUS Pen 2.0, a Bluetooth keyboard, and GlideX for seamless file sharing. ASUS also bundles a protective folio case with the device. Users can also use Google Circle to Search without switching apps. Launch and Availability The ASUS Pad T3201 is set to launch in India on August 6 at 12 PM. This product will be sold both online at Flipkart and the ASUS E-Shop website. Offline purchasing is possible at ASUS and ROG stores, as well as Reliance Digital, among others. At the moment, ASUS has not announced the tablet’s price. #ASUS #Pad #T3201 #Launched #India #OLED #Display #Price #Features #AvailabilityAsus

ASUS has designed the Pad T3201 for both entertainment and productivity. It is equipped with a 12.2-inch dual-layer OLED screen featuring 2.8K resolution and a 144 Hz refresh rate. The display can deliver up to 2,000 nits of brightness and support the 100% DCI-P3 color gamut, making it perfect for entertainment such as watching movies, gaming, and reading. The phone runs on the MediaTek Dimensity 8300 chipset and features 8 GB of LPDDR5X RAM. It runs on Android 16 and ensures efficient use for the user. ASUS has also equipped the device with Wi-Fi 6E, which provides a reliable, fast internet connection. Buyers can choose 128GB or 256GB storage, while a microSD card expands storage up to 1TB.

The ASUS Pad T3201 packs a 9,000mAh battery with 45W fast charging support. ASUS says the battery charges from 0 to 50 percent in about 30 minutes. The tablet weighs 523g and measures 6.5mm thin, making it easy to carry. It also includes quad speakers with Dolby Atmos for immersive sound. For photography and communication, the tablet includes a 13MP rear camera and a 5MP front camera. It supports ASUS Pen 2.0, a Bluetooth keyboard, and GlideX for seamless file sharing. ASUS also bundles a protective folio case with the device. Users can also use Google Circle to Search without switching apps.

Launch and Availability

The ASUS Pad T3201 is set to launch in India on August 6 at 12 PM. This product will be sold both online at Flipkart and the ASUS E-Shop website. Offline purchasing is possible at ASUS and ROG stores, as well as Reliance Digital, among others. At the moment, ASUS has not announced the tablet’s price.

#ASUS #Pad #T3201 #Launched #India #OLED #Display #Price #Features #AvailabilityAsus

“There’s only been one Blade. There’s only ever gonna be one Blade.” When Wesley Snipes spoke those lines in 2024’s Deadpool & Wolverine, audiences cackled. Sure, Deadpool and the characters around him love to make self-referential jokes, but something about Snipes—playing Blade for the first time since 2004’s Blade: Trinity—delivering the joke hit extra hard.

Comic-book movie lovers know, of course, that Marvel announced a Blade reboot starring Mahershala Ali all the way back in 2019. It’s had a stop-and-start progression since then and slowly became a bit of a punchline, with many fans coming to believe it would never actually happen.

It’s not unheard of in Hollywood that a movie gets announced, then never actually goes into production. But it is unusual when a high-profile Marvel project starring a two-time Oscar winner that was trumpeted from the Hall H stage at San Diego Comic-Con gets quietly shoved to the bottom of the TBD list.

However, Marvel hadn’t made any statement putting Blade to rest until very recently, when Happy Sad Confused podcast host Josh Horowitz came right out and asked Marvel head Kevin Feige for an update on the status of Blade. Horowitz shared the clip in an Instagram reel you can watch here, but this is what they said:

“How much time in therapy have you spent talking about Blade?” Horowitz joked to Feige. “This poor project. We just need to get this done, Kevin … We all want it. Mahershala wants it. How are you feeling at this moment?”

Feige replied, “I’m feeling very excited that we got Wesley back for a time in Deadpool & Wolverine and like a gigantic loser and a failure that we didn’t get off the ground with Mahershala.”

So he doesn’t say there will never, ever be a new Blade film, no matter what Deadpool & Wolverine would have us believe. But it sure sounds like the Mahershala Ali Blade movie is no longer in play.

Horowitz also asked if there’s a chance Secret Wars could be two films (no), if Doomsday is sticking to its release date (yes), and what the MCU will look like after Secret Wars arrives in late 2027. “I look to the comics as I always do in terms of our storytelling,” Feige said, after noting he doesn’t consider Secret Wars to be a reboot. “And after both the Secret Wars, but particularly the [Jonathan] Hickman Secret Wars from 10 years ago, there’s a nice road map to where we can go.”

Horowitz also asked if any actors have signed on for X-Men characters that we don’t know about yet, and Feige said, with supreme vagueness, “Not necessarily.”

Perhaps we’ll learn more about that when Marvel’s Hall H panel happens this weekend at San Diego Comic-Con. Marvel didn’t hold its traditional Saturday night panel in 2025, so Feige and company have some catching up to do.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

#Kevin #Feige #Finally #Admitted #Blade #Isnt #HappeningBlade,Kevin Feige,Marvel">Kevin Feige Has Finally Admitted ‘Blade’ Probably Isn’t Happening “There’s only been one Blade. There’s only ever gonna be one Blade.” When Wesley Snipes spoke those lines in 2024’s Deadpool & Wolverine, audiences cackled. Sure, Deadpool and the characters around him love to make self-referential jokes, but something about Snipes—playing Blade for the first time since 2004’s Blade: Trinity—delivering the joke hit extra hard. Comic-book movie lovers know, of course, that Marvel announced a Blade reboot starring Mahershala Ali all the way back in 2019. It’s had a stop-and-start progression since then and slowly became a bit of a punchline, with many fans coming to believe it would never actually happen. It’s not unheard of in Hollywood that a movie gets announced, then never actually goes into production. But it is unusual when a high-profile Marvel project starring a two-time Oscar winner that was trumpeted from the Hall H stage at San Diego Comic-Con gets quietly shoved to the bottom of the TBD list. However, Marvel hadn’t made any statement putting Blade to rest until very recently, when Happy Sad Confused podcast host Josh Horowitz came right out and asked Marvel head Kevin Feige for an update on the status of Blade. Horowitz shared the clip in an Instagram reel you can watch here, but this is what they said: “How much time in therapy have you spent talking about Blade?” Horowitz joked to Feige. “This poor project. We just need to get this done, Kevin … We all want it. Mahershala wants it. How are you feeling at this moment?” Feige replied, “I’m feeling very excited that we got Wesley back for a time in Deadpool & Wolverine and like a gigantic loser and a failure that we didn’t get off the ground with Mahershala.” So he doesn’t say there will never, ever be a new Blade film, no matter what Deadpool & Wolverine would have us believe. But it sure sounds like the Mahershala Ali Blade movie is no longer in play. Horowitz also asked if there’s a chance Secret Wars could be two films (no), if Doomsday is sticking to its release date (yes), and what the MCU will look like after Secret Wars arrives in late 2027. “I look to the comics as I always do in terms of our storytelling,” Feige said, after noting he doesn’t consider Secret Wars to be a reboot. “And after both the Secret Wars, but particularly the [Jonathan] Hickman Secret Wars from 10 years ago, there’s a nice road map to where we can go.” Horowitz also asked if any actors have signed on for X-Men characters that we don’t know about yet, and Feige said, with supreme vagueness, “Not necessarily.” Perhaps we’ll learn more about that when Marvel’s Hall H panel happens this weekend at San Diego Comic-Con. Marvel didn’t hold its traditional Saturday night panel in 2025, so Feige and company have some catching up to do. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who. #Kevin #Feige #Finally #Admitted #Blade #Isnt #HappeningBlade,Kevin Feige,Marvel

back in 2019. It’s had a stop-and-start progression since then and slowly became a bit of a punchline, with many fans coming to believe it would never actually happen.

It’s not unheard of in Hollywood that a movie gets announced, then never actually goes into production. But it is unusual when a high-profile Marvel project starring a two-time Oscar winner that was trumpeted from the Hall H stage at San Diego Comic-Con gets quietly shoved to the bottom of the TBD list.

However, Marvel hadn’t made any statement putting Blade to rest until very recently, when Happy Sad Confused podcast host Josh Horowitz came right out and asked Marvel head Kevin Feige for an update on the status of Blade. Horowitz shared the clip in an Instagram reel you can watch here, but this is what they said:

“How much time in therapy have you spent talking about Blade?” Horowitz joked to Feige. “This poor project. We just need to get this done, Kevin … We all want it. Mahershala wants it. How are you feeling at this moment?”

Feige replied, “I’m feeling very excited that we got Wesley back for a time in Deadpool & Wolverine and like a gigantic loser and a failure that we didn’t get off the ground with Mahershala.”

So he doesn’t say there will never, ever be a new Blade film, no matter what Deadpool & Wolverine would have us believe. But it sure sounds like the Mahershala Ali Blade movie is no longer in play.

Horowitz also asked if there’s a chance Secret Wars could be two films (no), if Doomsday is sticking to its release date (yes), and what the MCU will look like after Secret Wars arrives in late 2027. “I look to the comics as I always do in terms of our storytelling,” Feige said, after noting he doesn’t consider Secret Wars to be a reboot. “And after both the Secret Wars, but particularly the [Jonathan] Hickman Secret Wars from 10 years ago, there’s a nice road map to where we can go.”

Horowitz also asked if any actors have signed on for X-Men characters that we don’t know about yet, and Feige said, with supreme vagueness, “Not necessarily.”

Perhaps we’ll learn more about that when Marvel’s Hall H panel happens this weekend at San Diego Comic-Con. Marvel didn’t hold its traditional Saturday night panel in 2025, so Feige and company have some catching up to do.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

#Kevin #Feige #Finally #Admitted #Blade #Isnt #HappeningBlade,Kevin Feige,Marvel">Kevin Feige Has Finally Admitted ‘Blade’ Probably Isn’t HappeningKevin Feige Has Finally Admitted ‘Blade’ Probably Isn’t Happening “There’s only been one Blade. There’s only ever gonna be one Blade.” When Wesley Snipes spoke those lines in 2024’s Deadpool & Wolverine, audiences cackled. Sure, Deadpool and the characters around him love to make self-referential jokes, but something about Snipes—playing Blade for the first time since 2004’s Blade: Trinity—delivering the joke hit extra hard. Comic-book movie lovers know, of course, that Marvel announced a Blade reboot starring Mahershala Ali all the way back in 2019. It’s had a stop-and-start progression since then and slowly became a bit of a punchline, with many fans coming to believe it would never actually happen. It’s not unheard of in Hollywood that a movie gets announced, then never actually goes into production. But it is unusual when a high-profile Marvel project starring a two-time Oscar winner that was trumpeted from the Hall H stage at San Diego Comic-Con gets quietly shoved to the bottom of the TBD list. However, Marvel hadn’t made any statement putting Blade to rest until very recently, when Happy Sad Confused podcast host Josh Horowitz came right out and asked Marvel head Kevin Feige for an update on the status of Blade. Horowitz shared the clip in an Instagram reel you can watch here, but this is what they said: “How much time in therapy have you spent talking about Blade?” Horowitz joked to Feige. “This poor project. We just need to get this done, Kevin … We all want it. Mahershala wants it. How are you feeling at this moment?” Feige replied, “I’m feeling very excited that we got Wesley back for a time in Deadpool & Wolverine and like a gigantic loser and a failure that we didn’t get off the ground with Mahershala.” So he doesn’t say there will never, ever be a new Blade film, no matter what Deadpool & Wolverine would have us believe. But it sure sounds like the Mahershala Ali Blade movie is no longer in play. Horowitz also asked if there’s a chance Secret Wars could be two films (no), if Doomsday is sticking to its release date (yes), and what the MCU will look like after Secret Wars arrives in late 2027. “I look to the comics as I always do in terms of our storytelling,” Feige said, after noting he doesn’t consider Secret Wars to be a reboot. “And after both the Secret Wars, but particularly the [Jonathan] Hickman Secret Wars from 10 years ago, there’s a nice road map to where we can go.” Horowitz also asked if any actors have signed on for X-Men characters that we don’t know about yet, and Feige said, with supreme vagueness, “Not necessarily.” Perhaps we’ll learn more about that when Marvel’s Hall H panel happens this weekend at San Diego Comic-Con. Marvel didn’t hold its traditional Saturday night panel in 2025, so Feige and company have some catching up to do. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who. #Kevin #Feige #Finally #Admitted #Blade #Isnt #HappeningBlade,Kevin Feige,Marvel

“There’s only been one Blade. There’s only ever gonna be one Blade.” When Wesley Snipes spoke those lines in 2024’s Deadpool & Wolverine, audiences cackled. Sure, Deadpool and the characters around him love to make self-referential jokes, but something about Snipes—playing Blade for the first time since 2004’s Blade: Trinity—delivering the joke hit extra hard.

Comic-book movie lovers know, of course, that Marvel announced a Blade reboot starring Mahershala Ali all the way back in 2019. It’s had a stop-and-start progression since then and slowly became a bit of a punchline, with many fans coming to believe it would never actually happen.

It’s not unheard of in Hollywood that a movie gets announced, then never actually goes into production. But it is unusual when a high-profile Marvel project starring a two-time Oscar winner that was trumpeted from the Hall H stage at San Diego Comic-Con gets quietly shoved to the bottom of the TBD list.

However, Marvel hadn’t made any statement putting Blade to rest until very recently, when Happy Sad Confused podcast host Josh Horowitz came right out and asked Marvel head Kevin Feige for an update on the status of Blade. Horowitz shared the clip in an Instagram reel you can watch here, but this is what they said:

“How much time in therapy have you spent talking about Blade?” Horowitz joked to Feige. “This poor project. We just need to get this done, Kevin … We all want it. Mahershala wants it. How are you feeling at this moment?”

Feige replied, “I’m feeling very excited that we got Wesley back for a time in Deadpool & Wolverine and like a gigantic loser and a failure that we didn’t get off the ground with Mahershala.”

So he doesn’t say there will never, ever be a new Blade film, no matter what Deadpool & Wolverine would have us believe. But it sure sounds like the Mahershala Ali Blade movie is no longer in play.

Horowitz also asked if there’s a chance Secret Wars could be two films (no), if Doomsday is sticking to its release date (yes), and what the MCU will look like after Secret Wars arrives in late 2027. “I look to the comics as I always do in terms of our storytelling,” Feige said, after noting he doesn’t consider Secret Wars to be a reboot. “And after both the Secret Wars, but particularly the [Jonathan] Hickman Secret Wars from 10 years ago, there’s a nice road map to where we can go.”

Horowitz also asked if any actors have signed on for X-Men characters that we don’t know about yet, and Feige said, with supreme vagueness, “Not necessarily.”

Perhaps we’ll learn more about that when Marvel’s Hall H panel happens this weekend at San Diego Comic-Con. Marvel didn’t hold its traditional Saturday night panel in 2025, so Feige and company have some catching up to do.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

#Kevin #Feige #Finally #Admitted #Blade #Isnt #HappeningBlade,Kevin Feige,Marvel

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