What happens when an aerospace engineer, serial entrepreneur, and AI visionary sets out to reinvent both how we move and how we care for each other?
In this episode of Human Work After AI, we sit down with Allen Nejah, founder and CEO of SunMan Engineering, a Silicon Valley firm with 1,700+ product development projects under its belt across aerospace, defense, IoT, and consumer electronics. Allen shares his journey from building connected car technology that powers internet-enabled vehicles worldwide to pioneering robotics for elderly care and groundbreaking EV transmissions that could boost range by 40%.
Key Themes:
- How AI enables machines to truly “understand” humans – and why that changes everything.
- The leap from mechanical robotics to intelligent, assistive systems for home and healthcare.
- Why “dark manufacturing” could bring production back to the U.S. – without costing jobs.
- Allen’s vision for Level 5 self-driving cars and a traffic-free future.
Chapters:
0:00 – Intro & Allen’s view on AI as a new human-machine language
1:30 – Allen’s aerospace roots & dream of becoming an astronaut
3:00 – Founding Sunman Engineering and first projects
4:40 – Building connected cars before it was mainstream
7:15 – The road to Level 5 autonomous vehicles
8:34 – Reinventing transmissions for EV range gains
10:06 – Partnering on AI-powered home assistance robotics
13:06 – What “assistive automation” means in practice
14:11 – The evolution of robotics in the AI era
17:04 – Breakthroughs needed for the next decade of AI & robotics
19:35 – Dark manufacturing & the future of production
21:02 – Would Allen go to Mars? (Spoiler: yes)
21:50 – AI’s impact on engineering & product design
25:17 – Which industries will robotics disrupt first
26:02 – Regulation, ethics, and military tech insights
28:09 – Why Allen’s optimistic about the future
Resources:
🌐 Sunman Engineering: https://www.sunmantechnology.com
🌐 Grow your revenue with host Chris Fanchi's Big North Marketing: https://bignorthmarketing.com