Pod: Tony Atti: Phononic Founder: Scaling Phononic from 2008-2026 and Beyond-> Part 2 of 2.
As with any startup, at DeepTech 🚀 - why product-market fit, focus, and timing matter more than the underlying technology
Refresher: Tony’s Backstory
Tony Atti is the CEO and founder of Phononic, a Triangle-based deep tech company reinventing cooling and refrigeration using solid-state semiconductor technology.
Part 1 sets the foundation: the conviction, context, and courage it takes to start a deep-tech company when the odds are stacked against you.
Get caught up with → Part 1
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Listen/Watch Our Interview:
Make sure to catch up with Part 1 if you missed it!
Part 2 picks up where the origin story ends, and where the real work begins.
Tony breaks down the three phases of Phononic: proving the science, surviving productization, and ultimately finding the market where solid-state cooling wasn’t just better, but mission-critical. It’s a candid look at why deep-tech companies require patience, capital discipline, and brutal focus to survive.
This is the episode for founders navigating scale, manufacturing, or markets that don’t yet exist.
Highlights from Part 2
The three semiconductor problems Phononic had to solve, together
Why feasibility took ~$10–15M before a real product even existed
The hidden cost of productization (and why Phase 2 was the most dangerous)
Why Phononic nearly spread itself too thin across HVAC, cold chain, and data centers
“Market → product fit” vs. product → market fit
The moment AI and accelerated computing changed everything
Why data centers became Phononic’s core focus
Licensing non-core markets instead of shutting them down
Tony’s three most important lessons for founders building outside Silicon Valley
Phononic’s story isn’t about chasing trends, it’s about surviving long enough for timing, technology, and market need to finally align.
For founders building deep tech, Part 2 is a reminder: focus is strategy, patience is power, and big outcomes demand big ambition.
How to watch:
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📌 What’s Next
Next on Triangle Tweener Talks, we’ll continue spotlighting founders who’ve built real companies in the Triangle, digging into the decisions that shaped their journeys, the tradeoffs behind growth, and what they’re building next.
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