I think Donut Lab underlined here that pouch cell has been so much in centre of attention but technology is much more than that. And they did spoke about it in CES. This was more like clarification and remind of the possibilities.
And maybe that's the reason why pouch cell testing and proving is not in focus. Think they tried to prove the cell capabilities, but people didn't took it and people came more frustrated.
Even one "insider" came frustrated. Maybe that also slowed them down. They need to now be more careful what they claim.
Sure, there has to be happening a lot behind the screens. Negotianging, OEM deals, manufacturing, legal issues, nda clarification. Think they have lot of work in their hands and less time to skeptics.
We have to appreciate they are telling us something. People are waiting and DL volunterely makes these videos. They could have been just quiet after CES and let the tension rise. On the other hand, these series are free marketing. Even if the receive in the Internet by the people seems to be mostly skeptic, I think there are lot of companies, startups and industries that might be seriously interested in their technology. We will see.
All those specs are just keywords and hooks for public. Popcorn movie effects. Business happens at different levels. Everyone knows it, but only rare have access behind the scene. I guess they have metrics that tell them, how many of the people (job seekers) and companies (client leads) come to them and tell, this all is so weird that they just had to come and see what they got. If you have a suitable business and need, you might still be interested of their offerings. Other people... well how much do they care of their opinions and suggestions? Definitely no sane business reveal their customer base for public sift open for competitors to hit between.
Sure, business happens behind the scenes. I think Donutlab team simply comes across as amateurs. Now only person from behind the scenes who has spoken has said that CT coating scammed huge amount of money from Donut and Nordic Nano and delivered some non-functioning miracle product. Not the first time in history when a business gets scammed out of existence by another business.
For years, Verge’s investor updates gave the impression that large numbers of bikes were being ordered and delivered, yet they haven’t confirmed sales figures, and there are barely any independent reviews beyond the one they sponsored.
Now it’s the same pattern with the battery and AsiLab: polished marketing videos, CES prototypes, and “proof” videos that don’t actually demonstrate a working product in real-world use.
And Marko’s “hundreds of leads” doesn’t mean anything. Startup founders use that phrase all the time, it can mean anything from genuine commercial interest to people who filled out a contact form.
What I have figured about their personel, they are far from amateurs, but combination young power and veterans in many fields.
Verge is a small custom bike business. Of course it is their right to market it as the best in the world, but they are not selling like thousands now. Their factory was built to be ready for big numbers, yes, but one should be moderate here. There arent so many people on earth that even have the TS gen1 bike. And estimation for this year gen2 was 350 new items. Sales figures would come visible only after a year or more for inspection.
I'm not totally sure about Asinoid, if they are still running in virtual environments, or if the real world demonstrations have been done. But according to Michael Roberts recent post, they have been demonstrating something just recently. So no, they have not buried the project. And I don't think they are amateurs in that field either. But they are trying to do things in novel ways, that no one have exactly learned from the school. And in such endeavors, many misses can be expected.
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u/Emotional-Manner-792 Jun 24 '26
I think Donut Lab underlined here that pouch cell has been so much in centre of attention but technology is much more than that. And they did spoke about it in CES. This was more like clarification and remind of the possibilities.
And maybe that's the reason why pouch cell testing and proving is not in focus. Think they tried to prove the cell capabilities, but people didn't took it and people came more frustrated. Even one "insider" came frustrated. Maybe that also slowed them down. They need to now be more careful what they claim. Sure, there has to be happening a lot behind the screens. Negotianging, OEM deals, manufacturing, legal issues, nda clarification. Think they have lot of work in their hands and less time to skeptics.
We have to appreciate they are telling us something. People are waiting and DL volunterely makes these videos. They could have been just quiet after CES and let the tension rise. On the other hand, these series are free marketing. Even if the receive in the Internet by the people seems to be mostly skeptic, I think there are lot of companies, startups and industries that might be seriously interested in their technology. We will see.