Antillion’s Alistair Bradbrook on Designing Edge Tech That Lasts
Alistair Bradbrook, founder and COO of Antillion, has spent decades wrestling with one central challenge: getting the right information to the right people at the right time—no matter the environment. From early exposure to Phase I clinical trials at his father’s pharmaceutical company to leading edge-AI hardware design, Bradbrook’s career is a study in curiosity, iteration, and purposeful design.
In this conversation, he shares how Antillion approaches technology, leadership, and research/testing at the edge.
Q: You helped found Antillion with a mission to bring cutting-edge performance to the edge. What was the spark that told you this company needed to exist?
A: There wasn’t one epiphany—it was a series of moments over decades. My interest in collecting data at the source started when I was 12 or 13. I worked with my father in his business, which was a pharmaceutical company that did Phase I trials, testing drugs in humans for the first time. The challenge in that business had always been about collecting data—like heart rate, ECG, and all those metrics that are key to understanding the effect of drugs on humans—quickly enough to aggregate them so decisions could be made.
This was ~35 years ago, so the idea of putting high-performance computing at the edge was unimaginable. We were working with the home computers of the day—not exactly capable edge devices. But the challenge was the same as today: collect data close to its source, aggregate it quickly, and empower people to make decisions in real time.
That fascination stayed with me—whether in healthcare, environmental sensing, or defense—and eventually led me to Antillion. I’d grown frustrated with existing products and felt that if no one else was building the kind of capable, usable, and non-intimidating technology I envisioned, then we should do it ourselves.
Q: Antillion’s products blend engineering rigor with industrial design aesthetics. What does “good design” mean to you in the context of edge technology?
A: My industrial design lead and I start pretty much conversation with a few factors that are really critical. The object we’re building needs to not feel alien—it needs to not feel so brand new that it’s not relatable and people don’t understand how to use it. So, coming up with designs that are not alienating is key.
We also think a lot about portability—not just size, weight, and power (SWaP) in the defense sense, but true portability. Can one person move and operate it easily? Does its form factor match its purpose? We’ve built devices that, in hindsight, didn’t meet that standard—they were too big for their capability or too small to be useful. That balance matters.
We also iterate quickly, moving from sketch to 3D design to a first physical prototype, because some flaws only reveal themselves when you can hold and use the object. Perfection is unattainable, but each release gets closer.
Q: Running a fast-moving company at the frontier of hardware and edge AI is no small feat. What have you learned about leadership in unpredictable environments?
A: My style is collaborative and passion-driven. I’ll never ask someone to do something I wouldn’t do myself. In a ~30-person company, I can stay connected with everyone, but as we grow, that culture will rely on managers carrying it forward.
I want people who have genuine interest in what we’re building—not just a nine-to-five mindset. The best moments are when someone takes an idea I’ve shared, runs with it, and comes back with not only what I asked for, but something I hadn’t even considered. That’s where the magic happens.
Q: Your R&D approach starts with research-first thinking. How does that influence your company culture?
A: I’m naturally inquisitive. Every new idea starts with research—often me digging into the “why” before handing it to engineering or marketing to explore further.
We won’t build something just to compete unless we see a way to make it meaningfully better. If I can’t see that potential, I park the idea until I can. If I do see it, we’ll prototype quickly, test functionality, and only then think about aesthetics and packaging.
This approach encourages the team to think critically, test early, and be comfortable with iteration.
Q: ANTEX (Antillion’s field research activities) tests products in the wild, not just in the lab. Can you share an example where this approach paid off?
A: One example was a small device designed to extend radio range in mountainous terrain. We tested it in the Alps—hiking, throwing it in the snow, getting it damp and cold, using it the way it would actually be used.
It passed the environmental tests, but more importantly, we learned how people actually carry, deploy, and treat the equipment. That kind of insight simply can’t be replicated in a lab.
Q: As AI moves from cloud to edge, how do you see the role of field-deployed systems changing?
A: I’m still not sure how much of the current push for AI at the edge is driven by genuine need versus commercial opportunity. There are clear cases where edge AI is essential—especially when you need faster decisions or want to limit the data sent upstream—but I think the technology may be a little ahead of widespread operational readiness.
The real opportunity isn’t “AI” as a buzzword—it’s making better decisions closer to where data is created, in ways that either empower local operators or optimize system efficiency.
Q: Antillion operates in high-stakes environments where failure isn’t an option. How do you build resilience into your team?
A: We don’t really talk about “failure.” We invest heavily in early-stage research and iteration to reduce the chance of failure, but when it does happen, it’s rarely black and white. We treat it as another step toward solving the problem. Resilience comes from seeing it as a shared responsibility—between our team, our products, and our customers—to mitigate and learn from setbacks.
Q: When people look at Antillion 10 years from now, what do you hope they say?
A: I’d love for one or more of our products to still be in use, still delivering on—and maybe exceeding—their original purpose. Longevity is the ultimate proof of value. If our technology continues to serve customers in ways we couldn’t predict at launch, I’ll consider that a success.
Alistair Bradbrook, founder and COO of Antillion, has spent decades wrestling with one central challenge: getting the right information to the right people at the right time—no matter the environment. From early exposure to Phase I clinical trials at his father’s pharmaceutical company to leading edge-AI hardware design, Bradbrook’s career is a study in curiosity, iteration, and purposeful design.
In this conversation, he shares how Antillion approaches technology, leadership, and research/testing at the edge.
Q: You helped found Antillion with a mission to bring cutting-edge performance to the edge. What was the spark that told you this company needed to exist?
A: There wasn’t one epiphany—it was a series of moments over decades. My interest in collecting data at the source started when I was 12 or 13. I worked with my father in his business, which was a pharmaceutical company that did Phase I trials, testing drugs in humans for the first time. The challenge in that business had always been about collecting data—like heart rate, ECG, and all those metrics that are key to understanding the effect of drugs on humans—quickly enough to aggregate them so decisions could be made.
This was ~35 years ago, so the idea of putting high-performance computing at the edge was unimaginable. We were working with the home computers of the day—not exactly capable edge devices. But the challenge was the same as today: collect data close to its source, aggregate it quickly, and empower people to make decisions in real time.
That fascination stayed with me—whether in healthcare, environmental sensing, or defense—and eventually led me to Antillion. I’d grown frustrated with existing products and felt that if no one else was building the kind of capable, usable, and non-intimidating technology I envisioned, then we should do it ourselves.
Q: Antillion’s products blend engineering rigor with industrial design aesthetics. What does “good design” mean to you in the context of edge technology?
A: My industrial design lead and I start pretty much conversation with a few factors that are really critical. The object we’re building needs to not feel alien—it needs to not feel so brand new that it’s not relatable and people don’t understand how to use it. So, coming up with designs that are not alienating is key.
We also think a lot about portability—not just size, weight, and power (SWaP) in the defense sense, but true portability. Can one person move and operate it easily? Does its form factor match its purpose? We’ve built devices that, in hindsight, didn’t meet that standard—they were too big for their capability or too small to be useful. That balance matters.
We also iterate quickly, moving from sketch to 3D design to a first physical prototype, because some flaws only reveal themselves when you can hold and use the object. Perfection is unattainable, but each release gets closer.
Q: Running a fast-moving company at the frontier of hardware and edge AI is no small feat. What have you learned about leadership in unpredictable environments?
A: My style is collaborative and passion-driven. I’ll never ask someone to do something I wouldn’t do myself. In a ~30-person company, I can stay connected with everyone, but as we grow, that culture will rely on managers carrying it forward.
I want people who have genuine interest in what we’re building—not just a nine-to-five mindset. The best moments are when someone takes an idea I’ve shared, runs with it, and comes back with not only what I asked for, but something I hadn’t even considered. That’s where the magic happens.
Q: Your R&D approach starts with research-first thinking. How does that influence your company culture?
A: I’m naturally inquisitive. Every new idea starts with research—often me digging into the “why” before handing it to engineering or marketing to explore further.
We won’t build something just to compete unless we see a way to make it meaningfully better. If I can’t see that potential, I park the idea until I can. If I do see it, we’ll prototype quickly, test functionality, and only then think about aesthetics and packaging.
This approach encourages the team to think critically, test early, and be comfortable with iteration.
Q: ANTEX (Antillion’s field research activities) tests products in the wild, not just in the lab. Can you share an example where this approach paid off?
A: One example was a small device designed to extend radio range in mountainous terrain. We tested it in the Alps—hiking, throwing it in the snow, getting it damp and cold, using it the way it would actually be used.
It passed the environmental tests, but more importantly, we learned how people actually carry, deploy, and treat the equipment. That kind of insight simply can’t be replicated in a lab.
Q: As AI moves from cloud to edge, how do you see the role of field-deployed systems changing?
A: I’m still not sure how much of the current push for AI at the edge is driven by genuine need versus commercial opportunity. There are clear cases where edge AI is essential—especially when you need faster decisions or want to limit the data sent upstream—but I think the technology may be a little ahead of widespread operational readiness.
The real opportunity isn’t “AI” as a buzzword—it’s making better decisions closer to where data is created, in ways that either empower local operators or optimize system efficiency.
Q: Antillion operates in high-stakes environments where failure isn’t an option. How do you build resilience into your team?
A: We don’t really talk about “failure.” We invest heavily in early-stage research and iteration to reduce the chance of failure, but when it does happen, it’s rarely black and white. We treat it as another step toward solving the problem. Resilience comes from seeing it as a shared responsibility—between our team, our products, and our customers—to mitigate and learn from setbacks.
Q: When people look at Antillion 10 years from now, what do you hope they say?
A: I’d love for one or more of our products to still be in use, still delivering on—and maybe exceeding—their original purpose. Longevity is the ultimate proof of value. If our technology continues to serve customers in ways we couldn’t predict at launch, I’ll consider that a success.
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