Tony Zhao

Visionary
DISC Type : Ds

Co-founder & CEO at Sunday

Stanford, California, United States

Overview

Tony Zhao is the Co-founder and CEO of Sunday Robotics, a venture he started after leaving his PhD program at Stanford University. With a background that includes Google DeepMind and Teslas Autopilot team, he is an expert in AI and robotic manipulation. He also holds a Bachelor of Science from UC Berkeley.

He is deeply passionate about creating tangible, helpful robots, having dedicated immense effort to developing projects like Mobile ALOHA, a low-cost, open-source mobile manipulator. His work showcases a drive to build systems that can perform complex, real-world tasks, such as cooking, to assist humanity.

Unique fact: He co-led the development of Mobile ALOHA, one of the most high-effort projects of his career, while still a PhD student.

Personality Overview

Big Vision Person

Goal-Oriented

Risk Tolerant

They are very professional in their approach and can weigh multiple perspectives together.  They exhibit a rare combination of being result-oriented but patient at the same time. They might take some time to make their mind up but once they do, they don't change it easily.

Topics They Care About

Robotics Startups
Left a prestigious Stanford PhD program to found Sunday Robotics, securing seed funding from Conviction and a Series A from Benchmark to pursue his vision.
Open-Source Hardware
Co-created and promoted Mobile ALOHA as a low-cost, open-source mobile manipulator, indicating a strong belief in accessible and collaborative robotics development.
AI-driven Automation
His work focuses on applying advanced AI to real-world problems, from self-driving at Tesla to automating complex surgical tasks using Transformers.

Media Appearances

Tony has no verified media appearances

Work History

4-2024
Co-founder & CEO at Sunday
6-2023 - 4-2024
Student Researcher at Google DeepMind
6-2022 - 9-2022
Machine Learning Scientist at Tesla
9-2021 - 6-2024
PhD Student at Stanford University
5-2021 - 9-2021
AI Resident at X, the moonshot factory

Education

2021 - 2024
Doctor of Philosophy - PhD from Stanford University
2017 - 2021
Bachelor of Science - BS from University of California, Berkeley

More Information

Social Presence :

Prographics :

Exp : 4 Location : Stanford, California, United States Job Level : Leadership Designation : Co-founder & CEO at Sunday
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Insights For Selling To Tony

During A Call Or A Meeting

DO's

  • Use phrases like 'your team deserves', 'best in class' etc.
  • You can spend time on BANT (or other qualification methodology) but keep it to the point
  • Let them know of potential risks but suggest mitigation methods alongside

DONT's

  • Don't get into pricing discussions early on, steer conversation towards proven results
  • Don't take their patience for granted, avoid long-winding sermons
  • Don't shy away from asking hard questions, but be extra polite

When Cold Calling

When Writing An Email

While Negotiating & Closing

    The secret to closing fast with Tony is

  • Strong proof of impact and their conviction will matter the most, but they wouldn't want to act unilaterally either
  • Will you ever get a clear answer from Tony

  • They will say no if they are not convinced but you will have to prompt them.

Insights For Deal Planning

    How fast (or slow) will Tony move?

  • They will want to understand things well but can move fast once they have a clear picture.
  • Can Tony take some risk or not?

  • They have good risk tolerance but are likely to think it through once or twice.

You And Tony

Personality Compatibility


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