Episode 16 - Rubi Liani - Co-founder & CTO @XTEND
From Autonomous by UAXVC
April 15, 2026 · 1h 5m · Season 1 · Episode 16
About this episode
Rubi Liani shares his unconventional journey to co-founding XTEND, discussing the impact of early experiences and decision-making in the tech and defense sectors.
In Episode 16, we sit down with Rubi Liani, co-founder of XTEND, and go deeper into the path that led him there. It starts far from what you might expect - flying RC planes as a kid, building intuition through curiosity, not a defined plan. From there, moving into the Navy and stepping into an environment shaped by responsibility, structure, and real decision-making under pressure. What followed wasn’t a straight line. Together with Aviv Shapira, through the Israel Drone Racing League (FRIL), Rubi entered the world of gaming, building a company in a space where others, with more experience and resources, had already tried to solve similar problems. Over time, that journey evolved into what we know today as XTEND. In this conversation, we talk about: how early decisions shape long-term direction choosing the right people and building trust operating with limited resources while still moving forward and how seemingly unrelated experiences connect over time We also dive into how that background led to rethinking how drone pilots are trained and not just building systems, but building capability. This is not a story about a “perfect path.” It’s about how different chapters come…
People in this episode
Guest: Rubi Liani
Topics covered
- drone technology
- entrepreneurship
- military experience
- gaming industry
- training methods
- decision-making
Keywords
- drone pilots
- defense tech
- entrepreneurship
- gaming
- military
- training
- decision-making
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: XTEND, Israel Drone Racing League
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