TechCrunch Disrupt 2026’s new Real World AI Stage features Nvidia, robots, and extinct animals
TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 will once again place AI at the heart of its program, but with a new twist: a dedicated Real World AI Stage. The event, taking place October 13‑15 at San Francisco’s Moscone West, expands its AI offerings by introducing this fresh stage, which explores the intersection of digital and physical realms. It will highlight how autonomous hardware is moving beyond self‑driving cars to occupy public spaces, battlefields, homes, and even potentially aid extinct species in re‑entering Earth. The lineup features speakers from leading companies such as Shield AI, Colossal Biosciences, FieldAI, Foxglove, and Nvidia, among others still to be announced.
The first session tackles the data gap that hampers general‑purpose robotic intelligence. While large language models had the internet and self‑driving cars have millions of hours of road data, robots lack that foundational data. This shortfall is the primary reason most experts believe broad robotic AI is still years away, despite breakthroughs elsewhere in AI. A new wave of startups is racing to close this gap by building data pipelines, simulation environments, and foundation models that could spark a capability explosion similar to that seen with LLMs. Les Karpas, Head of Physical AI at Nvidia, will lead a discussion on what the ChatGPT moment for physical AI truly requires and how close we really are.
The second session focuses on safety and readiness when AI enters the physical world. A mistake can ground an aircraft, crash a vehicle, or jeopardize a mission. Leaders building autonomous vehicles, defense technologies, and industrial systems will address one of the toughest questions every hard‑tech founder faces: how to know when a system is safe to deploy. The panel will explore how founders can cultivate a safety culture, test and validate AI, navigate regulatory hurdles, and build trust in high‑stakes environments. Nate Michael, CTO of Shield AI, will participate in this discussion.
The third session, a fireside chat, features Ben Lamm, CEO of Colossal Biosciences, a company known for turning de‑extinction from science fiction into a billion‑dollar business. Lamm will discuss the technologies used to revive extinct species, the role AI plays in modern biology, and the growing debate over whether engineering nature is a conservation breakthrough or a distraction from protecting existing wildlife. His talk highlights the ethical, technical, and commercial dimensions of attempting to bring back lost species.
The fourth session brings together leaders in edge AI from defense, space, and industrial sectors. Dr. Ali Agha, CEO and founder of FieldAI; Michelle Lee, CEO and founder of Medra; and Aidan Madigan‑Curtis, partner at Eclipse Ventures, will share how they have made AI work where latency matters, connectivity is limited, and failure is not an option. Expect practical lessons on architectural principles, design decisions, and trade‑offs that enable AI‑centric systems to function in real‑world conditions. These insights have direct implications for companies deploying AI in challenging environments.
Finally, the fifth session addresses the critical transition from prototype to production and scaling. Founders who have successfully crossed this gap in space hardware, humanoid robotics, and autonomous systems will share what they got wrong, what they would have done earlier, and what the prototype‑to‑production journey looks like when supply chains and manufacturing realities replace lab conditions. John Mackey will contribute his perspective on navigating this complex path. The panel underscores the practical challenges and strategies needed to move from a working prototype to a scalable, profitable business, offering actionable takeaways for deep‑tech startups.