AI Hardware and Robotics Take Center Stage at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025

TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 lands at Moscone West from October 27 to 29, convening more than 10,000 founders, investors, and builders. One of the marquee conversations on the AI Stages will spotlight the hardware and systems powering robotics and autonomous platforms — a space where the software revolution meets the constraints of real-world physics.

On the Builder Stage, Raquel Urtasun, founder and CEO of Waabi, joins Jeff Cardenas, co-founder and CEO of Apptronik, to discuss what it takes to put intelligence into motion. From self-driving stacks to humanoid platforms, the session promises live demonstrations and a candid look at breakthroughs and bottlenecks.

AI meets real-world physics

This conversation digs into the stacked systems that make autonomy possible: high-fidelity simulation and digital twins, multi-modal sensors and perception, control and actuation, plus the software infrastructure required to scale safely. Waabi and Apptronik both push boundaries — in perception for vehicles and in actuation for legged and multi-jointed robots — and they’ll surface where progress is fastest and where friction remains.

• Simulation and validation: digital twins and edge-case testing are central to safe deployment.
• Sensors and perception: sensor fusion, robustness under varied conditions, and cost trade-offs.
• Safety and verification: standards, regulatory testing, and reproducible validation pipelines.
• Hardware–software co-design: power, latency, and mechanical constraints shape algorithm choices.
• Industry impact: from logistics and manufacturing to mobility and public infrastructure, the implications are wide-ranging.

Why this session matters

AI has already transformed software development and cloud services, but bringing intelligence into the physical world introduces unique constraints: mechanical limits, unpredictable environments, and safety-critical failure modes. The Waabi–Apptronik dialog is valuable because it grounds hype in engineering trade-offs and practical timelines.

Executives, product leaders, and policymakers attending Disrupt should expect a candid assessment of what’s deliverable in the near term versus what remains exploratory. That clarity matters for procurement, workforce planning, and infrastructure investment.

QuarkyByte will be tracking the session to translate those conversations into actionable guidance. We map technical breakthroughs into deployment roadmaps, quantify risk envelopes for pilots, and outline integration paths for fleets, factories, and cities. Organizations can use these signals to prioritize pilots, set realistic KPIs, and align budgets with technical readiness.

Catch Raquel Urtasun and Jeff Cardenas on the AI Stage at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025. Register now to join industry leaders in San Francisco and take advantage of early pricing before rates rise.