An Evening of Candid Conversations

Last week, we had the pleasure of hosting “Robotics x AI – Rooftop Edition” together with our friends at HCVC. Despite the rain keeping us off the actual rooftop, the evening was packed with energy, curiosity, and over 80 deep tech builders, investors, and founders who joined us for a night of meaningful conversation and community.

The discussion explored where robotics and AI are converging, and what that means for the builders and backers shaping the space. Several themes emerged:

• The idea of a “Physical Turing Test” sparked debate, what does it mean for a robot to perform a task so well that we can no longer distinguish it from human effort? And how close are we to reaching that threshold?

• The panel highlighted the data limitations that robotics faces. Unlike large language models, which were trained on vast troves of text data from the internet, robotics lacks rich, structured datasets grounded in physical-world experience. This gap makes progress more complex and often slower.

• There was real discussion around simulation and its limits. How far can we rely on simulated environments before the messiness of the real world introduces unpredictable failure?

• Business model innovation also came into focus. Robotics is forcing a shift in how companies think about capital expenditure versus operating costs, especially in sectors where hardware was traditionally considered a fixed investment.

• The group also examined the implications of large AI players, like OpenAI, moving into the robotics space, and what that means for smaller, more specialized companies.

• The conversation closed with an honest look at the investment landscape, particularly the challenges of funding long-cycle, capital-intensive technologies. The panel didn’t shy away from tough questions about risk, timing, and returns.

Throughout the evening, what stood out most was the willingness of speakers and guests to challenge assumptions, share openly, and keep things grounded.

To everyone who joined us, thank you. We’re already looking forward to the next one.

If you're building at the intersection of robotics and AI, or investing in the people who are, we’d love to connect. Let's talk.