TechCrunch Disrupt 2026’s new Real World AI Stage features Nvidia, robots, and extinct animals

TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 的全新“现实世界 AI 舞台”将迎来英伟达、机器人及灭绝动物等重磅议题

At our past TechCrunch Disrupt events, AI has taken center stage, both throughout our programming and in a stage of its own. This year, the technology, implications, and players are so rapidly developing and widespread that we’re expanding the single AI stage into two! The AI Stage will continue as you’d expect, with a rundown of sessions and speakers available for review right here. But the Real World AI Stage is brand-new for TechCrunch Disrupt 2026.

在以往的 TechCrunch Disrupt 大会上，人工智能始终占据核心地位，不仅贯穿于整个议程，还拥有专属的舞台。今年，随着相关技术、影响及参与者的飞速发展与普及，我们将单一的 AI 舞台扩展为两个！AI 舞台将如往常一样继续呈现，您可以在此查看会议议程和演讲嘉宾名单。而“现实世界 AI 舞台”（Real World AI Stage）则是 TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 的全新亮点。

On this stage, we’ll be focusing on that intersection between the digital and physical, and all the ways we’ll continue to see a blending of the two, as autonomous hardware goes beyond self-driving cars and enters public spaces, battlefields, our homes, and even potentially helps extinct species reenter Earth. It’s a packed lineup featuring speakers from Shield AI, Colossal Biosciences, FieldAI, Foxglove, and more still to come. You can join in on all the excitement October 13 to 15 at San Francisco’s Moscone West, so register to attend right here. But in the meantime, here’s the breakdown of our Real World AI Stage lineup:

在这个舞台上，我们将聚焦数字世界与物理世界的交汇点，探讨两者如何持续融合。自主硬件的应用已不再局限于自动驾驶汽车，正逐步进入公共空间、战场、家庭，甚至可能帮助灭绝物种重返地球。本次阵容强大，演讲嘉宾来自 Shield AI、Colossal Biosciences、FieldAI、Foxglove 等公司，更多嘉宾名单将陆续公布。10 月 13 日至 15 日，欢迎前往旧金山 Moscone West 参与这场盛会，点击此处即可注册。以下是“现实世界 AI 舞台”的议程概览：

Robots Are Waiting for Their ChatGPT Moment. Here Is What Is Standing in the Way

机器人正在等待它们的“ChatGPT 时刻”，但障碍何在？

Large language models had the internet. Self-driving cars have millions of hours of road data. Robots have neither. That data gap is the single biggest reason most experts believe general-purpose robotic intelligence is still years away, despite the breakthroughs happening everywhere else in AI. A new wave of startups is racing to close it, building the data pipelines, simulation environments, and foundation models that could trigger the same capability explosion we saw with LLMs. This session asks the hard question: what does the ChatGPT moment for physical AI actually require, and how close are we really? With Les Karpas, Head of Physical AI, Nvidia.

大语言模型拥有互联网数据，自动驾驶汽车拥有数百万小时的道路数据，而机器人两者皆无。尽管 AI 其他领域进展神速，但大多数专家认为通用机器人智能仍需数年时间，而数据鸿沟正是最大的阻碍。新一代初创公司正竞相填补这一空白，通过构建数据管道、仿真环境和基础模型，试图复刻大语言模型所引发的能力爆发。本场会议将探讨一个棘手的问题：物理 AI 的“ChatGPT 时刻”究竟需要什么？我们距离那一刻还有多远？嘉宾：英伟达物理 AI 主管 Les Karpas。

Building AI Systems When Failure Is Not an Option

当失败不可接受时，如何构建 AI 系统？

When AI enters the physical world, the consequences of failure change. A mistake could lead to a grounded aircraft, a vehicle crash, or a compromised mission. In this session, leaders who are building autonomous vehicles, defense technologies, and industrial systems will talk about one of the toughest questions that every hard tech founder must face: How do you know when your system is ready to be safely deployed? We’ll dig into how founders can create a safety culture, test and validate AI, navigate regulatory hurdles, and build companies that can earn trust when the stakes are high. With Nate Michael, CTO, Shield AI.

当 AI 进入物理世界，失败的后果将截然不同。一个错误可能导致飞机停飞、车辆碰撞或任务失败。在本场会议中，来自自动驾驶、国防科技和工业系统领域的领军人物将探讨每位硬科技创始人必须面对的最艰难问题之一：如何判断系统已准备好进行安全部署？我们将深入探讨创始人如何建立安全文化、测试与验证 AI、应对监管障碍，并在高风险环境下打造值得信赖的企业。嘉宾：Shield AI 首席技术官 Nate Michael。

Can We Engineer Nature’s Comeback?

我们能通过工程手段让自然“复活”吗？

Ben Lamm has built one of the most controversial companies in tech by turning de-extinction from science fiction into a billion-dollar business. In this fireside chat, the Colossal Biosciences CEO 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 what’s already here. With Ben Lamm, CEO, Colossal Biosciences.

Ben Lamm 创办了科技界最具争议的公司之一，将“物种复活”从科幻小说变成了价值十亿美元的生意。在这场炉边谈话中，这位 Colossal Biosciences 的首席执行官将讨论用于复活灭绝物种的技术、AI 在现代生物学中的作用，以及关于“工程化自然”究竟是保护生物学的突破，还是对保护现有物种的一种干扰，这一日益激烈的争论。嘉宾：Colossal Biosciences 首席执行官 Ben Lamm。

Operating at the Edge: How AI Works When the Cloud Doesn’t

边缘计算：当云端无法触及时，AI 如何运作？

The most valuable AI deployments in the world operate where the cloud can’t reach. And building for them requires a different technological playbook. This session brings together leaders from defense, space, and industrial AI who will share how they have tackled the challenge of making AI work at the edge — where latency matters, connectivity is limited, and failure isn’t an option. Expect practical lessons on architectural principles, design decisions, and trade-offs that make AI-centric systems work in the real world. With Dr. Ali Agha, CEO and founder of FieldAI; Michelle Lee, CEO and founder, Medra; and Aidan Madigan-Curtis, partner, Eclipse Ventures.

全球最具价值的 AI 部署往往发生在云端无法触及的地方，而针对这些场景的构建需要一套不同的技术方案。本场会议汇集了国防、航天和工业 AI 领域的领袖，他们将分享如何解决在边缘端运行 AI 的挑战——即在延迟至关重要、连接受限且不允许失败的环境下。会议将提供关于架构原则、设计决策和权衡取舍的实用经验，助力以 AI 为中心的系统在现实世界中发挥作用。嘉宾：FieldAI 首席执行官兼创始人 Ali Agha 博士；Medra 首席执行官兼创始人 Michelle Lee；Eclipse Ventures 合伙人 Aidan Madigan-Curtis。

From Prototype to Production: Can it scale in reality?

从原型到量产：现实中能否规模化？

A prototype that works is not a product. A product that ships is not a scaled business. The gap between each of those stages is where most deep tech startups die. Founders might have the right team and tech, but they fail to understand what it takes to bring a prototype into production and eventually scale to higher, profitable volumes. This session brings together founders who have crossed that gap in space hardware, humanoid robotics, and autonomous systems. They’ll share what they got wrong, what they’d do earlier, and what the prototype-to-production journey looks like when supply chains and manufacturing realities replace lab conditions. With John Mackey, CEO, co-founder, MBRYONICS; Boris Sofman, co-founder and CEO, Bedrock Robotics; and Adrian Macneil, CEO, Foxglove.

能运行的原型不等于产品，能出货的产品也不等于规模化的业务。大多数深科技初创公司都倒在了这些阶段之间的鸿沟里。创始人可能拥有优秀的团队和技术，却不了解将原型转化为量产并最终实现高利润规模化所需的条件。本场会议邀请了在航天硬件、人形机器人和自主系统领域跨越这一鸿沟的创始人。他们将分享曾经犯过的错误、希望更早做出的决策，以及当供应链和制造现实取代实验室环境时，从原型到量产的真实旅程。嘉宾：MBRYONICS 首席执行官兼联合创始人 John Mackey；Bedrock Robotics 联合创始人兼首席执行官 Boris Sofman；Foxglove 首席执行官 Adrian Macneil。

There’s plenty more in store for you at Disrupt 2026 — after all, that’s just one stage’s worth of programming! For a sense of what else you’ll get to access, we’ve also announced the:

Disrupt 2026 还有更多精彩内容等待着您——毕竟，这仅仅是一个舞台的议程！为了让您了解还能获得哪些体验，我们还宣布了以下舞台：

Disrupt Stage: featuring top speakers from Replit, Amazon, Tether, and more. (Disrupt 舞台：汇集来自 Replit、亚马逊、Tether 等公司的顶级演讲嘉宾。)
AI Stage: digging into the security gaps and business model shifts AI is forcing on every SaaS company. (AI 舞台：深入探讨 AI 给每家 SaaS 公司带来的安全漏洞和商业模式转变。)
Smart Money Stage: covering stablecoins, instant payments, and AI’s role in financial trust. (智能金融舞台：涵盖稳定币、即时支付以及 AI 在金融信任中的作用。)
Smart Systems Stage: tackling the fusion breakthroughs and grid strain powering AI’s next decade. (智能系统舞台：探讨驱动 AI 未来十年的聚变突破和电网压力问题。)
Builders Stage: where founders and investors get tactical about raising, hiring, and scaling. (建设者舞台：创始人与投资者在此探讨融资、招聘和规模化的实战策略。)

Be part of Disrupt 2026 in San Francisco from October 13–15, where more than 10,000 startup, tech, and VC leaders come together for three days of insights, Startup Battlefield, unparalleled networking, and access to every stage and the exhibition floor. Register today!

欢迎参加 10 月 13 日至 15 日在旧金山举行的 Disrupt 2026。届时，超过 10,000 名初创公司、科技界和风险投资领域的领袖将齐聚一堂，共同参与为期三天的洞察分享、Startup Battlefield 创业竞赛、无与伦比的社交机会，并可进入所有舞台和展览区。立即注册！