Agenda | Tokyo 2026
coming soon
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Agenda | silicon valley 2025
MAIN STAGE
HAhn Auditorium
Day 1
December 11
8:00 AM: Registration and Networking Breakfast
8:30 AM: Opening Remarks
Speaker: General Partner, ALM Ventures and Founder & Chair, Humanoids Summit.
8:45 AM: Opening Keynote
”Insights Into Disney’s Robotic Character Platform”.
Speaker: Moritz Baecher, Director, Zurich Lab, Disney Research.
9:15 AM: Presentation
“Humanoid Robots: Crossing the Chasm from Concept to Commercial Reality”.
Speaker: Ani Kelkar, Partner, McKinsey & Company; Mikael Robertson, Senior Partner at McKinsey & Company.
9:35 AM: Presentation
“Any Task, Any Robot, One Brain”.
Speaker: Abhinav Gupta, Co-Founder, Skild AI.
9:55 AM: Panel Discussion
“Commercial Scaling of Humanoids: Metrics of Success in Deployment”.
Moderator: Gerrit de Vynck, Tech Reporter, The Washington Post.
Speakers: Ramkumar Devarajulu, Vice President, Cambridge Consultants; Jeff Pittelkow, Managing Director, Roboworx; Joe Michaels, Senior Global Vice President at 1HMX.
10:25 AM: Networking Break
10:40 AM: Presentation
“Empowering developers to build the next generation of robotics applications for human-centered environments”.
Speaker: Rob Cochran, Co-Founder and CEO, Fauna Robotics.
11:00 AM: Presentation
“From Tasks to Understanding: The Path to Generalist Robot”.
Speaker: Pete Florence, Co-founder and CEO, Generalist.
11:20 AM: Presentation
“Towards a Model That Controls Any Robot to Perform Any Task”.
Speaker: Allen Ren, Member of Technical Staff, Physical Intelligence.
11:40 AM: Fireside Chat
“Inside the Next Wave of Humanoids: Investor Vision and Builder Perspective”.
Moderator: Rafe Rosner-Uddin, San Francisco Correspondent, Financial Times.
Speaker: James Wells, CEO, Sanctuary AI; Modar Alaoui, General Partner, ALM Ventures and Founder & Chair, Humanoids Summit.
12:05 PM: Lunch Break
1:00 PM: Afternoon Keynote
”Ebodied AI for Industry: Safe, Skilled, and Scalable”.
Speaker: Nic Radford, Co-Founder and CEO, Persona AI.
1:20 PM: Presentation
“Building Embodied Foundation Models for General-Purpose Robots”.
Speaker: He Wang, Founder and CTO, Galbot.
1:40 PM: Presentation
"From Breakthrough to Scale: General-Purpose Robotic Brains Powered by Field Foundation Models”.
Speaker: Ali Agha, Founder and CEO, FieldAI.
2:00 PM: Startup fire pitches
Speakers:
”Building the Physical AI-Layer for Hospitals”.
Stian Jakobsen, Co-Founder and CEO, O-ID; Simon Gormuzov, Co-Founder and CTO, O-ID.
”Introducing Microfactory, a Bi-Manual Robotic Arm in a Box, Literally”.
Igor Kukalov, Co-Founder and CEO, MicroFactory.
”Ultra Fast Charging Energy Storage for Untethered Robotics Applications”.
Michael Sinkula, Co-Founder and CEO, Morelle.
”Accelerating Robotics Deployment with Teleoperation”.
James Naylor, Founder and CEO, Adamo.
”Haptica Robotics: Giving Robots a Sense of Touch”.
Cosima du Pasquier, Founder, Haptica Robotics.
”Making Robots Dream: Simulations, World Models, and the Future of AI”.
Anto Patrex, Founder and CEO, CosmicBrain AI.
2:30 PM: Panel Discussion
“The Humanoid Investment Thesis: From Hardware Risk to Scalable Platforms”.
Moderator: Bogdan Cristei, Co-Founder and Partner, SHACK15 Ventures.
Speakers: Marya Unwala, Senior Investment Associate, ALM Ventures; Jennifer Roberts, Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Grit Ventures; Mitchell Yun, Head of Office, Hyundai Mobis Ventures; Henry Huang, Investment Director, Micron Ventures.
3:00 PM: Networking Break
3:20 PM: Presentation
”Make Simulation Successful for Embodied AI, How Synthetic Data is Being Used in Humanoid Robotics Training”.
Speaker: Steve Xie, Founder and CEO, Lightwheel.
3:40 PM: Panel Discussion
”World Models: Extending Foundation Models Towards Embodied Intelligence”.
Moderator: Rocket Drew, AI Reporter, The Information.
Speakers: Udaya Rongala, Founder and Director of Research, IntuiCell; Behrad Toghi, AI Lead, General Motors; Ashutosh Saxena, Founder and CEO at TorqueAGI.
4:10 PM: Fireside Chat
”The ‘Hands Problem’ Holding Back the Humanoid Revolution”.
Moderator: Jeremy Fishel, Principal Scientist, Sanctuary AI.
Guest: Edward Colgate, Director of the HAND Engineering Research Center.
4:40 PM: Presentation
”Robust Robot Foundation Models for Real-World Manipulation”.
Speaker: Jason Ma, Co-founder, Dyna Robotics.
5:00 PM: Closing Remarks.
6:00 - 8:30 PM: VIP Reception
For VIP ticket holders: An exclusive gathering with live music, chef-prepared hors d’oeuvres, and roaming humanoids.
Location: Cucina Venti. Buy your ticket here.
Partner Event at the Computer History Museum
The Future of Humanoid Robots, a complementary evening program.
Register here.
Day 2
December 12
8:00 AM: Breakfast and Networking
8:30 AM: Opening Keynote
”From Language to Motion: How Gemini Powers the Next Generation of Robots”.
Speaker: Carolina Parada, Head of Robotics, Google DeepMind.
9:00 AM: Presentation
”XPENG IRON: The Most Human-Like Catwalk Humanoid”.
Speaker: Jian Yao, Director and Principal Engineer, XPeng.
9:20 AM: Panel Discussion
”China’s Robotics Surge: Collaboration, Innovation & Global Impact”.
Moderator: Yifan Yu, Tech Reporter, Nikkei Asia.
Speakers: Jeff Burnstein, President, A3; Chaoyi LI, Head of Globalization, Booster Robotics; Kimate Richards, Senior Strategic Architect, AWS; Donny Li, Director, Americas, Realman Robotics.
9:50 AM: Presentation
”Towards a National Robotics Strategy: How Government Can Drive the Success of the Humanoid Industry”.
Speaker: Brendan Schulman, Vice President of Policy, Boston Dynamics.
10:10 AM: Presentation
”Humanoid Robots and the Path to Real-World Skills”.
Speaker: Pras Velagapudi, CTO, Agility Robotics.
10:30 AM: Networking Break
10:45 AM: Presentation
”Practical, capable, safe: distilling general-purpose robots”.
Speaker: Kaan Dogrusoz, Co-Founder and CEO, Weave Robotics; Evan Wineland, Co-Founder and COO, Weave Robotics.
11:05 AM: Presentation
“Beyond Automation: Humanoid as a Business Transformation Partner”.
Speaker: Jochen Rudat, Chief Growth & Revenue Officer, Humanoid.
11:25 AM: Presentation
”Democratizing Humanoids: Modular, Open, and Accessible for Every Developer”.
Speaker: David Zhang, Founder and CEO, HighTorque Robotics.
11:45 AM: Presentation
”5 Questions to Ask Before Investing in Humanoid Robots”.
Speaker: Christian Souche, Global Robotics Lead, Accenture.
12:05 PM: Lunch Break
1:00 PM: Afternoon Keynote
”How Performance Standards can Pave the Way for Humanoid Adoption”.
Speaker: Kamel Saidi, Robotics Program Manager, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
1:20 PM: Presentation
”Advanced Bionic Hands for Humans and Robots”.
Speaker: Aadeel Akhtar, CEO, Psyonic.
1:40 PM: Panel Discussion
”Humans and Humanoids: Designing Work, Trust, and Co-Adaptation”.
Moderator: Tim Fernholz, Tech Reporter.
Speakers: Matt Willis, Head of Product, Agility Robotics; Ryan Saavedra, Founder and CEO, Alt-Bionics; Chris Kudla, Co-Founder and CEO, Mind Children; Pip Mothersill, UX Design Lead, MERPHI.
2:10 PM: Presentation
”Building the Physical AI-Layer for Hospitals”.
Frederik Ebert, Founder and CEO, Emancro.
2:30 PM: Presentation
”Booster Robotics - Unite Developers to Drive Productivity Evolution”.
Speaker: Chaoyi Li, Head of Globalization, Booster Robotics.
2:50 PM: Presentation
”AIRoA Japan: Building the Foundation for Next-Generation Robotics and AI Technologies in Japan and Beyond”.
Speaker: Tetsuya Ogata, Chairman, AIRoA, and Director, Institute for AI and Robotics, Waseda University.
3:10 PM: Networking Break
3:25 PM: Presentation
”Out of the cage: Advanced Functional Safety for Humanoids”.
Speaker: Florian Weisshardt, Head of Synapticon Intelligence, Synapticon.
3:45 PM: Presentation
”From Specs to Sweat: How Robot Era Makes Humanoids Perform in China”
Speaker: Letian Wang, VP of Product, Robot Era.
4:05 PM: Panel Discussion
”Humanoid Robotics at Scale: Roadmap, Risks & Responsibility”.
Moderator: Anna Tong, AI Reporter, Forbes.
Speakers: Elliot Helms, Advanced Solution Engineer, Novanta; Dr. Dominik Boemer, Manager, FEV Consulting; Max Goncharov, CTO at RemBrain.
4:35 PM: Presentation
”The future of industrial automation”.
Speaker: Lorenzo Juncaj, Founder and CEO, Borg Robotics.
5:00 PM: Closing Remarks.
The schedule, speakers, and topics are subject to change. Please check back for updates.agenda — Silicon Valley
Breakout session
The Learning lab
Parallel Breakout Sessions: Focused and Expert-Led.
Adjacent to the main hall at Hahn Auditorium, this space offers deeper dives into specialized topics in humanoid robotics, featuring intimate talks, direct speaker access, and fresh insights that complement the main stage. Breakout sessions run on Day 2, December 12, only.
Day 2 - morning
December 12
8:00 AM: Breakfast and Networking
10:00 AM: Presentation
”RIA, the Humanoid as a Cognitive Companion - Bridging Hearts and Minds Across Generations”.
Speaker: Niv Sundaram, Chief Strategic Officer, Machani Robotics
10:25 AM: Networking Break
10:40 AM: Presentation
“Application Potential of Humanoid Robots in Germany”
Speaker: Werner Kraus, Head of Robotics at Fraunhofer.
11:00 AM: Presentation
”Alt-Bionics: High-Performance Hands Without the High Price”.
Speaker: Ryan Saavedra, CEO, Alt-Bionics.
11:20 AM: Presentation
”The Inconvenient Truth About Dexterity”.
Speaker: Joe Michaels, Senior Global Vice President, 1HMX.
11:40 AM: Presentation
”Integrated Motion Technology for Next-Generation Industrial Humanoids”.
Speaker: Elliot Helms, Advanced Solution Engineer, Novanta.
Day 2 - afternoon
December 12
12:00 PM: Lunch Break
1:00 PM: Presentation
”From Foundation Models to Functional Humanoids: Bridging the Cognitive Gap in Robotics”.
Speaker: Ashutosh Saxena, Founder and CEO, TorqueAGI.
1:20 PM: Presentation
”Beyond the Breakthrough: Building Service Infrastructure for the Humanoid Era”.
Speaker: Jeff Pittelkow, Managing Director, Roboworx.
1:40 PM: Presentation
”Using robots as AI carriers: Accelerating the integration of robots into everyday life”.
Speaker: Donny Li, Director, Americas, Realman Robotics.
2:00 PM: Presentation
”Fast-tracking humanoid robot development and industrialization: Lessons from mobility industry”.
Speaker: Prasanna Mantravadi, Manager, FEV Consulting.
2:20 PM: Presentation
”The Next Generation of Humanoid Robots: Safe, Smart, and Scalable”.
Speaker: Roy Zorba, Founder, Human X.
2:40 PM: Presentation
”Accelerating Humanoids — Why AI-Native Systems Need Performance Middleware”.
Speaker: Sumanth Nirmal, Head of Middleware and Founding Engineer, Apex.AI.
3:00 PM: Networking Break
The schedule, speakers, and topics are subject to change. Please check back for updates.