TechCrunch Disrupt 2026’s new Real World AI Stage features Nvidia, robots, and extinct animals
TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 is introducing a new 'Real World AI' stage to focus on the intersection of physical hardware and artificial intelligence. The event will feature industry leaders discussing the challenges of robotics, autonomous systems, and data gaps in physical AI.
Why it matters
As AI moves from digital interfaces to physical robotics, the industry is shifting focus toward the technical and safety challenges of autonomous hardware in public spaces.
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 .
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.
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