Robotics hasn't had its ChatGPT moment yet, says ex-Nvidia robotics marketing lead

A counterweight to the robot hype

Many people are waiting for robotics to have its own "ChatGPT moment", the point when a technology suddenly becomes useful to ordinary people. Amulya Vishwanath says that moment has not come. She used to lead robotics product marketing at Nvidia and now founds and manages Techable Ventures, a venture capital firm.

As technews.tw reported, she spoke on TechCrunch's Equity show. Her description of the field is a "Lego era".

What the Lego era means

Physical AI means AI that controls machines in the real world. In her telling, the industry is still working on the lowest layer of the stack: actuators (the motors and mechanisms that make a robot move), robotic arms, software architecture and safety standards.

These are the bricks. They have to mature before innovation can scale. Later, she says, they can be snapped together like Lego into more capable and complete robots.

Why she compares it to the early internet

She says general-purpose robots and specialized ones are being developed at the same time, but the whole industry is early. She compares the moment to the early internet and the industrial revolution. Big technology shifts, in her view, need a stretch of infrastructure building first.

For physical AI, that means time for the technology, supply chains and industry standards to fall into place.

Talent and where she is investing

Vishwanath also calls talent the decisive factor. Many top people are heading to large companies such as Anthropic and Nvidia. Her firm's edge, she says, is her industry network, which she uses to match startups with strong hires.

Her investments are concentrated on early physical AI startups across robotics, materials science and life sciences. She is an investor, so her framing also fits her business, which is worth remembering.