The key facts

  • Amulya Vishwanath, former product marketer at Nvidia and founder of Techable Ventures, believes the 'ChatGPT moment' for robotics has not yet arrived.
  • In her view, the industry is currently in the 'LEGO era': basic components are being created — robotic arms, actuators — which will eventually be combined into major solutions.
  • Vishwanath names access to talent as one of her firm's 'moats', since talent is leaving for large companies like Anthropic and Nvidia.

'LEGO era' instead of a 'ChatGPT moment'

Techable Ventures founder and managing partner Amulya Vishwanath discussed the future of physical AI — one of the industry's latest buzzwords — on an episode of TechCrunch's Equity podcast. According to her, everyone is waiting for a 'ChatGPT moment' for robotics, but in her view, the industry is still more in a 'LEGO era'.

Assembling the basic blocks

'Many foundational software components and building blocks for robotics are being rethought right now, and this is extremely important so that innovation can scale,' Vishwanath noted. At present, as she described it, basic elements are being created — robotic arms and actuators — which may one day come together into a major product, like LEGO pieces. In parallel, general-purpose and special-purpose robots are being built, which will become better and more refined as they are developed.

Historical parallels

Vishwanath emphasized that such processes have happened before: 'We went through this in the internet era. We did it a very long time ago, during the industrial revolution. I think it's only a matter of time before everything falls into place.'

Talent as the firm's 'moat'

Vishwanath paid special attention to personnel: 'Talent will also be critically important.' According to her, talent remains a key factor defining the US market, and it is one of her firm's 'moats' — she helps founders find strong specialists in order to stay competitive, since a lot of talent is leaving for large companies like Anthropic and Nvidia. Years in the industry, she added, have allowed her to build a network of contacts through which it is 'much easier for me to be a support or the first call for founders.'

The interviewee's career path

Vishwanath founded Techable Ventures, focused on physical AI, after nearly seven years working as a product marketer at Nvidia. Before that, she held the same position at a company later acquired by Intel, and even earlier she was a digital signal processing engineer at Interconnect Systems, later purchased by electronics manufacturer Molex.