From Lab to Launch: Building & Scaling a Physical AI Company - Physical AI Breakfast & Fireside Chat
What does it actually take to turn cutting-edge robotics research into a company and then scale it beyond the lab?
Join us for a Physical AI Breakfast & Fireside Chat in Zurich, bringing together aspiring and early-stage founders, researchers, Master’s and PhD students, as well as people from the wider robotics and Physical AI ecosystem.
Hear directly from experienced founders, investors and Physical AI experts about what it really takes to turn research into a startup, bring a product into the real world and scale from there.
On the panel
Kristof Floch — Co-Founder, Theseus Robotics & VP, ETH Robotics Club - Moderator
Natalya Lopareva — CEO, Algorized
Founder perspective on building and scaling a Physical AI company. Algorized is backed by the Amazon Industrial Innovation Fund.
David Randle — Worldwide Head of GTM, Physical AI, AWS
Global perspective on where Physical AI is heading and what separates companies that scale
Later staged Robotics Startup CxO - TBA soon
Scaling perspective from early product-market fit to growing teams, deploying robotics in the real world and building a company for global scale.
VC Partner — TBA soon
What investors look for, common mistakes and where capital is flowing
What we'll discuss
When does a research project become a company?
How do you navigate the combination of hardware, software and AI?
What does it take to get the first customers — and scale beyond them?
What do investors look for in Physical AI startups?
Which parts of the Physical AI stack should startups build themselves?
Where are the biggest opportunities in robotics and Physical AI today?
If you were starting a company in 2026, what would you build?
Expect an open, practical conversation rather than polished success stories — including lessons learned, mistakes made and advice for anyone considering the jump from academia into entrepreneurship.
Agenda
08:30 — Doors open & coffee
09:00 — Welcome & panel introduction
09:10–10:00 — Fireside discussion
10:00–10:15 — Audience Q&A
10:15 — Closing thoughts
10:30–11:00 — Breakfast & networking
Who should join?
This event is especially designed for PhD students, postdocs, MSc students, aspiring founders and early-stage founders working across robotics, AI, computer science and engineering.
Whether you're already building a company or simply wondering whether your research could become one, we'd love to have you there.
📍 AWS Zurich — Mythenquai 10
📅 September 4, 2026
🕣 Doors open at 08:30
🥐 Breakfast & coffee included
🎟 Limited to 100 attendees