Nvidia’s Les Karpas to Explain Robotics’ Missing ChatGPT Moment at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026

The session is titled “Robots Are Waiting for Their ChatGPT Moment. Here Is What Is Standing in the Way.” According to TechCrunch AI, ChatGPT’s debut in November 2022 pushed large language models beyond hype and into day-to-day reality. Robotics has been discussed, built upon and adopted for years, but it has not had a comparable breakthrough.

Nvidia has been vocal about robotics. TechCrunch AI noted that Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s keynotes in recent years have shown the company’s bullish stance on the field. Karpas is expected to detail both the limitations and opportunities in AI and robotics during the Disrupt session. The event is expected to draw more than 10,000 tech leaders, founders and investors, with an AI-focused lineup that ranges from building companies to building in the real world.

The core problem Karpas describes is simple to understand but complicated to solve, according to TechCrunch AI. No one has an internet-wide dataset for physical AI comparable to the datasets OpenAI, Anthropic and others had for language. Even self-driving fleets from Waymo and its competitors built datasets through years of accumulated road miles, and those datasets are still expanding market by market.

A growing group of startups is trying to create that scale through simulation, synthetic data and foundation models trained across many robot forms at the same time. TechCrunch AI said this challenge of bridging the digital and physical worlds is why it created the Real World AI Stage. Karpas will be joined there by founders from Shield AI, Colossal Biosciences, FieldAI and Foxglove, who will discuss the challenges and opportunities they face.

Karpas’s role at Nvidia Inception gives him a broad view of those efforts. He coordinates the company’s relationship with a startup ecosystem that stretches across robotics, automotive, manufacturing, mobility, smart cities and other areas, according to TechCrunch AI. The companies trying to close the physical AI data gap are among those he regularly works with.

His background spans several disciplines and roles. TechCrunch AI reported that he has worked at Stanley Black & Decker, Intellectual Ventures, Herman Miller, iRobot and Cirque du Soleil, among other organizations, and has been an architect, manufacturing engineer, startup CEO, venture studio executive and corporate venture capitalist.

TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 will give attendees the chance to hear how Nvidia is thinking about what TechCrunch AI calls the single biggest bottleneck in physical AI and what it will take to clear it. Tickets purchased before September 25 can save up to $200, and group passes can save up to 30%, according to the event’s promotional information.