前NVIDIA高管：Physical AI 不只是机器人
Physical AI is more than robots, says the Nvidia veteran now investing in it
曾在 NVIDIA 负责机器人平台产品营销七年的 Amulya Vishwanath 创立了早期投资机构 Techable VC，专注投资 physical AI。她认为机器人正处于“Lego 时代”，执行器、机械手、软件和安全标准等基础构件仍在重建，而非即将迎来“ChatGPT 时刻”。她还把 physical AI 定义为超越机器人的范畴，涵盖分子、材料、药物和工厂产线上的机器。
Amulya Vishwanath, who spent seven years leading product marketing for NVIDIA’s robotics platforms, says robotics is currently in its “Lego era,” with the basic building blocks like actuators, robotic hands, software, and safety standards still being rebuilt.
This view runs counter to those who believe that robotics, powered by a general foundation model, is about to have its “ChatGPT moment” — that day when the shockingly capable chatbot was launched in late 2022. (General Intuition CEO Pim de Witte told Equity earlier this year that a single general foundation model would make much of today’s specialized robotics work redundant, and be that moment.)
On this episode of TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, Dominic-Madori Davis caught up with Vishwanath to discuss where she’s writing first checks as the founder and managing partner of Techable VC. They also talked about what she’s learned as one of the first women executives to spin out of Nvidia and launch her own early-stage firm investing in physical AI across robotics, materials science, and life sciences.
Listen to the full episode to hear more about:
- Why Vishwanath defines physical AI as more than robots: “a molecule, a material, a medicine,” or a machine on a factory line.
- What she means by “conscious automation.”
- Why the best opportunities solve big problems like family-run factories that can’t find workers to surgeons facing burnout.
- Why she wants founders to see their VC as their moat, and how years at NVIDIA built the network she now uses for due diligence and customer introductions.
- Where she thinks the U.S. and China each have the edge, and why humanoids should be good for more than dancing.
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Theresa Loconsolo is an audio producer at TechCrunch focusing on Equity, the network’s flagship podcast. Before joining TechCrunch in 2022, she was one of 2 producers at a four-station conglomerate where she wrote, recorded, voiced and edited content, and engineered live performances and interviews from guests like lovelytheband. Theresa is based in New Jersey and holds a bachelors degree in Communication from Monmouth University.
You can contact or verify outreach from Theresa by emailing [email protected].
Dominic-Madori Davis is a senior venture capital and startup reporter at TechCrunch. She is based in New York City.
You can contact or verify outreach from Dominic by emailing [email protected] or via encrypted message at +1 646 831-7565 on Signal.
来源：TechCrunch · AI · techcrunch.com