前 NVIDIA 高管 Amulya Vishwanath：物理 AI 不止是机器人，机器人仍处“乐高时代”
Physical AI is more than robots, says the Nvidia veteran now investing in it
在 NVIDIA 机器人平台负责产品营销七年的 Amulya Vishwanath 认为，机器人目前仍处于“乐高时代”，执行器、机械手、软件和安全标准等基础模块尚在重建，这与“通用基础模型将带来机器人 ChatGPT 时刻”的观点相左。她现以早期基金 Techable VC 创始人兼管理合伙人的身份投资物理 AI，并将其定义为不止于机器人，还包括“分子、材料、药物”以及工厂产线上的机器。
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.
Subscribe to Equity on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You can also follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod.
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