Shield AI, Waabi and GM to Detail Safety Tests for Physical AI at Disrupt 2026
Shield AI, Waabi and GM leaders will explain how they test, validate and earn trust for high-stakes autonomous aircraft, vehicles and robots at Disrupt 2026.
Summary
At Disrupt 2026’s Real World AI Stage, Shield AI CTO Nathan Michael, Waabi founder and CEO Raquel Urtasun, and General Motors Director of Robotics Strategy Mikell Taylor will explain how safety culture, testing, validation, regulation and trust determine whether autonomous aircraft, vehicles and robots can leave the lab. “Building AI Systems When Failure Is Not an Option” runs during the October 13 to 15 event at Moscone West in San Francisco, which expects more than 10,000 founders, investors, operators and technology leaders, 250 plus speakers, 300 plus exhibiting startups and 200 plus sessions across six industry stages, roundtables and breakouts. Passes cost up to $200 less through September 25 at 11:59 p.m. PT, with a second pass 50% off for select ticket types.
Michael leads Hivemind, Shield AI’s platform agnostic mission autonomy software, after directing Carnegie Mellon University Robotics Institute’s Resilient Intelligent Systems Lab. The U.S. Air Force selected Hivemind in February for its Collaborative Combat Aircraft drone prototype program, and Shield AI raised $1.5 billion in Series G funding in March at a $12.7 billion post-money valuation. Urtasun, a 25-year AI and autonomous vehicle veteran, former Uber ATG chief scientist and R&D head, University of Toronto professor, Vector Institute for AI co-founder and author of more than 200 papers, will detail Waabi World’s virtual training, testing and stress testing of Waabi Driver. Waabi raised $1 billion in January and partnered with Uber to deploy at least 25,000 Waabi Driver robotaxis, while saying its autonomous trucks require full validation before driverless use. Taylor, a robotics veteran of more than 20 years, leads strategy at GM’s Autonomous Robotics Center after leading Amazon Robotics’ Proteus team, focusing on practical, reliable machines, workplace user experience and adoption.
Positives
- Hivemind was selected in February as an autonomy provider for the U.S. Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft drone prototype program.
- Shield AI raised $1.5 billion in Series G funding at a $12.7 billion post-money valuation in March.
- Waabi raised $1 billion in January and partnered with Uber to deploy at least 25,000 Waabi Driver robotaxis.
- Waabi World virtually trains, tests and stress-tests Waabi Driver before physical deployment.
- Mikell Taylor brings more than 20 years of robotics experience, including leadership of Amazon’s Proteus autonomous mobile robot team.
Risks & concerns
- Physical AI failures can ground aircraft, crash vehicles or compromise missions, making incomplete validation materially dangerous.
- Waabi says its autonomous trucks still require full validation before operating without drivers.
- Regulatory hurdles remain among the barriers separating laboratory systems from real-world deployment.
- Workplace robots may struggle with adoption unless user experience and human trust shape product design from the beginning.