The Robot Report Podcast · 28 Oct 2026 · 35m
Steve Crowe, Gene Demaitre, Mike Oitzman, and Brianna Wessling of The Robot Report recap the 2026 RoboBusiness event in Santa Clara, highlighting key industry trends and company updates. The team discusses panels featuring companies like Robust AI, Agility Robotics, and Amazon Robotics, focusing on the shift from rapid robot development to the challenges of real-world deployment and reliability. They also announce the rebranding of RoboBusiness to Robotics Summit West and the Robotics Summit in Boston to better distinguish between hardware development and commercial scaling.
companies scaling up
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Host Chris Luecke recaps the 2024 Robotics Summit in Boston, featuring interviews with Jonathan Hurst of Agility Robotics, Joyce Sidopoulos of MassRobotics, and Scott Sizemore of Electrocraft. The episode explores the commercialization of humanoid robots, the shift from disjointed component sourcing to integrated motion systems, and the role of accelerators in scaling early-stage robotics startups.
Hosts Jesica Chavez and Andy Diepen discuss insights from the Humanoid Summit in Tokyo, noting a shift in the humanoid robotics industry from hardware demonstrations to compliance, safety, and real-world deployment. They argue that while the technology is ready, market adoption is hindered by workforce fear of job replacement and a lack of education for end-users. The conversation highlights the critical need for robotics companies to target marketing and customer success at the lowest-level operators to ensure successful integration and ROI.
Host Chris Luecke interviews Laura Hoffman, Patty Ketseris of Locust Robotics, Matt Charles of Robex, Melanie Weiss of Zebra Technologies, and Alex Ciccaney of A3 at the 2022 Vision Show in Boston. The group discusses the convergence of machine vision and mobile robotics, the shift toward cloud-based automation, and how manufacturing can learn from the repeatability of warehousing. They also cover Robex's acquisition by private equity, Zebra's acquisition of Fetch Robotics, and the growing adoption of AI and vision in non-traditional verticals like medical devices.
Nan Li, Managing Director at Obvious Ventures, discusses the current inflection point for robotics and automation, driven by improved hardware/software maturity and urgent labor shortages in legacy industries. He highlights portfolio companies like Dexterity and Bright Machines, explaining how they are moving beyond pilot phases to production-grade deployments by focusing on specific problems rather than general technology. Li emphasizes the importance of 'industry empathy,' arguing that successful founders must deeply understand the operational realities of facilities like UPS and Amazon rather than just building technology in a vacuum. He predicts a massive scale-up of robotic deployments in the next five years, with thousands of units being deployed company-wide.
Jordan Kretchmer, CEO and Co-Founder of Rapid Robotics, explains his transition from MarTech to robotics and how his company is scaling robotic solutions to address the US labor shortage. He details Rapid Robotics's strategic refocus from heavy deployment services to robust computer vision and AI software, enabling robots to self-learn and adapt without programming. Kretchmer discusses how this shift allows for scalable, affordable automation that maintains profitability while keeping investors and customers aligned through transparency.
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