AUTONOMOUS – The Future of Robotics & Physical AI

Overview

AUTONOMOUS is a one day conference dedicated to robotics and physical AI, taking place on July 16, 2026 at The Midway in San Francisco. The event brings together more than 500 founders, engineers, investors, and enterprise operators from the robotics and autonomous systems space. It is designed for the people actually building, funding, and deploying physical AI solutions. The venue hosts two stages and four curated content tracks, providing a dense program focused on real-world applications, demonstrations, and strategic conversations.

Agenda and format

The day is organized into a structured lineup that runs from morning until evening, including keynote sessions, breakout tracks, and dedicated demo and networking opportunities. The morning opens with a keynote and a set of morning sessions, followed by a midmorning and late morning track rotation. A lunch break offers networking and a demo floor, then afternoon tracks continue with more sessions and a second wave of speakers. The day culminates in an afternoon and evening program that includes a closing keynote and an evening reception. In addition to the formal program, there are demo floors and opportunities for 1:1 meetings with vendors, investors, and potential partners.

Tracks and content

Four content tracks are highlighted, each focusing on different aspects of robotics and physical AI, including foundation models for robotics, sim-to-real challenges, and the compute and software stack behind next generation autonomous systems. Attendees can explore topics such as hardware and components supply, enterprise deployment, and venture capital and strategic investment theses related to physical AI. The program is designed to showcase seed to growth stage demonstrations, expert panels, and vendor showcases to help attendees evaluate technologies and form partnerships.

Speakers and attendees

The event features a speaker spotlight with leaders from robotics startups, AI labs, venture funds, and enterprise users. Prominent organizations represented include Bear Robotics, Carbon Robotics, Dusty Robotics, Kodiak Robotics, SanctuaryAI, Skydio, and numerous other robotics firms and AI companies. The speaker list includes CEOs and CTOs from multiple top robotics and AI companies, along with investors and enterprise operators exploring how to scale physical AI deployments.

What to expect for attendees

AUTONOMOUS is built to optimize meaningful conversations and deal flow. Attendees gain access to keynote talks, sessions across multiple tracks, and a curated set of sponsor and investor interactions. The event emphasizes quality engagement over badge scans, and limited attendance is intended to preserve high-value discussions and networking. Coverage is designed to capture speaker moments, demos, and sponsor highlights for industry visibility, with media presence to amplify the showcased technologies.

FAQs

The page indicates a single day event on July 16, 2026, with doors opening in the morning and programming through the early evening, followed by an evening reception. The venue is in San Francisco, with parking and transit access in Dogpatch near Mission Bay. Tickets are available with early bird and standard pricing, and packages include access to both stages, all tracks, lunch, and the reception. There are opportunities to apply for speaking roles and sponsor participation, with additional details and procurement through the event site.

Who should consider attending

Founders, engineers, investors, operators, and enterprise buyers in robotics and physical AI will benefit from AUTONOMOUS. The event is positioned as a hub for building relationships across startups, operators, and OEMs in a purpose-built setting for demonstrations, conversations, and potential collaborations in the robotics stack.