Science & Technology

The Robotics Revolution Won’t Be Humanoid l Build Mode

Robotics is having an AI boom, but don’t expect it to have a ChatGPT moment. In this episode of Build Mode, host Isabelle Johannesen sits down with Xavier Chi, co-founder of Mbodi, a startup building AI software that lets people teach industrial robots new skills using natural language. Xavier first joined Isabelle on the Startup…

Published

3 weeks ago

September 10, 2026

CYBER TECH TV

Robotics is having an AI boom, but don’t expect it to have a ChatGPT moment.

In this episode of Build Mode, host Isabelle Johannesen sits down with Xavier Chi, co-founder of Mbodi, a startup building AI software that lets people teach industrial robots new skills using natural language.

Xavier first joined Isabelle on the Startup Battlefield stage, where Mbodi became a crowd favorite with a live robot demo. Now, he’s back to talk about what happened after Battlefield and why he believes this generation of AI could finally help robotics companies overcome some of the problems that have historically made them so difficult to scale.

Xavier breaks down why traditional industrial automation still requires so much programming and customization, how Mbodi is working with ABB Robotics to bring its software into factories and warehouses, and why deploying robotics in the physical world creates a very different set of challenges from building traditional software. He also explains why robotics startups have struggled to build scalable software businesses and how generative AI could begin to change that.

They also get into what VCs are looking for in robotics startups, how founders can de-risk an investment before fundraising, whether the excitement around humanoid robots is justified, and why Xavier believes robotics won’t experience a single ChatGPT-like breakthrough. Plus, he explains why reliability is so critical on the factory floor — and how Mbodi recently achieved a 99.6% success rate during an eight-hour test.

Chapters:
00:00 — Mbodi’s unforgettable Startup Battlefield demo
01:32 — Why industrial automation is still so difficult
03:55 — What companies are actually using robots for
06:33 — How Mbodi landed its partnership with ABB Robotics
08:30 — Are startup competitions worth a founder’s time?
10:00 — Why Xavier wanted to compete in Startup Battlefield
11:18 — The hardest question Mbodi faced at Battlefield
13:04 — Why robotics software has struggled to scale
16:35 — Raising venture capital for a robotics startup
18:02 — Convincing VCs you’re the right team
19:12 — Do robots really need to look human?
21:42 — What needs to improve across the robotics stack
25:08 — What VCs want from robotics startups
28:00 — How to de-risk a robotics investment
30:06 — What’s next for Mbodi
31:30 — When will robots enter our homes?
35:35 — Why robots can’t afford to fail
36:01 — Mbodi’s 99.6% reliability test

Subscribe to Build Mode:
Apple Podcasts
Spotify
Wherever you like to listen
New episodes of Build Mode drop every Thursday.

Up Next

How Mbodi Is Solving Robotics’ Scaling Problem with Xavier Chi

Don't Miss

How It Sounds to Shut Apple’s $1,999 iPhone Duo 🔊📲

1 Comment

@divyanshusahu6413

September 11, 2026 at 3:25 pm

The amount of clarity in the space of industrial robotics this founder has is absolutely commendable. Its amazing to hear such a realistic perspective on scaling in today’s world.

Reply

Science & Technology

Neko Health raised $700M to scan your body. Is it worth it? | Equity Podcast

Spotify founder Daniel Ek’s Neko Health raised $700 million to build a business around scanning your body, but it’s not the only company centering its roadmap around a new kind of preventative healthcare. Midjourney is building its own body scanner, while Function Health has also raised significant capital to build out its preventative-health platform. Why…

Published

16 hours ago

September 30, 2026

CYBER TECH TV

On this episode of TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, Dominic-Madori Davis talks with Farooq Abbasi, founder and general partner of Preface Ventures and an investor in Neko Health, about how Neko compares with other consumer-health startups. They discuss what has to happen for body scanning to become part of the broader healthcare system.

Subscribe to Equity on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You can also follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod.

Chapters

00:00 Intro

1:44 From Spotify to Neko Health: the pitch that got him investing

6:22 Why preventative care is so hard to access

8:23 Inside a Neko scan

12:03 Scaling from Sweden to the world (sorry, not SF yet)

14:20 The dark side of VC-backed health: subscribers, not patients

19:14 Open Evidence and the rise of vertical AI in medicine

22:00 IPO or bust? What “winning” looks like in healthcare

24:12 Outro

Bloomberg Technology

CoreWeave CEO on New AI Products, Computing Demand

CoreWeave CEO Michael Intrator discusses the launch of Forge, a new suite of development tools designed to help clients train and improve AI models, as the company seeks to broaden its offerings beyond the “neocloud” label. He speaks with Ed Ludlow on “Bloomberg Tech” during the company’s first large-scale user conference in San Francisco. ——–…

Published

20 hours ago

September 30, 2026

CYBER TECH TV

Watch the latest full episodes of “Bloomberg Tech” with Ed Ludlow here:

Get the latest in tech from Silicon Valley and around the world here:

Connect with us on…
X:
Facebook:
Instagram:

Follow Ed Ludlow on X here:

Listen to the daily Bloomberg Tech podcast here:

More from Bloomberg Business
Connect with us on…
X:
Facebook:
Instagram:
LinkedIn:
TikTok:

CNET

OpenAI Dev Day 2026: Everything Announced in 15 Minutes

OpenAI’s annual Dev Day 2026 introduced dots, which are AI agents within ChatGPT that can execute tasks on your behalf and even answer phone calls and text messages. CEO Sam Altman also introduced a faster and more powerful model called GPT-6.1 Sol for professional coding and work applications. Read more about OpenAI on CNET.com: OpenAI’s…

Published

2 days ago

September 29, 2026

CYBER TECH TV

Read more about OpenAI on CNET.com:
OpenAI’s Latest Personal AI Agents Have a Cute Name and Never Stop Working

Timecode Chapters:
0:00 Introduction & Codex Updates
0:22 Introducing AI Agents: Dots
1:18 How Dots Delegate & Automate Work
1:37 ChatGPT Space: Team & Agent Collaboration
3:06 Live Demo: Dots in Action
4:15 Hands-Free Catchup & Voice Features
4:53 Live Demo: Working inside ChatGPT Space
6:04 Integrating Dots into Slack & Workflows
7:56 Specialist Dots & Enterprise Availability
8:52 Launching GPT 6.1 Soul & UltraFast Speed
10:14 Decisions API & Luna Model
10:55 Codex in the Cloud & 3D Interactive World Demo
12:23 Refreshed Codex CLI & Real-time App Building
13:38 Autonomous Browser Control & Robotics Demo
13:51 OpenAI Marketplace Launch & Wrap-up

Video Credits:
Host: OpenAI
Scripted by: OpenAI
Producer: OpenAI & Jonathan Gomez
Camera: OpenAI
Video Editor: Jonathan Gomez
Thumbnail Designer: Tharon Green

Add CNET as a trusted news source
Never miss a deal again! See CNET’s browser extension 👉
Check out CNET’s Amazon Storefront:
Subscribe to CNET on YouTube:
Follow us on TikTok:
Follow us on Instagram:
Follow us on Bluesky:
Like us on Facebook:
CNET’s AI Atlas:
Follow us on X:
Visit CNET.com:

#openai #samaltman #ai #artificialintelligence #superintelligence #chatgpt #aiagents #aiagent #dots