The Physical AI Conference, an event dedicated to the advancement of robotics, autonomous systems, and the real world deployment of artificial intelligence, will take place in Silicon Valley this May. The conference is scheduled for May 18 and 19, 2026 at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center in California.
Organizers have described the event as a gathering for engineers, builders, and AI pioneers who are working to translate digital intelligence into physical action. The conference will unite global AI innovators, robotics leaders, enterprise technologists, and next generation infrastructure providers over two days.
Background: The Shift from Software to Physical AI
As AI technology moves beyond chatbots and software applications into areas such as robotics, industrial automation, autonomous systems, and intelligent machines, the race to operationalize Physical AI at scale has accelerated. Industries including manufacturing, logistics, automotive, and defense are investing heavily in AI systems capable of sensing, reasoning, and acting in real world environments.
The Physical AI Expo was created to examine how this transformation is unfolding and what is required to move from experimentation to production. The next era of AI is physical, according to event organizers. While software based AI has transformed digital workflows, the next competitive leap involves embedding intelligence into machines, robotics, autonomous systems, and industrial operations.
Conference Agenda and Key Topics
The conference agenda combines deep technical insight with enterprise scale deployment strategies. Topics scheduled for discussion include Physical AI and robotics at enterprise scale, autonomous systems and industrial automation, AI infrastructure, data platforms and compute, enterprise AI deployment and return on investment, human AI collaboration, AI reliability, transparency and safety, and AI developer tools and workflows.
Day one of the conference will focus on AI strategy, enterprise transformation, autonomous intelligence, and large scale data infrastructure. Sessions are designed for organizations building the foundations required to deploy Physical AI systems at scale. Day two will explore how companies are moving Physical AI from prototype to production across robotics, automation, and autonomous operations. Tracks will address robotics, AI deployment, infrastructure, and developer workflows powering intelligent systems in the real world.
Industry Leaders and Keynote Speakers
The Physical AI Conference program features experts from some of the world’s most advanced AI and robotics organizations. Confirmed speakers include Leslie Karpas, Inception Global Head of Physical AI at NVIDIA; Arne Stoschek, VP AI and Autonomous at Airbus Acubed; Jose Alvarez, Director of Research at NVIDIA; Dr. Vinesh Sukumar, Vice President of AI at Qualcomm; Simon Ninan, SVP and Global Head of Strategy at Hitachi; Sungho Kim, CEO of Hyundai Global Software Center; Naresh Dulam, Senior VP of Software Engineering at JPMorgan; and Pierre-Alexandre Balland, Chief Data Scientist at CEPS and Co-founder of General Robotics.
The event will bring together leaders across robotics, AI infrastructure, industrial automation, automotive, logistics, and intelligent systems engineering. Organizers have described it as one of the most important Physical AI gatherings in North America.
Implications for the Industry
Michael Hughes, Head of Conference Production, stated that Physical AI is rapidly moving from concept to deployment. He noted that the conversation is no longer solely about models, but about infrastructure, robotics, autonomous systems, and building AI that can reliably operate in the real world at scale. Hughes added that the expo brings together the companies and engineers making that future happen now.
The Physical AI Expo North America is positioned as a leading conference focused on robotics, autonomous systems, AI infrastructure, and enterprise deployment. The event connects technology leaders, engineers, innovators, and developers exploring how AI is transforming physical operations and intelligent systems worldwide.
Conclusion and Next Steps
The Physical AI Conference will take place May 18 and 19, 2026 at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center. Registration and full program details are expected to be announced by the organizers in the coming months. Industry observers expect the event to serve as a key milestone for the physical AI sector as it seeks to define standards, infrastructure requirements, and deployment pathways for the next generation of intelligent systems.
