Shield AI, Waabi, and General Motors on building AI when failure is not an option at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026

Primary Journalistic Dispatch & Direct Reporting

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An AI chatbot can give you a bad answer. An AI system controlling an aircraft, vehicle, or robot can create an entirely different kind of problem. When artificial intelligence (AI) moves into the physical world, a mistake can ground an aircraft, cause a vehicle crash, or compromise a mission. So how do you know when an autonomous system is actually ready to leave the lab?

In-Depth Developments & Factual Context

At TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 , Shield AI Chief Technology Officer Nathan Michael, Waabi founder and CEO Raquel Urtasun, and General Motors Director of Robotics Strategy Mikell Taylor will tackle that question on the Real World AI Stage in "Building AI Systems When Failure Is Not an Option."

The conversation will get into the work behind deploying AI where the stakes are high: creating a safety culture, testing and validating systems, navigating regulatory hurdles, and earning trust.

Building AI for the physical world? Tomorrow is the last day to save up to $200 on your Disrupt pass. Secure your ticket by September 25 at 11:59 p.m. PT and hear from three leaders working where failure has real-world consequences. Prices will increase after September 25, 11:59 p.m. PT.

Industry Impact & Strategic Analysis

At Shield AI , Nathan Michael leads the development and deployment of Hivemind, the company's platform-agnostic mission autonomy software. His background spans AI, control, perception, and multi-robot systems, including years at Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute, where he directed the Resilient Intelligent Systems Lab.

That expertise is being put to work on technology designed for some of AI's highest-stakes environments. In February, Hivemind was selected as an autonomy provider for the U.S. Air Force's Collaborative Combat Aircraft drone prototype program. A month later, Shield AI announced $1.5 billion in Series G funding at a $12.7 billion post-money valuation.

At Disrupt, Michael brings the perspective of an AI leader developing autonomous systems for environments where performance has to be matched by assurance.

Forward Outlook & Market Perspective

What does it take to trust AI with a mission? Secure your Disrupt pass before September 25, 11:59 p.m. PT, and hear Nathan Michael's perspective on developing autonomy for high-stakes environments.

Raquel Urtasun has spent 25 years working in AI and autonomous vehicles. Before founding Waabi , she served as chief scientist and head of R&D at Uber ATG. She's also a professor of computer science at the University of Toronto, co-founded the Vector Institute for AI, and has published more than 200 AI papers.

Now Waabi is preparing to take its autonomous-driving technology much further. In January, the company raised $1 billion and announced a partnership with Uber to support the deployment of 25,000 or more Waabi Driver-powered robotaxis.

Testing and validation are central to Waabi's approach. Its Waabi World simulator trains, tests, and stress-tests the Waabi Driver in a virtual environment, and Urtasun has said the company's autonomous trucks still need to be fully validated before driverless deployment.

That puts one of the session's central questions squarely in Urtasun's wheelhouse: How do you determine when an AI system is ready to operate without a human behind the wheel?

Want to hear how autonomous-driving leaders approach testing, validation, and deployment? Secure your Disrupt pass by September 25 at 11:59 p.m. PT to save up to $200 - and get a second pass for 50% off select ticket types.

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