A former Nvidia employee who now runs a venture capital firm says robotics is still in its early building stage. Amulya Vishwanath shared her views on TechCrunch’s Equity podcast on October 20, 2026.
Vishwanath is the founder and managing partner of Techable Ventures. The firm focuses on physical AI, an area that includes robotics.
She started the firm after spending nearly seven years as a product marketer at Nvidia.
From Nvidia to Venture Capital
Before Nvidia, Vishwanath held a product marketing role at a company that Intel later bought.
Earlier in her career, she worked as a digital signal processing engineer at Interconnect Systems. That company was later acquired by electronics manufacturer Molex.
On the podcast, she spoke about the future of physical AI. The term has become one of the tech industry’s newest buzzwords.
Why She Calls It the “LEGO Era”
“A lot of companies and experts have been talking about the ChatGPT moment for robotics,” Vishwanath said.
She added that the industry is not there yet. Instead, she described the current stage as a “LEGO era.”
“There are a lot of foundational software and building blocks for robotics that are being rethought right now as we speak, and it’s super important in order for innovation to scale,” she said.
In her view, companies are building basic parts today, such as robotic hands and actuators. Over time, these pieces could come together to form larger products, much like LEGO bricks.
Both general-purpose and special-purpose robots are also being built now. She said they will get better and more advanced as people keep building them.
Vishwanath compared this stage to earlier periods of change. “We’ve done this during the internet era,” she said.
“We’ve done this long, long time ago with the Industrial Revolution. I think it’s just a matter of time before things fall into place.”
“Talent is also going to be very critical,” she said. She also described talent as a key factor that defines the U.S. market.
Vishwanath said helping founders find top talent is one of her firm’s “moats,” or competitive advantages.
She said this helps startups stay competitive at a time when many skilled workers are going to large companies like Anthropic and Nvidia.
She added that her years in the industry helped her build a strong network that she uses to support founders.
“This just makes it a lot easier for me to be the strength or the first call for founders,” she said.
