Disrupt 2026: Waabi, Shield AI, and GM Discuss Safe AI

Defense, autonomous driving, industrial robotics: three areas where AI cannot fail. At Disrupt 2026, a session will bring together Raquel Urtasun (Waabi), Nathan Michael (Shield AI), and Mikell Taylor (General Motors) to discuss safety, validation, and regulation. The event will take place at Moscone West in San Francisco from October 13 to 15, with limited-time registration offers.

Disrupt from October 13 to 15: 200+ sessions and limited offers

Disrupt will be held from October 13 to 15 at Moscone West in San Francisco. More than 200 sessions are planned, spread across six industry stages, featuring roundtables and workshops. The event expects over 10,000 founders, investors, operators, and technology leaders, along with more than 250 speakers and over 300 exhibiting startups. Matchmaking, negotiation, and networking formats are also announced to foster professional connections. Registrations completed before September 25 at 11:59 PM PT allow savings of up to $200, and a second pass is offered at a 50% discount on certain ticket types by the same date. Among the highlights, the session "Building AI Systems When Failure Is Not an Option" will take place on the Real World AI stage. It will address safety culture, validation, regulatory issues, and trust. Nathan Michael (Shield AI), Raquel Urtasun (Waabi), and Mikell Taylor (General Motors) will discuss the comparative approaches between defense, autonomous driving, and industrial robotics to assess the operational maturity of the systems.

Waabi: $1 Billion Raised and 25,000 Robotaxis Planned

Raquel Urtasun has 25 years of experience in artificial intelligence and autonomous vehicles. Before founding Waabi, she served as Chief Scientist and Head of Research and Development at Uber ATG, was a computer science professor at the University of Toronto, and co-founded the Vector Institute for AI, totaling over 200 publications. In January, Waabi raised $1 billion and formalized a partnership with Uber to support the launch of 25,000 robotaxis equipped with Waabi Driver. The company makes testing and validation a central pillar of its approach. Its simulator, Waabi World, trains, tests, and subjects Waabi Driver to stress tests in a virtual environment. Raquel Urtasun stated that Waabi's autonomous trucks still need to be fully validated before any driverless deployment.

Shield AI: Hivemind Selected by the US Air Force and $1.5 Billion Raised

At Shield AI, Nathan Michael oversees the design and implementation of Hivemind, a mission autonomy software that operates independently of the platform used. His background encompasses artificial intelligence, control, perception, and multi-robot systems, with several years spent at Carnegie Mellon’s Robotics Institute, where he led the Resilient Intelligent Systems Lab. In February, Hivemind was chosen as the autonomy solution for the US Air Force's Collaborative Combat Aircraft prototype program. A month later, Shield AI announced a Series G funding round of $1.5 billion, bringing the company’s valuation to $12.7 billion post-investment.

General Motors: Mikell Taylor Emphasizes Use and Adoption

Mikell Taylor has over 20 years of experience in designing robots for practical applications. She currently leads the robotics strategy at General Motors' Autonomous Robotics Center, after heading the team at Amazon Robotics that developed Proteus, the first autonomous mobile robot created by Amazon. Her experience spans projects from autonomous underwater vehicles to industrial robotic systems, with a constant focus on creating reliable, practical machines capable of operating effectively alongside humans. Her presentation will emphasize the importance of considering user experience and adoption from the design and deployment planning phases. This human aspect is presented as crucial when AI-powered systems transition from controlled demonstrations to professional environments where they must be relied upon.