Hardware used to be the thing investors politely walked away from. In the last few months, that changed.

Physical AI — robotics, autonomy, embodied intelligence, machines that do something in the real world — has moved from a research curiosity to one of the most actively funded categories in tech. CEE is not watching from the sidelines: some of the most interesting Physical AI companies in Europe are being built here.

Backing Physical AI brings founders and investors into one room to talk about what's actually happening.

The panel: "Building a hardware startup in the age of AI"

  • Jakub Křikava — General Partner, Credo Ventures

  • Ondřej Lipold — Partner, Tensor Ventures

  • Brian Walker — CEO, REVEL

  • Jakub Nešetřil — Vice-Rector at CTU

Hosted by Kate Novakova.

What we'll get into

  • How the Physical AI industry is evolving — and which trends are real vs. hype

  • What building a hardware company looks like today, from the founder's chair

  • How VC perception of hardware and Physical AI has shifted in the past few months

  • Concrete examples of Physical AI investments in the CEE region

  • What the next few years look like from both sides of the table

Who this is for

Founders building in hardware, robotics and Physical AI, investors looking at the category, and anyone in the CEE tech ecosystem who wants a non-superficial take on where this is going. Expect ~80 people who actually know the space.

Schedule

  • 17:30 Doors open

  • 18:00 Welcome — Tensor Ventures, Startup Kitchen, Credo Ventures

  • 18:05 Panel discussion

  • 19:05 Q&A with the audience

  • 19:15 Networking & drinks

  • 22:00 Doors close

Where

Tensor Machinehouse, Pernerova 57, Prague — Tensor's own space, built for exactly this kind of evening.

Seats are limited. Register below.