Physical AI Sydney

Important: Please grab your FREE Eventbrite ticket here to attend.
Hear 3 expert talks, ask your questions in a panel Q&A, take the mic for an AI / hardware demo or announcement, and connect over pizza & drinks.

📍 Cicada Innovations, 4 Cornwallis St, Eveleigh NSW
🗓 Thursday 12 November 2026, 5:30 – 8:00 pm

A special thanks to Cicada Innovations, home of CruxML, for hosting us. We also have element14 to thank for helping arrange giveaways and demos for our attendees.

Take the mic at our Community Open Mic! Bring your demo, prototype, or announcement — whether it is AI, hardware, robotics, embedded systems, sensing, or edge computing. All welcome.
This is our last 2026 Physical AI Meetup in Sydney, with more exciting topics and event formats in 2027!

Agenda
5:30 – 6:00 pm | Pizza & Networking
Enjoy pizza and drinks, connect with other attendees, and check out the element14 video on loop.
6:00 – 6:10 pm | Welcome & Official Start
Hear a short welcome from Barry of CruxML and an introduction to the Physical AI Meetup community.
6:10 – 6:30 pm | Talk 1 (Keynote) – From (A)mbition to (I)nnovation
Overview:
We open the meetup with a keynote from Joe Peng, inspiring us to explore the possibilities of Physical AI.
Speaker:
Joe Peng, PhD, Senior RSM for Australia & New Zealand, AMD
6:30 – 6:35 pm | Breakout Groups
Turn to the people seated near you, get to know each other, and discuss what you've just heard.
6:35 – 6:55 pm | Talk 2 – Physical AI - before the robots arrive.
Overview:
Physical AI (PAI) cannot scrape the internet to learn physical skills - it must learn directly from human actions in the real world. In this session, David breaks down the foundational elements of PAI creation and shares real-world examples of how these systems are already augmenting human capabilities and scaling operational complexity, paving the way for future robotic automation.
Speaker:
David Francis, Head of Physical AI, XR + Robotics, Shinko1
Bio:
A 15-year emerging tech pioneer, David transitioned from scaling industrial AR wearables at Realwear to leading Shinko1's Go-To-Market strategy. Today, he deploys breakthrough egocentric multimodal AI across industries, empowering enterprises to safely scale physical operations and secure market leadership.
6:55 – 7:00 pm | Breakout Groups
Chat with your neighbours again about what you've heard so far.
7:00 – 7:20 pm | Talk 3 – Lessons from Investing in Physical AI Companies
Overview:
Physical AI is one of the most capital-intensive and technically demanding categories to invest in, and the gap between a compelling lab result and a repeatable product is wider here than almost anywhere else. This talk shares what Main Sequence has learnt backing companies in the space, and the questions it now asks early: Is the hard part the intelligence or the integration? What do the economics look like at the tenth deployment, not the first? How much capital sits between here and a product customers will pay for? What does a team need alongside deep technical credibility?
Speaker:
Danielle Haj-Moussa, Investment Manager, Main Sequence Ventures
Bio:
Danielle is an Investment Manager at Main Sequence Ventures, a deep-tech fund. She has led its investment theses in AI and robotics and supports companies in climate and advanced manufacturing, backing founders who commercialise deep tech for global impact. Danielle holds degrees in Law and Mechatronics Engineering from the University of Sydney, where she was awarded the University Medal for her work on computer vision.
7:20 – 7:50 pm | Panel Q&A
There will be no question portion after each talk. Please hold your questions for this session, so you can ask anything that may be answered by any and all of the speakers.
7:50 – 8:00 pm | Community Open Mic
Take the mic and share with the group — from hardware demos and embedded prototypes to quick AI-at-the-edge announcements, project showcases, and calls for collaboration.
Last reminder: Please make sure to register on Eventbrite for your free ticket: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/physical-ai-meetup-sydney-year-ender-tickets-2003445833419