Physical AI's bottleneck shifts from robot capability to factory trust, Walden Robotics says

Walden Robotics co-founder Adrien Gaidon said at Fully Connected that the main obstacle for physical AI is not robot capability but whether manufacturers trust the machines. Walden, spun out of Toyota Research Institute in January 2026 with $300 million raised in July, has run general-purpose robots on full production shifts alongside workers since May.

• Walden Robotics spun out of Toyota Research Institute in January 2026
• The company raised $300 million in July for general-purpose factory robots
• Walden robots have worked full production shifts with people since May 2026
• There are 500,000 open machinist positions in the U.S.