TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 to spotlight AI prototype‑to‑production challenges

AI has dramatically lowered the barrier to building impressive prototypes. Getting those prototypes into production is a different story.

Every founder hopes their breakthrough becomes a product customers can rely on. Yet the path from prototype to production rarely follows a straight line. Manufacturing challenges emerge. Infrastructure has to support growth. Autonomous systems have to perform outside controlled environments. The problems change quickly once technology leaves the lab.

That’s the focus of “From Prototype to Production: Can It Scale in Reality?“, taking place on the Real World AI Stage at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026.

Leaders in space communications, autonomous systems, and AI infrastructure will share how they’ve navigated that transition, from promising innovation to production-ready deployment. Although every industry follows its own path, all three speakers have faced the same reality: a successful prototype is only the beginning.

Disrupt returns to Moscone West in San Francisco, October 13–15, bringing together 10,000+ founders, investors, and operators for 250+ sessions exploring the technologies and market forces shaping what’s next. Secure your Disrupt pass to hear how today’s innovators are moving breakthrough technologies into production.

When AI leaves the lab

A working prototype answers one question: “Can it be done?” Production raises dozens more. Building optical communications hardware has little in common with deploying autonomous vehicles or autonomous construction equipment. Yet each requires the technology to perform consistently outside controlled environments, where reliability, manufacturing, infrastructure, and day-to-day operations become integral to the product itself.

This Real World AI Stage session doesn’t promise a single blueprint. Instead, it brings together founders who have tackled production from very different angles, offering a rare opportunity to compare what scaling looks like across industries.

Explore the AI in the Real World Stage and register for Disrupt with up to $200 savings.

Lessons from companies that made the leap

No two production stories look the same. That’s what makes this discussion compelling. Each founder taking the Real World AI stage has navigated a different path from prototype to production, offering lessons startups can apply to their own journey.

1. Building the future of space communications

Moving beyond the prototype often means building manufacturing capability alongside the technology itself. As Co-founder and CEO of MBRYONICS, John Mackey has transformed a specialized photonics spinout into a leader in space-based optical communications, expanding high-volume manufacturing while helping build the infrastructure behind next-generation space networks. His insights will help startups understand what changes when your company shifts from building prototypes to building products.

1. Deploying autonomy where consistency matters

Before co-founding Bedrock Robotics, Boris Sofman helped lead autonomous trucking and core technologies at Waymo, where fully driverless vehicles logged more than 100 million driverless miles. His experience reflects what happens when autonomous systems leave controlled testing and begin operating in environments where consistency and reliability matter every day. He’ll shed light on how to scale production while ensuring safety and reliability.

1. Engineering the foundation for autonomous systems

Before co-founding Foxglove, Adrian Macneil led infrastructure engineering at Cruise, developing the data platform that supported autonomous vehicles at scale. His work demonstrates that production depends on the engineering systems surrounding it. His talk will underscore the systems and infrastructure that allow complex technologies to move beyond experimentation and into everyday use.

Together, they bring three different perspectives to the same milestone every ambitious technology company eventually reaches: moving from a successful prototype to something customers can trust in the real world.

Hear how these founders approached production and what they learned along the way. Choose your Disrupt ticket type and save up to $200 by September 25.

What comes after the breakthrough?

Sooner or later, every promising technology has to prove itself outside the lab. That’s where this Disrupt conversation begins. Rather than focusing on what’s possible in theory, these founders will discuss what happens when manufacturing, deployment, infrastructure, and day-to-day operations become part of the product.

Regardless of the innovation you’re building, this session offers the opportunity to hear from founders who’ve already navigated the move from prototype to production — and the lessons they learned along the way.

Secure your pass to Disrupt and hear how leaders are making the leap from prototype to production. Save up to $200 before prices increase on September 25.