About the Conference

This one-day conference brings together leaders from academia, industry, startups, venture capital and policymakers—alongside top students from Berkeley—to explore the current state of robotics, what's next, and how the field can drive real-world impact.

NOVA is a robotics and AI community designed to facilitate discussion and collaboration across academia, industry, and policymakers. It serves as a platform for sharing knowledge, perspectives, and experiences related to the present and future of robotics and AI. By emphasizing real-world impact and responsible decision-making, NOVA aims to support thoughtful engagement across technical and non-technical communities.

Conference Pass

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Featured Speakers


Speaker Name

Thomas Molleker

Senior Associate

BMW iVentures

Speaker Name

Tom Yeshurun

CEO

Civ Robotics

Speaker Name

Dr. Hannah Stuart

Associate Professor,
Mechanical Engineering

UC Berkeley

Speaker Name

Dr. David Tollen

IP Lecturer

UC Berkeley

Speaker Name

Jeff Mahler

Co-Founder,
CTO

Ambi Robotics

Speaker Name

Terry Fong

Senior Scientist,
Autonomous Systems

NASA

Speaker Name

Lauren Lacey

Head of Integration,
Manufacturing & Quality Engineering

Zipline

Conference Schedule

A full day of inspiring talks, panels, and networking opportunities.

Schedule subject to change

Breakfast & Registration

8:45 AM – 9:15 AM

30 mins

Opening & Welcome

9:20 AM – 9:30 AM

10 mins

Keynote #1

9:35 AM – 10:05 AM

30 mins

Panel #1: Legacy Systems & New Steel: The Hard Truths of Integrating Autonomy

10:10 AM – 10:50 AM

40 mins

Break

10:55 AM – 11:10 AM

15 mins

Keynote #2

11:15 AM – 11:45 AM

30 mins

Panel #2: Coexistence by Design: The Social Impact of Ubiquitous Robotics

11:50 AM – 12:30 PM

40 mins

Lunch Break

12:35 PM – 1:35 PM

1 hour

Word from Our Sponsors

1:40 PM – 2:00 PM

20 mins

Grand Challenge Breakout: Team Ideation & Solutions

2:05 PM – 3:05 PM

1 hour

Panel #3: Surviving the Valley of Death: Funding Hardware in a Software World

3:10 PM – 3:50 PM

40 mins

Break

3:55 PM - 4:25 PM

30 mins

Pitch Competition

4:25 PM - 5:25 PM

1 hour

Networking Dinner

5:30 PM - 6:30 PM

1 hour

Our Partners

Startup Pitch Competition

Interested in participating in this event?: Sign-Up Here!


Judges


Speaker Name

Chjango

General Partner

Aexodus Capital

Speaker Name

Thomas Molleker

Senior Associate

BMW iVentures

Location