AI x Robotics: Building the Future of Manufacturing
Hosted by The AI Collective & InnoMat.AI
📍 Northeastern University | 225 Terry Ave N, Seattle, WA 98109
📅 Thursday, November 13, 2025 | 🕔 5:00 PM – 7:00 PM
🔧 Where Cutting-Edge Tech Meets Real-World Deployment
Join us for an evening that brings together researchers, founders, and investors working at the frontier of AI and robotics for physical industries. This event focuses on the real challenges and real opportunities of building and scaling intelligent systems for manufacturing, construction, and infrastructure.
You'll hear from top minds in computer vision, human-robot interaction, optimization, deep tech investing, and AI product leadership—including voices from Northeastern, UW, Qualcomm, Broadcom, InnoMat.AI, and Madrona Venture Group.
Agenda
5.00 pm | Door opens with food and drinks!
5.30 pm | Welcome - The AI Collective & Northeastern University
5.45 pm | Innomat AI Presentation
6.10 pm | Fireside chat - Modern Manufacturing: From Research to Deployment
7.00 pm | Networking
🎤 Featured Speakers
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Dr. Joseph Weber – Director of ECE, Northeastern University Seattle | Computer Vision Scientist
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Dr. Xian Li – Professor of ECE | Expert in Human-Robot Collaboration
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Dr. Léonard Boussioux – Professor at UW Foster | MIT PhD in General AI & Optimization
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Rolanda Fu – Investor at Madrona | Investing in Tech & AI Companies
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Neel Kishan – AI GTM & Product Lead at Qualcomm
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Charlie Sun – Founder of InnoMat.AI | Machine Learning Lead
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Bhola Chhetri – Solutions Architect at Broadcom | Moderator, The AI Collective
💡 What You’ll Experience
🚀 Deep Dives on Applied Robotics & AI
How real-world robotics systems are built, validated, and deployed—at scale and under constraints.
💬 Fireside Discussion: From Lab to Market
From breakthrough research to venture-backed startups, learn how these leaders navigate the technical, business, and product challenges in industrial AI.
📈 Investor Perspective: What’s Fundable in Industrial Robotics?
Hear directly from Madrona about how they evaluate frontier-tech startups—and where the real opportunities lie in hardware + AI.
🤝 Curated Networking
Connect with a hand-picked group of technical founders, researchers, engineers, and early-stage investors.
👥 Who Should Attend
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Robotics founders and deep tech startup teams
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ML/AI engineers working on perception, simulation, or autonomous systems
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VCs and innovation teams tracking industrial applications of AI
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Professors, PhDs, and students focused on robotics, hardware, or embedded intelligence
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Industry pros modernizing operations in manufacturing or infrastructure
🍕 Food and drinks provided.
This is not your average AI meetup. It’s a conversation between the builders, funders, and visionaries shaping what comes next.
Please be advised: Unfortunately, space is very limited at these community events and we can not always accept everyone we would like to. If you are not accepted to this event, please keep applying! We appreciate your application tremendously and we are looking forward to seeing you at a future event very soon!
InnoMat.AI, founded by Northeastern alum Charlie Sun, is redefining how inspections are performed in manufacturing and construction. Leveraging advanced AI and robotics, InnoMat.AI’s platform automates the full inspection lifecycle—from defect detection and material validation to workflow guidance and real-time reporting. By turning manual processes into intelligent, data-driven operations, InnoMat.AI empowers engineers to make faster, more accurate decisions—improving quality, reducing downtime, and driving performance across industrial systems.
The AI Collective is a global non-profit community uniting 100,000+ pioneers – founders, researchers, operators, and investors – exploring the frontier of AI in major tech hubs worldwide. Through events, workshops, and community-led research, we empower the AI ecosystem to collaboratively steer AI’s future toward trust, openness, and human flourishing.
All attendees and organizers at events affiliated with The AI Collective agree to our privacy policy and are subject to our code of conduct.
