From Prototype to Production: Real‑World Lessons at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026

AI has made it easier than ever to spin up a jaw‑dropping prototype. But getting that prototype out of the lab and into customers’ hands? That’s a whole different ball game.

TechCrunch Disrupt 2026’s Real World AI Stage will host a session called “From Prototype to Production: Can It Scale in Reality.” It’s not a glossy sales pitch; it’s a chance to hear three founders admit the bumps, the sleepless nights, and the surprising pivots they faced when they tried to turn their demos into products that work 24/7.

First up is John Mackey, co‑founder and CEO of MBRYONICS. His team took a niche photonics experiment and turned it into a high‑volume manufacturing operation for space‑based optical communications. He’ll talk about the whole messy process of building factories, hiring line workers, and figuring out supply chains when the product literally has to survive launch.

Next, Boris Sofman, who co‑founded Bedrock Robotics after a stint at Waymo where autonomous trucks racked up over 100 million driverless miles. He’ll explain what happens when you move from a controlled test track to real roads—how safety checks multiply, how you debug a vehicle that’s not in a garage, and why reliability suddenly becomes a legal requirement.

Finally, Adrian Macneil, co‑founder of Foxglove and former infrastructure lead at Cruise, will pull back the curtain on the data platforms that keep fleets of driverless cars humming. His story shows that production isn’t just about the hardware; it’s also about the software, the monitoring dashboards, and the ops teams that keep everything running.

All three have taken wildly different routes, but they converge on one truth: a prototype is just the first step. Manufacturing, deployment, and day‑to‑day operations become part of the product itself, and you have to design for those realities from day one.

Disrupt returns to Moscone West in San Francisco from October 13‑15, gathering more than 10,000 founders, investors, and operators for 250+ sessions. Tickets are still on sale, with up to $200 off if you lock in before September 25.

Whether you’re building a satellite‑link, an autonomous truck, or the data stack that powers them, this session offers a rare, unvarnished look at the climb from “it works in the lab” to “customers can count on it every day.”

Grab your Disrupt pass, save a few bucks, and get ready to hear the hard‑won lessons that could save your startup months—or even years—of trial and error.