Stone Tao Joins Physical Intelligence to Focus on Robotics Simulation
svlevine · x · 2026-07-31
UCLA PhD student Stone Tao announced he is ending his studies early to join Physical Intelligence (Pi) full-time, focusing on simulation research.
In his blog post, he shared his reasons for choosing Pi:
- Research Trend Setting: Pi's team has massive influence in shifting robotics research towards VLA (Vision-Language-Action) models and teleoperation.
- Simulation Potential: Despite outside perceptions, Pi provides a highly favorable environment for simulation research to accelerate general robot development.
- Open Culture & Talent Density: Pi offers an open research culture and high talent density, effectively integrating open-source community resources to drive model deployment.
More from Companies & People
- Palantir CEO Blasts AI Rivals for Selling Tokens, Advocates Value-Based Pricing — eliano · 2026-07-31
- Why Tell Us Now? Trask Questions Timing of AI Labs' Security Disclosures — iamtrask · 2026-07-31
- Gary Marcus Rounds Up Seven Major AI Blunders and Controversies — Gary Marcus · 2026-07-31
- Inside Sakana AI's Product Pivot: An Interview with the Head of Product — SakanaAILabs · 2026-07-31
- Google Requires UX Designers to be 'Fluent in AI', Exploring Workflow Integration — Sea-Masterpiece-8496 · 2026-07-31
- Relation Therapeutics expands GSK AI drug discovery deal worth up to $110M — anshulkundaje · 2026-07-31