AI industry leaders highlight physical AI and the value of in-person collaboration

The European AI landscape is seeing a dual focus on physical implementation and the importance of in-person collaboration. At a recent industry gathering in London, Patrick Bion, CEO of Minimal, discussed the shift toward capital-efficient physical AI. Minimal, a company building autonomous vehicles and software for urban goods movement, aims to deploy its first on-road vehicle in the UK within approximately 12 months. Bion noted that his current 20-person team is able to outbuild much larger organizations by leveraging AI tooling.

In Turin, discussions at the Wave by Vento event highlighted the value of physical proximity for AI founders. Aiden Blake of Anthropic emphasized that while AI enables remote work, “the real trust, I think, happens in person.” This sentiment was echoed by Roxanne Varza of Station F, who noted that despite the digital nature of AI, startup teams are increasingly embracing physical presence to build momentum and foster serendipitous connections. Station F’s AI program, F/ai, currently hosts a diverse international cohort of startups, including partners such as Anthropic, OpenAI, and Mistral AI.