Robot Brain Builders Are Pushing Out of Their GPT-2 Era

Robot bodies are moving ahead, but their software brains have not fully kept pace. That is the core takeaway from a new TechCrunch report, which says robotics teams are now pushing beyond what the story calls their “GPT-2 era” of AI.

According to the report, the industry is at a point where the physical side of robotics is ready for more capable intelligence. The problem is that the AI models guiding those machines still need to catch up if robots are going to handle more complex, useful work in the real world.

This matters for software developers because robotics is increasingly a software problem as much as a hardware one. Better robot brains could mean better autonomy, better task execution, and fewer limits on what robots can do outside controlled demos.

The report does not suggest robots are fully there yet. Instead, it points to a transition: robot builders are trying to move past earlier, less capable model generations and build systems that can support the next wave of robotics.

Read the original story from TechCrunch: https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/26/robot-brain-builders-are-pushing-out-of-their-gpt-2-era/