Ethan Choi Predicts AI Robotics Breakthrough

Venture capitalist Ethan Choi of Khosla Ventures has shared his outlook for the artificial intelligence landscape in 2026. His predictions center on two major shifts: a significant advancement in robotics capabilities and social unrest among white-collar professionals. Choi, whose portfolio includes companies like Glean and Ramp, believes the coming year will mark the beginning of true general-purpose robotics. He also anticipates a shift in the financial markets, favoring mergers and acquisitions over initial public offerings.

In addition to technological breakthroughs, Choi highlights how AI will fundamentally alter how companies are built and operated. He suggests that the roles of product managers and sales teams will evolve as AI tools take on more responsibility for understanding customer needs and driving growth. These insights paint a picture of a future where AI integration is deep, disruptive, and transformative across various sectors.

According to Ethan Choi, 2026 will be the year robotics experiences a foundational leap in capability. He describes this upcoming event as the industry's own 'GPT-3 moment.' Unlike the mass consumer breakthrough seen with ChatGPT, this advancement will focus on demonstrating human-level intelligence applied to the physical world. This represents a critical step toward true general-purpose robotics.

Choi predicts that a leading robotics model will master complex spatial, temporal, and embodied tasks. This mastery will allow robots to enter the home environment effectively. The ability to handle such complex physical interactions marks the beginning of a new era for robotics, moving beyond simple automation to sophisticated, general-purpose utility.

Perhaps the most contrarian prediction from Ethan Choi involves social reaction to artificial intelligence. He forecasts the first dramatic anti-AI protests occurring in certain countries. Specifically, he notes that these protests will be driven by white-collar workers rather than blue-collar workers. The driving force behind this unrest will be demands for job security in the face of rapid AI disruption.

This prediction suggests a shift in the demographic most concerned about AI displacement. While automation has historically been associated with manufacturing and manual labor, Choi believes the immediate tension in 2026 will come from the professional class. These workers will likely protest the encroachment of AI into knowledge-based roles.

The venture capital environment is expected to tighten in 2026. Ethan Choi anticipates a meaningful market correction that will impact exit strategies. He expects to see more mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity compared to initial public offerings (IPOs). Despite this challenging environment, Choi maintains that the strongest companies will still be able to go public.

When asked to name potential IPO candidates, Choi identified three specific companies. He predicts that Grayscale, a crypto asset manager, will be the first to go public. He also listed Ethos and Klook as other potential candidates for an IPO.

Ethan Choi observes that the process of building companies is evolving toward a more efficient, AI-powered future. He notes that even more egregious valuations and behaviors are currently being seen from founders and investors compared to the zero-interest-rate policy times. However, AI is simultaneously changing internal operations.

On the product and engineering side, the traditional role of the product manager is being challenged. Engineering organizations are taking on more responsibility for understanding end-customer needs and driving the product roadmap. This shift is facilitated by AI's ability to synthesize vast quantities of customer feedback. On the go-to-market side, sales functions are becoming leaner, utilizing AI for targeting, outreach, and customer engagement. Additionally, Choi questions the durability of 'vibe-coding' apps, wondering if they will find lasting use cases beyond prototyping.