Andrew Trask
Founder & Leader of OpenMined | Senior Research Scientist, Google DeepMind | Author of 'Grokking Deep Learning' | Pioneer of Privacy-Preserving AI
Pieter Abbeel
AI & Robotics Professor, UC Berkeley | Frontier Model Research Lead, Amazon AGI | Co-Founder, Covariant | Pioneer of Deep Learning for Robotics
Pieter Abbeel helped invent the AI that powers today's robots, image generators, and language models, and now leads frontier model research at Amazon's AGI. A UC Berkeley professor whose students co-founded OpenAI, Perplexity, and Physical Intelligence, he is one of the most consequential figures in modern AI. His keynotes give senior leaders the scientific grounding and strategic clarity to act decisively in an era defined by machine intelligence.
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Pieter Abbeel biography
Pieter Abbeel is one of the world’s foremost authorities on artificial intelligence and robotics, a researcher, educator, and serial entrepreneur whose work sits at the very foundation of technologies reshaping how machines learn, move, and reason. A professor at UC Berkeley, director of the Berkeley Robot Learning Lab, and co-director of the Berkeley AI Research (BAIR) Lab, he has spent two decades pushing the frontier of what intelligent systems can do. AI speaker Pieter Abbeel pioneered deep learning for robotics, co-developed the diffusion models now at the heart of today’s image and video generation systems, and produced foundational reinforcement learning algorithms including TRPO and SAC that underpin modern humanoid locomotion and the RLHF methods behind large language models.
His Berkeley lab has generated more than 300 publications and over 100,000 citations, ranking among the most influential AI research groups in the world. He has received the ACM Prize in Computing, the PECASE, IEEE Fellow status, and a place on MIT Technology Review’s TR35 list of top innovators. As a founder, Abbeel has built companies that define entire categories. Gradescope, co-founded in 2014, brought AI-assisted grading to more than 1,000 universities before its acquisition by Turnitin. Covariant, co-founded in 2017, built robotics foundation models that let machines see, learn, and adapt in live warehouse and factory settings, far beyond the pre-programmed motions of traditional industrial robots.
The Teacher Behind the Builders
Perhaps Abbeel’s most remarkable contribution is the generation of founders he has trained. His PhD students and postdocs have gone on to co-found OpenAI, Perplexity, Physical Intelligence, Ideogram, and Evolutionary Scale, among many others. His online courses have reached over 100,000 students, and his Deep RL and Deep Unsupervised Learning materials are standard references for researchers worldwide. He is a founding investment partner at AIX Ventures, whose portfolio includes Perplexity, Cohere, and Wayve, and he hosts The Robot Brains podcast, where he explores the frontiers of the field with its leading pioneers.
In 2024, Amazon acquired Covariant’s technology and team, and Abbeel joined as an Amazon Scholar co-leading the Frontier AI and Robotics lab. After a December 2025 reorganization of Amazon’s AGI division, he was appointed to lead its frontier model research team, directing development of the company’s flagship foundation model, one of the most consequential AI leadership roles in the industry.
As a speaker, Pieter Abbeel brings a rare combination: the depth of a world-class researcher, the instincts of a hands-on builder, and the clarity of someone who has taught complex ideas to tens of thousands of students. Senior executive audiences book him to understand where AI and robotics are truly headed, not the hype but the science, and what it means for their organizations, their strategies, and the decisions they need to make now. His sessions on generative AI, humanoid robotics, reinforcement learning, and AI strategy consistently rank among the highest-rated at the global events where he appears.
Pieter Abbeel Speaking Videos
Pieter Abbeel - Learning to Learn for Robotic Control
Pieter Abbeel - Deep Reinforcement Learning
Pieter Abbeel Keynote Topics
The past decade of AI progress has been extraordinary, but the next decade will be transformative in an entirely different way. Abbeel maps the trajectory from today's large language models and generative AI to the emerging frontier of physical AI: robots and autonomous systems that can perceive, reason, and act in the real world. Drawing on his research at Berkeley and his work building Covariant and Amazon's Frontier AI and Robotics lab, he gives executives a grounded, science-based view of where AI capabilities are heading and what it means for industries built on physical labor, logistics, and manufacturing.
Generative AI is reshaping creative work, software development, scientific research, and enterprise operations, and diffusion models, a technology Abbeel helped pioneer, are at its core. This keynote demystifies the science behind today's most powerful AI systems, explains what these models can and cannot do, and translates that understanding into a strategic framework executives can use immediately. Abbeel cuts through the noise to help senior leaders build realistic roadmaps for AI adoption that are grounded in how the technology actually works.
For decades, industrial robots have been powerful but brittle, capable only of tasks they were explicitly programmed to perform. That era is ending. Abbeel explores the shift to robots that learn from demonstration, adapt to new environments, and improve with experience, the same shift that transformed software AI and is now coming to the physical world. From warehouse automation to surgical robotics to humanoid machines, he traces the implications of this transition for operations, workforce strategy, and competitive advantage across industries.
AI is no longer a technology question: it is a leadership question. In this keynote designed specifically for executive and board audiences, Abbeel translates cutting-edge AI research into actionable strategic frameworks: how to assess AI opportunities and risks, how to build internal AI capabilities versus partner externally, how to govern AI responsibly, and how to lead organizations through the cultural and operational changes that genuine AI adoption requires. Based on his experience as a researcher, founder, and faculty director of executive AI programs at UC Berkeley, this session gives leaders the confidence to make high-stakes AI decisions with clarity.
Speaker topics
FAQs on Booking Pieter Abbeel
Why Pieter Abbeel?
Booking Pieter Abbeel as a keynote speaker gives your audience direct access to one of the architects of modern AI. He is not an observer of the AI revolution; he is one of its builders. As the researcher behind diffusion models, TRPO, and deep robot learning, as the founder of Covariant, and as the current lead of frontier model research at Amazon's AGI division, Abbeel speaks from a vantage point that very few people in the world occupy. For C-suite audiences navigating AI strategy, automation, and the rise of humanoid robotics, his sessions deliver something rare: clarity grounded in real science and real company-building, with zero hype. Aurum Speakers Bureau can help you secure Pieter Abbeel for your next event.
What has Pieter Abbeel founded?
Pieter Abbeel has co-founded three companies. Gradescope, launched in 2014 with fellow UC Berkeley engineers, used AI to automate the grading of homework, projects, and exams, and scaled to over 1,000 universities before being acquired by Turnitin in 2018. Covariant, co-founded in 2017, developed robotics foundation models that allow warehouse and factory robots to see, learn, and adapt to new tasks in real time, a fundamental leap beyond traditional pre-programmed industrial robotics. In 2024, Amazon licensed Covariant's technology and brought the founding team on board. After co-leading Amazon's Frontier AI and Robotics lab, Abbeel now leads frontier model research within the company's AGI division, directing development of its flagship foundation model. He also co-founded Berkeley Open Arms, which produces low-cost, highly capable robotic arms for research applications.
Who are Pieter Abbeel's most notable students?
Abbeel's research group at UC Berkeley has produced an extraordinary number of founders who have gone on to shape the AI industry. His students and postdocs include John Schulman, co-founder of OpenAI and lead architect of ChatGPT; Aravind Srinivas, co-founder and CEO of Perplexity AI; Chelsea Finn and Sergey Levine, co-founders of Physical Intelligence; Jonathan Ho, co-founder of Ideogram; Deepak Pathak, co-founder of Skild; and Roshan Rao, co-founder of Evolutionary Scale. This track record makes Abbeel arguably the most prolific talent producer in the history of AI entrepreneurship.
What topics does AI speaker Pieter Abbeel cover?
Pieter Abbeel speaks on the current state and near-term future of artificial intelligence, deep reinforcement learning and robot learning, generative AI and diffusion models, humanoid robotics and physical AI, AI strategy for executives and boards, the automation of warehouses and manufacturing, and the implications of large language models for enterprise. His keynotes are frequently customized for C-suite and board-level audiences who need to move beyond AI headlines and into concrete strategic frameworks. Aurum Speakers Bureau can help you design an engagement that matches your organization's priorities.
How to book Pieter Abbeel as a keynote speaker?
Aurum Speakers Bureau can help you book Pieter Abbeel as a speaker for your next event, conference, or board meeting. Simply fill out our contact form to inquire about Pieter Abbeel's availability for a speaking engagement. One of our booking agents will respond to your request immediately and contact the speaker to let them know you want to hire them. We will assist you with obtaining speaking fees, booking information, and confirming availability for Pieter Abbeel or any other top keynote speaker or celebrity of your choice.
How much is Pieter Abbeel speaking fee?
Pieter Abbeel speaking fees are determined by several factors, including the event's date, whether it's a virtual or in-person event, the duration, format, preparation required for their speech, and more. The same applies to the cost to hire any other top expert speakers and celebrities. The Speaker Fee Range listed on our website is simply a guideline and is subject to change without notice. If you would like to hire Pieter Abbeel to deliver a keynote speech for your event, please fill out the contact form or email us at info@aurumbureau.com with as much detail as possible. One of our experienced agents will get in touch with you and let you know exactly how much it will cost to book Pieter Abbeel.
How can I contact Pieter Abbeel?
We only work with Pieter Abbeel on paid speaking engagements. Aurum Speakers Bureau can assist you in booking Pieter Abbeel and will handle all negotiations, contracts, and logistics associated with having Pieter Abbeel speak at your event. We will be your sole point of contact throughout the process. Get in touch with Aurum Speakers Bureau today, and we will reach out to any motivational speaker or celebrity you want to enquire about speaking at your event. If you wish to contact Pieter Abbeel for any other reason, we will be unable to assist you as we are not authorized to provide personal contact information.
Can I book Pieter Abbeel for a virtual keynote?
Yes, Pieter Abbeel is available for virtual keynotes and webinars. To book Pieter Abbeel for a virtual event, please complete the contact form or send us an email to inquire about the special fees for virtual engagements.
