Humanoid robots are dancing, backflipping, and going viral. But are they ready to do real work?

Theo Nash, founder and CEO of Mundane, joins Greg to challenge the hype cycle and refocus the conversation on what robots are actually for: eliminating dull, dirty, and dangerous work while amplifying human capability.

From growing up around London auto garages to studying at Stanford and building teams across Palo Alto, Shenzhen, and Vancouver, Theo shares how his path shaped a mission centered on safety, embodiment, and human–robot collaboration. Mundane is not chasing flashy demos. Instead, the team is rebuilding the robotics stack from first principles, with a bold bet on telepresence, tactile sensing, and intuitive control systems that feel less like a video game and more like becoming the robot.

This is a deep dive into embodiment, reliability, vertical integration, and why scaling too fast could be the biggest mistake in robotics today.

In this conversation, Greg and Theo explore:

• Why most humanoid demos miss the real question: can the robot do economically valuable work reliably?
• Mundane’s founding principle that robots should eliminate drudgery, not replace human fulfillment
• The embodiment gap and why teleoperation must feel like true presence, not remote control
• Proprioception in robotics and what it means to “feel” where a robot’s limbs are in space
• Why wiping a table is harder for a robot than playing chess
• The hidden challenge of reliability, from operator accuracy to hardware consistency between units
• Lessons from China’s advanced manufacturing ecosystem and how speed and supply chains shape hardware startups
• Why scaling slowly, even in a hype cycle, may be the smartest long term strategy
• Telepresence as infrastructure and the vision for a VP of Teleportation
• How robots can reduce workplace injuries and remove humans from hazardous environments like oil rigs and disaster zones
• Why Theo believes AI and robotics are collaborators, not replacements for human workers
• Building a team culture that works hard, plays hard, and debates openly without hierarchy

If you are building physical AI, deploying robots in the field, or thinking about the future of human labor in an automated world, this episode is a thoughtful and ambitious look at what it will actually take to make robots useful at scale.

Connect with Theo Nash: https://www.linkedin.com/in/theo-nash/

Connect with Greg Toroosian: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregtoroosian/