Jonathan Hurst, co-founder of Agility Robotics, discusses Digit’s warehouse work, product development, safety, and the company’s path toward going public with a TechCrunch host at Disrupt 2026.
Hurst describes the planned public listing as a new phase for Agility, after more than a decade of building its technical, organizational, product, and customer foundations. He says turning proofs of concept into a product took years of learning from real deployments, including documenting hundreds of requirements across specific workflows and customer sites.
Hurst says Agility initially avoided humanoid design to focus on the physics and function beneath a robot’s appearance. The team arrived at Digit’s form through application needs: lifting heavy loads in narrow, human-designed spaces. He argues that legs help with manipulation and balance, citing a rug-pull test where Digit stayed upright longer than a person.
Digit is designed to handle demanding tasks such as lifting bins weighing up to 50 pounds. Hurst says Agility starts with a scoped set of workflows, including moving bins between mobile robots, conveyors, and shelves, and builds toward broader capabilities from there. He describes the current work as repetitive tasks that are difficult to automate with fixed equipment because warehouse interfaces vary.
Hurst says operating outside a cage requires safety to be built into the robot and its systems. Digit 5 can detect approaching people, slow down, set down a load, sit on the ground, and turn off motor power. He also describes safety-rated hardware and an independent supervisory computer, alongside standards, testing, and third-party review.
Hurst says viral robot demonstrations have helped people understand the field, while also making clear that dance moves are easier than reliable deployments that provide value. His advice to founders is to test strong convictions against evidence, incorporate criticism, and adjust their understanding when reality proves them partly wrong.
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