Robots enter the World Cup, shifting how large-scale events are run and experienced
Updated
April 8, 2026 10:35 AM
Hyundai Motor Company Dealership, Alabama, US. PHOTO: ADOBE STOCK
As the FIFA World Cup 2026 approaches, attention is beginning to shift beyond the matches themselves to how an event of this scale is organised and run. Managing teams, coordinating venues and handling large crowds requires a system that works with precision. This time, robotics is set to become part of that system.
Hyundai Motor Company, a long-time FIFA partner, is expanding its role for the 2026 tournament. Alongside its traditional responsibility of providing vehicles for teams, officials and media, the company will introduce robotics in collaboration with Boston Dynamics. Robots including Atlas and Spot are expected to be deployed at selected venues.
According to the announcement, these systems will be used to support tournament operations while contributing to safety and efficiency. They will also play a role in shaping how fans experience the event, indicating a broader use of technology within the tournament environment. While specific use cases have not been detailed, the inclusion of robotics reflects a growing effort to integrate advanced systems into large-scale public events.
The direction was introduced through the company’s global campaign, “Next Starts Now,” unveiled at the 2026 New York International Auto Show. The campaign is positioned around its wider focus on innovation across mobility and robotics, aligning with its long-standing partnership with FIFA, which now spans more than two decades. As part of the 2026 tournament, the company will also deploy its largest mobility fleet to date, working alongside these newer systems across venues.
Beyond operations, the initiative extends into community engagement. Youth football camps are set to take place across four host cities in the United States—Atlanta, Miami, New Jersey and Los Angeles—targeting children between the ages of six and twelve. A global drawing programme will also invite young fans to submit artwork supporting their national teams, with selected designs to be featured on official team buses during the tournament.
Taken together, the introduction of robotics alongside existing infrastructure points to a gradual shift in how major events are supported. Rather than operating only behind the scenes, technology is becoming more visible within the event itself. How these systems perform in a live, large-scale setting will become clearer once the tournament begins.
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January 8, 2026 6:34 PM
Through computational tools, Valthos analyzes biological data to design adaptive solutions against emerging threats. PHOTO: VALTHOS
Valthos has raised US$30 million in seed funding, led by the OpenAI Startup Fund, Lux Capital and Founders Fund, to advance its mission of building next-generation biodefense systems.
The company’s work comes at a time when biotechnology is evolving at an unprecedented pace. Biotechnology is moving at record speed. These new tools can lead to life-changing medical discoveries, but they also bring the risk of dangerous biological agents being developed faster than ever.
“The issue at the core of biodefense is asymmetry”, said Kathleen McMahon, co-founder of Valthos. “It’s easier to make a pathogen than a cure. We’re building tools to help experts at the frontlines of biodefense move as fast as the threats they face”. The gap Valthos aims to close is between the rapid rise of biological threats and the slower pace of developing cures. Therefore, the company is developing AI systems that can rapidly analyze biological sequences and significantly shorten the time needed to design medical countermeasures.
“In this new world, the only way forward is to be faster. So we set out to build a new tech stack for biodefense”, said Tess van Stekelenburg, co-founder of Valthos. “This software infrastructure strengthens biodefense today and lays the groundwork for the adaptive, precision therapeutics of tomorrow”.
The company was founded by van Stekelenburg, a partner at Lux Capital and McMahon, the former head of Palantir’s Life Sciences division. Together, they’ve built a multidisciplinary team of experts from Palantir, DeepMind, Stanford’s Arc Institute and MIT’s Broad Institute, bringing together deep experience in software engineering, machine learning and biotechnology.
“Technology is moving fast. An industrial ecosystem of builders, companies and solutions further democratizes AI to provide broad resilience, and ensures the U.S. continues to lead as AI increasingly powers everything around us. As AI and biotech rapidly advance, biodefense is one of the new industry verticals that helps maximize the benefits and minimize the risks”, said Jason Kwon, OpenAI’s Chief Strategy Officer. “Valthos is pushing the frontier of protection and defense in one of the most strategic intersections of multiple world-changing technologies, and with the team to do it”.
Looking ahead, Valthos plans to expand its engineering team and scale its software infrastructure for both government and commercial partners — moving closer to its goal of enabling faster, smarter and more adaptive biodefense capabilities.