# Nebius and Positronic launch $20K+ physical AI robotics competition

> Original title: JUST IN:

- Source: X search: AI launch posts (introducing, just launched)
- Published: 2026-10-29T11:59:56.000Z
- Bad Influence: https://badinfluence.news/items/dk6j9nezdzhwuq5gok6lccgge
- Original: https://x.com/lukas_m_ziegler/status/2115775641685819805

## Summary

Nebius and Positronic launched a Physical AI Competition with over $20K in GPU and evaluation credits. The competition runs October to December 2026 and is based on the DROID: Everyday Tasks leaderboard at PhAIL.ai, where the best open models complete only about 70% of tasks on average. Top 10 teams advance from simulation to testing on a real Franka robot arm.

## Post

JUST IN:

@nebiusai and @positronic_ro just launched a Physical AI Competition, and the prize pool is $20K+ in GPU and evaluation credits.

On the DROID: Everyday Tasks leaderboard at http://PhAIL.ai, over 1,000 episodes, 100+ common tasks, all on the same Franka arm — the best open models complete only ~70% of tasks on average. The weakest: ~12%.

Robotic manipulation is far from solved. And the gap between models is wide enough for a small team with a good idea to make a real difference.

That’s the whole point of this competition.

→ Open to all teams — register at http://competition.phail.ai
→ First 50 teams to submit in week one get $100 in Nebius GPU credits
→ Models evaluated first in simulation
→ Top 10 advance to testing on a real physical robot arm
→ Competition runs October to December 2026
→ Powered by Nebius GPU infrastructure and Physical AI Workbench

The historical parallel the organisers draw is apt. In the 2004 DARPA Grand Challenge, no autonomous vehicle finished the course. A year later, five did. Open competitions with shared rules create turning points.

Robotic manipulation needs its DARPA moment.

🔗 Register here: https://competition.phail.ai/

~~ 

♻️ Join the weekly robotics newsletter, and never miss any news → http://ziegler.substack.com

![](https://badinfluence.news/api/img-proxy?u=https%3A%2F%2Fpbs.twimg.com%2Fmedia%2FHVy-oveagAEzG_v.jpg&mode=thumb&exp=1793491200&sig=79cfc3e5371af0c8)