Marita Cheng AM (US)

Marita Cheng is a roboticist, non-profit founder and technology entrepreneur. The founder and CEO of Aubot, she develops intelligent robotics designed to make a meaningful, practical difference in people’s lives. Her projects include Teleport, a ‘telepresence robot’ which, as well as business applications, allows hospital patients, people with disabilities, and the elderly, to interact with people and spaces that would otherwise be closed to them. Marita also works on a range of cutting-edge R&D projects in robotics, autonomous mapping and virtual reality. She is also the co-founder of Aipoly, an award-winning AI company that helps the visually impaired navigate the world using real-time object recognition.

Marita explores how robotics and artificial intelligence are shaping our world, and how we can make sure that the future is human-centred, inclusive, and delivers opportunities for all. Drawing on her experience building global communities, scaling technology ventures, and applying AI to real-world problems, she separates the realities from the fiction in robotics and AI, as well as looking at where the new frontiers lie, and what it takes to lead innovation from idea to global impact. With the technology she’s working on potentially affecting every business and every life, Marita looks at the future of technology, leadership, society and work.

Whilst still a student herself, Marita founded Robogals with the goal of increasing the number of girls applying to engineering courses. Robogals has since grown to reach over 100,000 students across 11 countries and Marita remains an active advocate for women in STEM. Named Young Australian of the Year, one of Forbes' World’s Top 50 Women in Tech, and inducted as the youngest Member of the Order of Australia, Marita has been recognised at home and abroad for her work. She has also told her story in Smart Girl Books, a generative AI-illustrated part-memoir, part-inspirational guidebook for children to realise their potential.