Dr. Hoe Seng Ooi is a Senior Director Analyst at Gartner within the Business and Technology Insights (BTI) group, focusing on Physical AI and Autonomous Technologies. A proven Physical AI Practitioner, Dr. Ooi brings direct, hands-on experience deploying Physical AI solutions in complex real-world environments, supported by a deep understanding of underlying technologies, market dynamics and ecosystems.
As a trusted advisor to CIOs, CTOs, and AI Leaders, Dr. Ooi translates industry foresight into clear, actionable guidance for senior executives. He helps enterprise and technology leaders shape resilient Physical AI strategies, navigate investment trade-offs, and proactively manage adoption risks across autonomous physical systems.
Dr. Ooi brings overs 20 years of global R&D and executive engineering leadership across the robotics, industrial automation, maritime, automotive, oil & gas and consumer appliance industries. A seasoned engineering executive with strong business acumen, Dr. Ooi has spent much of his career operating at the intersection of R&D and engineering execution, translating emerging technologies into structured roadmaps and deliverable systems for deployment in real-world operations. He is recognized for bridging deep technical capability with strategic market perspective, bringing structural thinking and actional insight to the evolution of Physical AI and autonomous technologies.
Prior to joining Gartner, Dr. Ooi has served as Chief Technology Officer at NexAIoT Co. Ltd. in Taiwan, where he executed the corporate strategies and product roadmaps, and directed the delivery of autonomous mobile robot platforms. Throughout his career, Dr. Ooi has spearheaded system-level technical governance, rigorous design reviews, validation frameworks, supplier ecosystems, and cross-functional leadership at global technology and engineering leaders, including Dyson, Schlumberger and Williams F1.
NexAIoT Co. Ltd., Chief Technology Officer, 5 years
APAS Automotive R&D Centre, Senior R&D Manager (Smart Mobility), 2 years
Johnson Electric Limited, Engineering Manager, 2 years
AI and Technology Leadership
Ph.D., Electrical Engineering, Imperial College London.
B.Eng., Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Imperial College London.
Diploma (with Merit), Electrical Engineering, Singapore Polytechnic.
Physical AI Strategies
Physical AI Safety
Edge AI, Robotics and Autonomous Systems
Technical Feasibility and Roadmaps
Technology Commercialization and GTM