I will discuss some connections which have recently arisen between the nearby Lagrangian conjecture, one of the major open problems in symplectic topology, and the algebraic K-theory of spaces. First I will explain joint work with M. Abouzaid, S. Courte and T. Kragh which uses the Waldhausen derivative on the space of tubes to give new constraints on the normal invariant (in the sense of surgery theory) of nearby Lagrangians. Then I will explain work in progress joint with K. Igusa on the higher Whitehead torsion of nearby Lagrangians.