Industrial AI Summit: The Future of Manufacturing
Industrial AI Summit: The Future of Manufacturing
From factory floor automation to supply chain intelligence.
Join SFPlayground at The Cove in San Francisco for an evening exploring how AI is transforming manufacturing—from robotics and production lines to procurement, quality control, logistics, and hardware development.
Connect with founders, investors, engineers, and operators building across industrial AI, robotics, computer vision, digital twins, and advanced manufacturing. Through a panel discussion, startup demos, and curated networking, we’ll explore how AI is moving into the physical systems that design, build, inspect, and deliver real products.
Enjoy the venue’s secret speakeasy and game room, with dinner catered by Word of Mouth Catering SF, featuring a chef with experience in three-Michelin-star kitchens.
Dinner and drinks included.
Featured Speakers
🎙️ Moderator | Varad Mohod
Investor, Zacua Ventures | Robotics, Industrial AI & Manufacturing
Varad invests in startups transforming the physical world, from manufacturing and robotics to construction and energy. An engineer by training, he began building software for a robotics venture before moving into startup product, strategy, and venture investing, including at Plug and Play.
🎤 Speaker | Matt Puchalski
Co-Founder & CEO, Bucket Robotics (YC S24) | Previously Argo AI, Latitude AI & Stack AV
Matt helped deploy autonomous vehicles on public roads across the U.S. and Germany. Now he’s bringing that experience to the factory floor. At Bucket Robotics, he’s building AI vision systems that turn CAD files and synthetic data into automated defect detection—helping manufacturers inspect parts without massive manually labeled datasets. He brings firsthand insight into making physical AI reliable enough for real production environments.
🎤 Speaker | Shan Mohta
Co-Founder & CEO, Vendra (YC S24) | Previously Skydio, Apple & Microsoft
Shan has built hardware at Skydio, Apple, and Microsoft—and knows the challenges of turning a design into manufactured parts. Now he’s building Vendra, an AI-powered manufacturing platform connecting hardware teams with American suppliers and coordinating sourcing through delivery. With customers including Anduril, Relativity Space, and Planet Labs, he brings a practical perspective on accelerating production, improving supplier matching, and strengthening American manufacturing.
🎤 Speaker | David George
Founder, Research to Revenue Consulting | Former Executive at Etched, TetraMem & HP Labs
David has worked where AI ambition meets the realities of building hardware—from advanced computing research at HP Labs to AI hardware at Etched and TetraMem. His experience spans manufacturing operations, quality, reliability, and supply chains: the disciplines that determine whether breakthrough technology reaches production. He brings an operator’s perspective on accelerating production, overcoming manufacturing bottlenecks, and turning technical breakthroughs into products customers can depend on.
🎤 Speaker | Sohrab Haghighat
Co-Founder & CEO, Hestus (YC S24) | Former Cruise Planning & Controls Leader | Aerospace PhD
From autonomous cars to rockets, Sohrab has tackled the engineering challenges behind some of the hardest products to build. An early employee at Cruise, he led its Planning and Controls teams before founding space transportation company SpaceRyde. Now, at Hestus, he’s developing AI-powered CAD software to automate repetitive engineering work and accelerate hardware development. A two-time YC founder, he brings firsthand insight into how AI can shorten the path from engineering concept to manufacturable product.
Topics on the Table
Factory-Floor AI
How AI is improving production visibility, quality control, inspection, downtime reduction, predictive maintenance, and real-time factory operations.
Robotics & Physical AI
Where robotics, computer vision, and autonomous systems are moving from demos into real manufacturing and warehouse workflows.
Supply Chain & Procurement Automation
How AI is changing sourcing, RFQs, supplier communication, purchase orders, inventory planning, logistics, and supplier coordination.
From Prototype to Production
How AI is helping hardware founders and manufacturers move faster through design, quoting, DFM, vendor selection, cost estimation, and production readiness.
Startup Demos
Selected startup demos will be announced soon.
Startups building in industrial AI, robotics, computer vision, factory automation, supply chain software, procurement AI, digital twins, hardware, advanced manufacturing, or manufacturing infrastructure are invited to apply.
What to Expect
Panel discussion with leaders across industrial AI, robotics, manufacturing, supply chain, venture, and hardware development
Startup demo tables from emerging companies building for the future of manufacturing
Dinner, drinks, and curated networking with founders, investors, engineers, operators, and ecosystem builders
Schedule
6:00 PM — Doors + Check In
6:30 PM — Panel Discussion + Talks
7:30 PM — Dinner, Networking + Demo Tables
9:00 PM — Event Concludes
Registration & Attendance
This event is open to founders, investors, engineers, operators, researchers, and builders working across industrial AI, robotics, manufacturing, automation, supply chain, hardware, and deep technology.
Designed for people building, funding, or supporting the next generation of manufacturing technology, from factory-floor AI and robotics to supply chain intelligence and production-ready hardware.
Supported by
Need Office/R&D Space? Looking for a space to build your startup? Reach out to wyatt.thompson@cushwake.com or bailee.esposito@cushwake.com.