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Companies in North America bought 31,159 robots in 2023. That’s a 30% decrease from 2022. And that’s not sitting well with robotics industry veteran Juan Aparicio.

“We don’t sell and deploy enough robots in this country. There is no human contingency to the need to reshore manufacturing in the short term, and the stakes are high,” said Aparicio. Indeed, the stakes are high. There are currently 800,000 job openings in manufacturing. By 2030 the number is expected to reach 2 million, costing the U.S. economy $1 trillion, according to the National Association of Manufacturers.

After working at Siemens for a decade and stops at Ready Robotics and Rapid Robotics, Aparicio hopes his new startup Reshape Automation can chip away at this problem. Reshape is launching its platform in a preview-release, focusing on a selected group of manufacturers at first, and will fully launch in a few months. Companies will be able to request access to the platform starting today, and attendees to Modex next week will be able to experience it at the Reshape’s booth (in the Startup Pavilion)

In the preview release, users will benefit from various capabilities, including:

• Automation Discovery: curated catalog of leading automation brands, products, and turnkey solutions; powered by a 24/7 AI companion that is trained with the world’s knowledge in manufacturing and automation.
• Vendor matching: Reshape’s platform matches manufacturers with the most suitable system integrators for their specific needs. Also, a project management tool enables real-time communication and information sharing.
• Flexible Deployment Options: Manufacturers can purchase pre-configured solutions directly through the platform or request custom modifications to suit their specific needs, ensuring a smooth deployment process. Support plans are also available as a service.

Reshape Automation wants to make it easier for the U.S. manufacturing and logistics industries to adopt automation. At the core of the platform is an AI-powered marketplace. Reshape’s marketplace will launch with autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), robot arms, and various components and solutions from brands like Fanuc, Yaskawa, Robotize, Peer Robotics, Item, Nova Automation, Genba, OnRobot, Doosan, Fairino, and more.

Customers can design and purchase pre-configured workcells and reference designs for applications such as palletizing, welding, inspection, machine tending, sorting, packing, and more. “Custom modifications can also be requested,” Aparicio said.

But the platform doesn’t stop there. It features various project management tools in an attempt to make the deployment of automation more efficient and enjoyable. Reshape’s platform matches manufacturers with the most suitable system integrators for their specific needs. Aparicio said Reshape has also created AI agents that are available to address questions and provide guidance.

And, perhaps best of all, Reshape Automation is upfront about the costs of the system and integration, as well as when customers can expect their robots to be shipped and installed. Aparicio said this addresses the industry’s need for efficient vendor-customer communication and the elimination of trial-and-error methods in selecting the right system integrator.

“Automation can be daunting for a lot of folks. This market is highly fragmented. It easily leads to analysis paralysis,” he said. “There are like 150 AMR brands. How do you even pick one? We are trying to index this industry.”

Reshape Automation raised $1.7 million in pre-Seed funding. The round was led by Schematic Ventures and included Bee Partners. There was also a contribution from Oliver Cameron, who started the autonomous vehicle company Voyage in 2017 and sold it to Cruise in early 2021. Other robotics companies funded in part by Schematic Ventures include Plus One Robotics, Outrider, Root AI, which was acquired by AppHarvest for $60 million in 2021, and SVT Robotics.

“We were excited to lead Reshape Automation’s pre-seed round last year and support their mission to solve automation challenges faced by small and medium-sized manufacturers,” said Julian Counihan, general partner at Schematic Ventures. “The company’s end-to-end platform streamlines the automation process, from discovery to deployment, leveraging AI for solution design, project management and procurement. Reshape will make the U.S. manufacturing landscape more efficient, cost-effective, and competitive on a global scale.”

Aparicio will be speaking at the Robotics Summit & Expo (May 1-2 in Boston), which is produced by The Robot Report. Aparicio will be on a panel about how generative AI is impacting robotics development. He’ll be joined by Sandra Skaff, senior alliances and ecosystem manager at NVIDIA, and Russ Tedrake, VP of robotics research at the Toyota Research Institute.

“I believe Reshape is in an exciting position to own a brand new category of automation: manufacturers need an automation partner from concept design, to deployment, to ongoing dedicated Support – one who is productizing their automation offerings in both design and deploy categories,” said Kira Noodleman, partner at Bee Partners.

Aparicio said customers can use their smartphones to visualize a robot or workcell in augmented reality directly at their facility. Or if they prefer, see the robots and buy them from the moon using AR/VR goggles, as Reshape will demo in Modex. And, eventually, the AI agents in the platform will be able to automatically design workcells for customers. At first, all they’d have to do is enter the dimensions of boxes they want moved, for example. The platform will then use those specs to configure the workcell, change dimensions and pick a robot that’ll get the job done. In the future, Aparicio said, the agents will be able to automatically design the first sketch of workcell with just plain english inputs, or even by uploading a photo or video of your manual operations.

Aparicio co-founded Reshape Automation with Carlos Vanegas. The two met while living in a SF suburb, the only two robot enthusiasts in town, and while working together at Rapid Robotics. Prior to Rapid Robotics, Vanegas was senior director of software engineering at Bright Machines for three-plus years. And this isn’t Vanegas’ first startup. He co-founded a software company, Synthicity, in 2012 that he sold to Autodesk in 2015.

“Manufacturers in the U.S. are fighting an uphill battle with labor shortages. We owe it to them to put the latest advances in AI to their service so that they can finally adopt automation as a low-risk and trustworthy ally to win that battle,” said Carlos Vanegas, co-founder and CTO of Reshape Automation. “In this first release of our platform, our AI agents act as a navigational aid throughout the manufacturer’s automation journey, starting from the initial discovery and design phases. Looking ahead, we’ll expand the use of AI to offer manufacturers better support and maintenance of their automation investment.”

Reshape said its goal is “to become the tide that raises all boats. By making it easier to discover, design and purchase automation and labor, manufacturers in the U.S. will be more competitive, and the ecosystem of automation vendors and integrators will thrive.”

“The U.S. barely makes the top 10 in terms of robot density,” said Aparicio. “If we are successful, there won’t be 30,000 robots deployed a year, but millions, creating a more resilient and dynamic American manufacturing industry.”