Ariyan Kabir’s GrayMatter makes ‘digital workers’ for factory floors
The four-year-old company recently raised $45 million in funding. In conversation with TBS, GrayMatter’s Bangladeshi founder Ariyan Kabir explains how its robots help manufacturers bridge the gap between capacity and demand
In the last couple of years, you must have come across news in mainstream or social media that this or that Bangladeshi robotics team has won an international competition. But when these young minds look up, they generally fail to find a guide in the realm of robotics.
There's good news though, because Ariyan Kabir could potentially fill that void. He founded GrayMatter Robotics, a company which recently raised $45 million in Series B funding to accelerate its unique AI-powered robotics solutions for the manufacturing industry's unique challenges.
GrayMatter Robotics develops AI software for robots. They provide manufacturers involved in high mix and high variability production with "digital workers" who can handle such tedious tasks.
"We create physics-informed AI technologies [something GrayMatter created from scratch] and integrate them with industrial robots, sensors and tools to provide manufacturers with a vertically integrated, turnkey solution," Ariyan Kabir, co-founder and CEO of California-based GrayMatter Robotics, told The Business Standard.
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Imagine a bakery that makes many different types of bread, cakes and pastries (high mix). Sometimes they need to make more birthday cakes, at other times more baguettes and sometimes they need to make something new entirely, depending on the customers' orders (high variability).
Instead of bread, Ariyan's robots work with machinery – performing tasks like sanding, polishing, buffing, coating and grinding.
We have clients [manufacturing companies] with two to four-year backlogs and customers who have three to seven times more demand than their capacity," said Ariyan. So, GrayMatter provides these manufacturers with essentially "digital workers" – robots who work side by side with human operators on the shop floor.
The world of contract manufacturing is different from typical automotive manufacturing plants, where a lot of time is spent producing the same product in the same way, every single day. In contract manufacturing, every day is different. You don't know what orders will arrive on a particular day, and it's your job to figure out how to run production most efficiently.
Such manufacturers in the United States, and elsewhere the world, face a tremendous shortage of skilled labour for such applications and jobs.
Baby boomers are retiring, and Gen X will start retiring soon. When the younger generation tries these jobs – that don't necessarily require intelligence and are ergonomically challenging or risky for human bodies – for a couple of weeks or months, they usually quit because they want a better quality of life and prefer to do something different.
"They experience a 60% to 75% labour churn, in many cases," said Ariyan.
Therefore, the $2.5 trillion US manufacturing industry is grappling with a growing backlog of unfilled orders due to a severe labour shortage. "We have clients [manufacturing companies] with two to four-year backlogs and customers who have three to seven times more demand than their capacity," added Ariyan.
GrayMatter's robots help the manufacturers by bridging this gap between their capacity and demand, while also producing the best quality. The "smart" assistants work side by side with human operators on the shop floor.
With the new capital, GrayMatter – founded in 2020 by Ariyan Kabir, SK Gupta and Brual Shah – is actively hiring for a wide range of roles to meet customer demands, expanding its Los Angeles headquarters. It is working to accelerate the development and deployment of its next-generation AI-powered robotic solutions.
From. BUET to GrayMatter
When Ariyan completed his undergraduate in EEE from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) in 2013, he knew he would work with robots. Instead of a master's degree, he enrolled in a PhD programme at the University of Maryland where he studied Robotics and Al. He then transferred to the University of Southern California (USC) and completed his PhD there.
Ariyan completed his PhD in 2019.
"During my time at USC, I had the opportunity to collaborate with my co-founders, Brual and SK – both come from strong manufacturing backgrounds. Our research at the intersection of robotics and artificial intelligence exposed us to various applications and projects in the lab," he recounted.
USC's industry partnership allowed them to engage directly with over 1,400 manufacturers, ranging from aerospace giants to small and medium-sized enterprises. These experiences enabled them to understand manufacturers' pain points and challenges, inspiring them to develop autonomous robotic solutions tailored to their needs.
While the electronics and automotive industries have relied on pre-programmed robots for decades, it only suits about 10% of manufacturing processes — those involving consistent, repetitive tasks with identical parts.
However, the remaining 90% of manufacturing involves high variability and complexity - from household items to aerospace and energy sectors. In such environments, relying on pre-programmed robots is insufficient.
"We recognised the need for autonomous solutions capable of adapting to these high-mix, high-variability manufacturing environments. By enhancing manufacturing processes with smart robotics, we aim not only to improve the quality of life, but also to strengthen the economic backbone of nations," Ariyan told TBS.
The dawn of the 'digital worker'
Ariyan loves to use the phrase "digital worker" for the robots.
He explained that the way traditional automation works is that you have to work with a system integrator, which requires a significant upfront investment. Essentially, you're spending about 90% of your capex budget before the solution even arrives at your shop and starts producing value.
So they wanted to take a different approach and opted for a service-oriented business model. This means they offer robotic solutions to manufacturers like a service. Customers sign up for multi-year contracts, hiring a robot or a digital worker, similar to hiring a person. They pay GrayMatter a flat monthly or annual fee, with no upfront cost involved, until the solution and the robots are fully operational and are producing value on the shop floor.
Ariyan believes that there are three reasons why these robots are getting attention from the industry.
The core technology — autonomous robots with its proprietary GMR-AI technology — can address high mix, high variability production for any new part presented to the robot.
Additionally, the business model benefits all customers, whether they are small or medium-sized manufacturers, and it can even streamline processes for large Fortune 500 companies. There are many horror stories about adopting automation, spending tens of millions of dollars, and then not working out.
Finally what sets them apart is their service model which is the next level.
Typically, if you encounter a problem with your robots or automation solution, you might wait days or weeks for a fix.
"However, all our robots are connected to the internet and our cloud," said Ariyan. They can recover on their own to an extent, monitor and predict issues, and take preventive measures. Sometimes, these robots send messages to the remote support engineers before something goes wrong, allowing them to jump in and fix the problem.
"In the worst-case scenario, if something happens, our remote support engineers can guide a shop floor operator with no robotics or automation knowledge to get the robot up and running in minutes," he added.
It's simple to use
"Our technology works similarly to a microwave oven: press a couple of buttons, and it's ready to go," Ariyan said.
Initially, their product was designed for engineers, but they quickly realised that shop floor operators were struggling. So, they simplified it. Now, anyone who can use an iPhone can operate their robots.
One way is "You simply place the part [of the machine or the product] in front of the robot, press a couple of buttons on the screen, and walk away to focus on higher-value tasks," explained Ariyan.
The robot first scans the part using built-in sensing technology to understand its 3D geometry, creating a 3D point cloud. AI then analyses this data to identify the part, the target surface areas, the fixtures, the table and environmental objects to avoid.
The AI autonomously programs the robot on the fly, ensuring it moves the tool correctly to produce the desired quality without making unwanted contact.
"We've experienced rapid growth. By the end of 2022, we were a company of 25 people; by the end of 2023, we expanded to 60. It's been a year of tremendous growth for GrayMatter, both in team size and impact on our customers and manufacturers," he said.
In robotics, artificial intelligence and automation require a diverse range of skills. "We seek individuals with backgrounds in computer science, electrical and mechanical engineering, and artificial intelligence. Many require expertise, including PhDs, while others need hands-on experience in mechatronics and robotics," Ariyan explained.
GrayMatter and the future
"Our vision for the future revolves around providing comprehensive end-to-end solutions for manufacturers," said Ariyan. Currently, they assist clients with tailored solutions for specific applications, but their goal is to expand horizontally, offering solutions for every stage of their operations.
Ariiyan envisions a future where autonomous mobile robots could help run an entire factory with minimal supervision, allowing for high-level oversight and troubleshooting when needed.
Sites like Amazon have influenced this mindset with their rapid delivery expectations.
"Looking forward, as technologies mature, we can achieve personalised products like t-shirts or cars quickly and locally. Micro-factories will enable mass customisation and personalisation, delivering products to consumers swiftly. It's an exciting time for manufacturing," he added.
For Bangladeshi readers, especially the younger crowd, Ariyan said, "I would like to encourage entrepreneurship, as well as 'first principles thinking' and curiosity in problem-solving.
It's a multidisciplinary field, so anyone with a background in physics, mathematics, engineering, computer science, AI and other related areas can enter and thrive in this growing field if they are interested."
