For decades, the San Francisco Bay Area has been synonymous with software. But a quieter transformation is underway, one that blends bits with atoms. A new generation of founders is redefining industrial tech, applying advances in artificial intelligence, robotics, and materials science to sectors long considered slow-moving: construction, manufacturing, logistics, and heavy industry.
What makes this moment different is convergence. AI is no longer confined to digital workflows; it’s being embedded into machines, supply chains, and physical infrastructure. Venture capital is flowing back into “hard tech,” while labor shortages, reshoring trends, and geopolitical pressures are accelerating demand for automation. The result is a new class of founders building not apps, but systems that reshape how the physical world operates.
Noah Ready-Campbell
Co-founder & CEO, Built Robotics
Noah Ready-Campbell has become one of the defining figures in construction automation. After early experience at Stripe and Uber, he co-founded Built Robotics to bring autonomy to heavy equipment, starting with excavators.
Under his leadership, the company has deployed autonomous trenching systems across energy and infrastructure projects, helping address labor shortages while accelerating project timelines. As infrastructure spending rises globally, Built Robotics sits at the intersection of necessity and innovation.
Daniel Stepanenko
Founder, AURON Solutions
Daniel Stepanenko is focused on autonomous defense systems. His company, AURON Solutions, builds counter-drone technologies that protect industrial and critical infrastructure assets.
Andrew Liang
Co-founder, Built Robotics
Andrew Liang helped architect the core autonomy systems behind Built Robotics’ Exosystem platform. His background in engineering and robotics has been instrumental in translating research-grade autonomy into rugged, real-world applications.
Liang’s work reflects a broader trend: industrial tech founders are not just building software; they’re retrofitting legacy machinery into intelligent systems, unlocking massive installed bases rather than replacing them outright.
Stefan Seltz-Axmacher
Co-founder & CEO, Starsky Robotics
Stefan Seltz-Axmacher led one of the earliest attempts at autonomous trucking. While Starsky Robotics ultimately shut down, its hybrid autonomy approach influenced the broader logistics automation space and informed subsequent startups.
Kartik Tiwari
Co-founder, Starsky Robotics
Kartik Tiwari worked on autonomy systems that combined human oversight with machine execution. This model remains relevant today, particularly in industrial settings where full autonomy is still evolving.
D. Scott Phoenix
Co-founder & CEO, Vicarious
D. Scott Phoenix co-founded Vicarious with a vision of building machines that think more like humans. The company gained attention for applying brain-inspired AI to robotic picking and industrial tasks, eventually leading to its acquisition by Alphabet. Phoenix’s work underscores the long-term ambition of industrial AI: not just automation, but cognition.
Dileep George
Co-founder, Vicarious
Dileep George has been a key figure in developing biologically inspired AI systems. His contributions at Vicarious helped push the boundaries of what machines can perceive and manipulate, capabilities that are increasingly critical in modern manufacturing and logistics environments.
Tyler Prochnow
Founder, Wootz
Tyler Prochnow leads Wootz, which focuses on next-generation protective materials. While less visible than robotics startups, materials innovation is foundational to industrial progress, impacting everything from aerospace to energy infrastructure.
The New Industrial Stack
What ties these founders together is not just geography, but philosophy. They are building the “industrial stack” of the future, where AI models, robotics hardware, and domain-specific software converge into integrated systems.
Unlike previous waves of automation, this generation is focused on adaptability. Machines are no longer programmed for single tasks; they are learning, improving, and generalizing. That shift could redefine productivity across entire sectors, from construction to semiconductors.
The Bay Area, long defined by software, is once again becoming a proving ground for transformative technology; this time in the physical world.
For more on adjacent innovation shaping the industrial landscape, explore our list of leaders in electronics manufacturing, driving the next wave of infrastructure modernization.
