El Segundo, CA and Edinburgh, UK – 15 October 2025 – Launchpad Build AI, the AI-first robotics company powering real-world assembly automation, today announced that it had successfully concluded a Series A funding round raising a total of USD $11 million.

The funds will be used to accelerate the development of Launchpad Build AI’s innovative technology whilst meeting demand from existing and new customers in the US, UK and Europe.  The round was co-led by Lavrock Ventures and Squadra Ventures, with participation from strategic and financial investors including Ericsson Ventures, Lockheed Martin Ventures, Cox Exponential and the Scottish National Investment Bank.  This is in addition to the USD 2.5 million in grant funding awarded to Launchpad Build AI by Scottish Enterprise.

Launchpad Build AI’s technology is reimagining the manufacturing industry with AI and advanced robotics to power firms’ critical automation strategies.  This is a sector experiencing significant challenges in attracting and retaining talent.  According to Deloitte, the US manufacturing industry could have up to 1.9 million unfilled positions by 2033.

While robotics have the potential to address this workforce challenge, the expense of traditional systems remains a barrier to adoption, particularly for small- to medium-sized firms.  Recent figures from the International Federation of robotics show a 9% drop in robot installations in the US over 2024.  Launchpad Build AI, which has a new R&D center in Edinburgh, Scotland, has invested in advanced AI tools which the company estimates halve the time and cost of delivering automation solutions.

Jon Quick, CEO of Launchpad Build AI, said, “Launchpad Build AI has built a technology that is helping manufacturers manage the optimal integration of humans and robots. We see AI tools, such as those being pioneered by Launchpad Build AI, as reimagining the manufacturing industry and revitalizing local economies.”

Steve Smoot, Managing Partner at Lavrock Investors, said, “We are proud to invest our capital and time in support of Launchpad Build AI’s quest for a more innovative, automated, resilient future in advanced manufacturing.  The company has an impressive track record, proven management team, and clear vision of what it will take to make a lasting impact in this dynamic and extremely important industry.”

Guy Filippelli, Managing Partner at Squadra Ventures, said, “Since 2020, America has lost more than a quarter of its manufacturing jobs. The message is clear: cost matters. With Launchpad Build AI, we’re rewriting that story – using AI to build a new era of globally competitive domestic manufacturing that can win and lead the future.”

Adrian Gillespie, Chief Executive Officer of Scottish Enterprise, said, “With its R&D center in Edinburgh, Launchpad Build AI is able to draw on Scotland’s long-standing academic, technical and entrepreneurial strengths.  The company has quickly become an influential part of the Scottish innovation community, and we look forward to supporting its next growth phase.”

Anthony Kelly, Investment Director at the Scottish National Investment Bank, said, “Launchpad Build AI is fast becoming a leader in robotics, with its new R&D centre reinforcing Scotland’s reputation for innovation. We’re backing a high-calibre team whose cost-efficient solution shows strong potential to scale across multiple industries.”

About Launchpad Build AI

Launchpad Build AI, founded in 2020, was created to reimagine manufacturing and revitalize local economies.  The company addresses labor shortages and improves competitiveness by combining proprietary AI-first technology with advanced robotics to help firms manage the optimal integration of humans and robots.  It estimates its systems halve the time and cost of delivering automation solutions.  With offices in Los Angeles, CA, and Edinburgh, UK, Launchpad Build AI’s technology is already deployed in factories across the US and Europe

For more information, please contact:
Dan Bradley, Communications Director, Launchpad Build AI
dbradley@launchpad.build  +44 (0)7816 829166

Reshoring, on the other hand, refers to the practice of bringing manufacturing operations back to the country where a company is based, rather than outsourcing production to a foreign location. Reshoring can help companies reduce lead times, improve quality control, and increase agility in responding to market changes. It can also help support local communities and stimulate economic growth.

Both automated manufacturing and reshoring can help companies speed up innovation. Automated manufacturing can allow companies to prototype and test new products faster, as well as scale up production more efficiently when a product is ready to be launched. Reshoring can also enable companies to collaborate more closely with their supply chain partners and better control the entire product development process.

Startups can also benefit from adopting automated manufacturing and reshoring as part of their business strategies. These strategies can help startups bring new products to market faster, which is critical in the fast-paced and competitive world of startups. Automated manufacturing can also help startups scale up production more efficiently as they grow, while reshoring can help them build strong partnerships with suppliers and other partners in their local community.

Automated manufacturing and reshoring can be especially useful when it comes to testing and iterating on new product ideas. Automated manufacturing can allow startups to quickly prototype and test new products, gathering valuable feedback from customers and making necessary improvements along the way. Reshoring can also help startups build strong relationships with their supply chain partners, enabling them to work together more closely on new product development.

In addition to the benefits already mentioned, automated manufacturing can help companies reduce their environmental footprint by reducing energy and material usage. Reshoring can help companies reduce their dependence on foreign suppliers and protect their intellectual property.

Automated manufacturing and reshoring can be powerful tools for companies and startups looking to stay ahead of the curve in today’s rapidly changing business environment. By leveraging these strategies, companies and startups can speed up innovation, reduce costs, and improve the efficiency and agility of their operations, positioning them for long-term success.

Innovative, flexible, and often more efficient even at a smaller scale, these technologies have allowed a host of new manufacturing firms and some existing players to start operations in the United States, despite the traditionally high cost of production for products made in America.

The New Manufacturing Technologies

Here are some of the new manufacturing technologies enabling advanced production in the U.S:

1. 3D Printing/Additive Manufacturing (AM)

3D manufacturing is the process of generating parts by consecutive melting (or depositioning of layers) of material instead of removing the material like it is with conventional machining. AM allows total freedom in product design and levels of optimization which couldn’t be achieved with traditional manufacturing processes. With advancements in materials engineering, process developments and AI, these technologies will take over more applications in the industrial & manufacturing markets.

Other benefits include rapid printing, which turns product designs into reality for a fraction of the cost of past manufacturing technologies. It has swiftly grown in popularity due to its many applications and benefits, including rapid prototyping, waste reduction, design alternative exploration, repairs, and more flexible innovation. We have already seen commercial applications in the aviation industry, where companies were able to combine multiple parts made with traditional manufacturing methods, into a single, lightweight part made of metal AM, saving millions of dollars per plane.

2. Cloud Computing

Cloud computing is about having processing power and storing data so that it can be accessible to any person anywhere, anytime. This gives you and your team fast, cost-effective, and safe options for locating and controlling your company’s information. Additionally, cloud computing gives you alternatives for outsourcing several data storage and data processes as well as software management functions, eventually saving your company both money and time.

Companies are using cloud computing to run parallel computational processes and to achieve faster and more accurate results.

3. Flexible Automation/Robotics

Flexible automation allows a company to utilize the advantages of traditional automation (reduction of tedious & repeatable labor, gain accuracy, quality and improve overall productivity) but in a changing environment. Traditional automation requires fixed environments and long set up times. The advancements in AI, sensors fusion and prediction capabilities enables utilization of hardware, machines & robots in fast changing manufacturing environments.  

The ultimate goal of your company is to maximize efficiency, thus maximizing profits. In order to attain that, automation has to be adopted to all or into some of the manufacturing processes. Automation through AI or robotics is made possible by the communication and interconnectivity that happens across your company once it’s optimized with Industry 4.0 technologies.

4.  Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning

AI and its subset machine learning refer to machines that use algorithms to process information and arrive at conclusions not automated by human developers. They describe what happened, the reason it happened, predict what is going to happen in the future, prescribe what can and ought to be done to avoid the bad things as well as improve the good things. AI seeks to make everyone and everything more intelligent as well as provide your manufacturing team with more in-depth insight to help heighten operational efficiency and manufacturing processes.

5. Data & Analytics

Since each function of the manufacturing process generates data and is monitored, there are tons of data to sift through. Notwithstanding, big data analytics systems are able to utilize AI technologies and machine learning to quickly process information and give decision-makers the data they need to make enhancements across a complete manufacturing operation. AI analytics and self learning methods enable systems to automatically improve and optimize processes based upon pre-defined goals or award functions. In many cases, refining the huge amount of data, Identifying trends and finding the right correlations and getting the right conclusions can only be done with the big-data analysis tools. This data allows better integration with smart systems and tools and allows the lessons of digital transformation to be brought to the shop floor, vastly increasing productivity and efficiency.

How Are The New Manufacturing Technologies Enabling Advanced Production in The U.S?

The new manufacturing technologies allow companies to create more advanced products in the U.S. They are used to leveraging advanced demand forecasting, operational efficiency, engage in predictive maintenance, break down data silos, offer workers boosts to virtual training and safety, and much more.

Replacing many human tasks with advanced tools of process & manufacturing intelligent automation, will enable your employees to do what we humans do best – create, innovate & resolve issues. The USA can strengthen the lead with product innovations and get more competitive in manufacturing for both local and global markets.

These Industry 4.0 technologies do more than trade information: they eradicate much of human involvement that goes with managing them.  Investing in these cutting-edge technologies has made it possible to add the “Made in America” tagline to products that would have previously been cost-prohibitive.

Alongside enhancing productivity, here are some other benefits you stand to reap from the new manufacturing technologies:

• Increased competitiveness

• Seamless introductions of new products from a digital design to digital manufacturing.

• Seamless traceability and record-keeping

• Increased profitability and revenue

• Manufacturing process optimization

The new digital technologies have opened up opportunities for your company to take steps towards sustainability, flexibility, and productivity. Industry 4.0 is also facilitating new methods for machines and humans to work together, empowering your business to attain greater insights, make better decisions, and minimize the risk of error. By comprehending and harnessing these technologies, you will be able to stay on the front-line of the new digital era.

Why wait? Contact us today at Launchpad Build AI and learn more about how innovative manufacturing techniques and technologies can help you reach your goals.

The Last 50 Years of Manufacturing

We rely on products made in factories for almost every aspect of our daily lives. With a growing global population, and rising quality of life for most people on the planet, the total amount of value generated by manufacturing has exploded in the past 50 years, from a base of $2.8 trillion in 1970 to almost $15 trillion today. The growth is only accelerating, with an increase of 2.5x since the turn of the millennium.

As the total volume of products we make and use has grown, so has the way we make them. The United States of America was once the world’s largest manufacturer, with many of the innovations we rely on for high quality products developed here. The first moving assembly line began operation on October 7, 1913 at the Highland Park Ford Plant, and allowed the Model T to be produced in just 93 minutes – faster than the paint of the day could dry.

The Movement of Manufacturing to China

While manufacturing in America has continued to grow, it is the growth of manufacturing in China that has led the world since the turn of the millennium. From a start of less than half the US’s output in 2000, China’s manufacturing growth allowed it to overtake the US in 2010, and today stands at more than 70% higher.

Seen another way, from an equal footing in 2010, the total manufacturing output of China compared to the US looks like this:

So why has this happened? There are many individual reasons, supported by various governmental policies. But the underlying trend was simply the movement of manufacturing to China from high income countries starting around the year 2000, with a resulting increase in the percentage of China’s population employed in making products for the rest of the world.

The Role of Automation in Manufacturing

Automation has been the counter-balancing technology trend to the movement of manufacturing to lower cost labor. Both the capabilities of machines and robots, and the amount of capital deployed into them, have increased over the past decade. The total number of industrial robots in service has more than doubled in the past decade.

While the total investment into automation has increased, it is far from evenly distributed across countries. Both the total number of robots, and the capabilities of these machines, varies widely.

The capabilities of automation installed today are also not evenly distributed. For example, the total number of typically more advanced cobots – collaborative robots, designed to perform tasks alongside humans – is still a fraction of the total number of traditional industrial robots.

Looking at the details of applying automation to manufacturing from a finalised product design sheds some light here. Far from being a streamlined and simple process, it typically involves multiple parties, contractors, technologies and methodologies.

A typical automation project involves multiple iterations of each of these steps, especially if starting from a design that is not completely mature. The final step – line setup – requires specialised programmer knowledge, with weeks or months spent at the (overseas) production line itself.  The programming required is very deterministic, with the goal of performing the same physical actions repeatedly and with high accuracy. Even with the advancement of software tools to do this, it remains a laborious task and prone to error.

Successful projects can take four months to implement, and more typically take six months to a year. Unsurprisingly therefore, automation projects tend to be reserved for high volume production, where the time and costs involved can be amortized over a very large number of units.

The Future of Automation

The advances in automation hardware has not yet been matched by software. Since a line typically takes months to set up, a small change in product design or operating parameters of the equipment requires time consuming debugging and reprogramming.

New innovations in artificial intelligence have allowed dramatic improvements in areas such as self driving cars, digital assistants, and online shopping. For example, Google’s word accuracy for speech recognition recently crossed the threshold for human accuracy with advancements in machine learning.

Similar improvements are now achievable in the physical world. For example, OpenAI recently demonstrated a robot hand solving a Rubik’s cube, a problem that was simply not feasible to solve without AI.

Key to these increasing capabilities are advancements in simulation environments, reinforcement learning, and domain randomization. The final point is a particularly exciting development, and means that vast training data sets can be generated by altering the input parameters into simulated environments. We will explore this in future posts.

The next few years will see these technologies applied to  manufacturing, bringing benefits to product designers and consumers alike. Instead of a long and disconnected supply chain, designers will be able to get instant feedback, transparent pricing, and faster turnaround times than are possible today. Most significantly, more and more products will be able to be manufactured locally, bringing economic, societal and environmental benefits.

Launchpad Build AI is developing the software, hardware and AI tools to dramatically speed up the manufacturing of low and medium volume products, made here in America. We’re still early in our development, and will be launching a private beta early next year. Please get in touch with us at hello@launchpad.build if we can help you, or sign up to our newsletter to stay up-to-date with our developments.

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One of the primary advantages of automation in manufacturing assembly tasks is its ability to enhance productivity and efficiency. Automated systems can perform repetitive and mundane tasks faster than manual labor without compromising quality. By leveraging robotics and advanced machinery, manufacturers can meet increasing production demands while maintaining consistency and precision in the manufacturing process.

Automation can significantly reduce production costs for North American manufacturers. Today, suppliers offer automation through purchase and leasing models. In the case of leasing, automation can provide immediate cost advantages over local labor rates. In the case of purchasing, initial implementation costs can be substantial, but the long-term return often outweigh the investment. Automated systems operate with minimal errors, reducing material waste and the need for rework. Moreover, automation can optimize energy consumption, further reducing operational expenses and fostering a lean manufacturing approach.

Manual labor varies due to fatigue, skill levels, and human errors, leading to inconsistent product quality. In contrast, automation provides high levels of accuracy and consistency. This ensures that each product adheres to the same quality standards, fostering a reputation for reliability and durability that can boost consumer confidence and loyalty.

The manufacturing industry in North America has been grappling with a shortage of skilled workers for years. With automation, manufacturers can mitigate the impact of the skills gap by utilizing trained technicians to oversee automated processes. Focusing on upskilling and reskilling the existing workforce to manage and maintain automation, manufacturers create a more versatile and efficient workforce.

Manufacturing assembly tasks often involve hazardous operations and repetitive movements, putting workers at risk of injury. Automation can address this issue by taking over dangerous and strenuous tasks, thereby ensuring a safer work environment for employees. Fewer workplace accidents can protect workers and reduce downtime, cutting potential losses for manufacturers.

Automation does not only apply to the manufacturing process but also extends to supply chain and logistics. Automated inventory management, order processing, and shipping systems can enhance efficiency and reduce lead times. By optimizing the entire supply chain through automation, North American manufacturers can compete more effectively in the global market.

Automation generates a vast amount of data that help identify areas for improvement in the manufacturing process and lead to greater cost efficiencies. Manufacturers can use data analytics to gain insights into production bottlenecks, quality issues, and predictive maintenance needs. These data-driven insights empower companies to make informed decisions and continuously optimize their operations, leading to increased competitiveness and profitability.

The revival of North American manufacturing heavily relies on embracing automation solutions for assembly tasks. Harnessing the power of robotics, artificial intelligence, and data analytics, manufacturers can streamline operations, reduce costs and ensure high-quality output. Moreover, automation allows manufacturers to address workforce challenges, enhance workplace safety, and contribute to sustainability efforts. Embracing automation is not just an option but a necessity for restoring the vibrancy and competitiveness of North American manufacturing in the global market. At Launchpad Build AI, we use robotics and artificial intelligence to deliver automation solutions that allow manufacturers to adapt to the changing landscape and reshore manufacturing. Make sure to check out our Digitool solution here and reach out for any additional information.

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Employing a team of 24, the new R&D hub will drive the development of Launchpad Build AI’s proprietary advanced robotics technology, Digitool, which aims to transform global manufacturing by reducing production costs and time to market, whilst simplifying automation solutions to boost productivity.

Launchpad Build AI’s leadership chose Scotland ahead of five international alternatives following engagement with Scottish Enterprise’s Silicon Valley based team (part of its international arm Scottish Development International). The company has also been awarded a £2m Scottish Enterprise R&D grant towards the project.

Launchpad Build AI CFO, Jon Quick, said: “We see Scotland as our gateway to the UK, Europe and Middle East/Northern Africa. We’ve been hugely impressed by the quality of local talent, so much so that we’re exploring multiple ways to increase the scope and size of our Scottish operations and accelerating plans to bring the Digitool overseas.

“There are 500 million manufacturing and assembly jobs globally, but only 1.7 million robots doing them, which presents a huge opportunity. Historically the upfront costs associated with automation have been prohibitive for many, but we can deliver in half the time and at half the cost through the use of AI and machine learning.

“Instead of automation being a multi-million-dollar career defining decision it can now be a case of identifying the biggest problem in your factory – the job nobody wants to do – and automating it in a way that that seamlessly fits with your existing processes, creating savings from day one. As we look to the future more and more companies will need a blend of local labour and automation to remain competitive. That is the ‘secret sauce’ which will allow Scotland and others to reshore jobs from overseas.”

Adrian Gillespie, Chief Executive of Scottish Enterprise, said: “We are delighted to welcome Launchpad Build AI to Scotland. The fact that such an innovative company chose Edinburgh for its global R&D hub is a ringing endorsement of Scotland’s robotics and AI talent, our supportive business environment and world-class universities. We look forward to working with the Launchpad Build AI team to support their continued growth here.”

Scottish Government Business Minister, Richard Lochhead, said: “New technology is key to unlocking huge economic potential and we are committed to supporting innovative companies in expanding sectors.

“Launchpad Build AI’s decision to open its new global R&D hub in Edinburgh shows Scotland’s attractiveness to global businesses, proving the nation has the skills and expertise to serve as a hub for innovation.

“This further enhances our ambition to be at the forefront of robotics development and testing. We’ve been working in partnership with the National Robotarium to develop a robotics cluster in this field, utilising Scotland’s globally renowned research institutions to accelerate growth and technological advancement.”