Today Gather AI, which offers AI-powered autonomous inventory management solutions for warehouses using drones, welcomed Andrew Hoffman as its Chief Technology Officer (CTO).
Hoffman was a founding engineer at two supply chain robotics companies which were later acquired by Amazon - Kiva Systems (now Amazon Robotics) and CANVAS Technology. Gather AI explained that Hoffman's technology and leadership experience in scaling supply chain-focused robotics companies from founding to exit, with over 20 patents in robots, robot coordination, and collision avoidance, will strengthen its position in the market.
“At Amazon Robotics, I had the tremendous opportunity to see how great business acuity, solid technical execution, and unwavering customer obsession leads to significant advancements in our industry,” says Hoffman. “I'm excited to join the strong Gather AI leadership team as they have the same chemistry that made Amazon Robotics successful.”
Hoffman’s supply chain robotics career began at Amazon Robotics where he and his colleagues transformed the future of the industry by developing automated guided vehicles (AGVs) that could navigate warehouses using a series of floor-based computerized barcode stickers. He was a key technical leader throughout, Gather AI added, moving the company from concept to Amazon-scale size and reliability.
He went on to join another autonomous robotics company, CANVAS Technology, as one of the first employees and ran their mobility team. Hoffman leveraged data to improve the movement of autonomous robots through warehouses and led the team building the company’s vision-based traversability, motion planning, and control technologies. Hoffman most recently served as an Entrepreneur in Residence at tech-focused venture capital firm, Xplorer Capital, a Gather AI investor, where he has mentored several companies, including Gather AI.
“The Gather AI team has already proven their ability to deliver an industry-leading solution, and Andrew’s experience and technical depth in autonomous robotics is ideal to help them achieve the next level of success,” says Xplorer Capital Managing Partner and Gather AI Board Member, Jonathan McQueen.
“Amazon Robotics revolutionized the way warehouses work, and their strategies are even referenced as case studies in business and engineering schools today,” says Gather AI CEO and Co-Founder, Sankalp Arora. “Our advanced AI allows us to be the only company in the world that can deliver drone-powered inventory monitoring using off-the-shelf drones. We can scale like a pure software business and deliver the richest data insights to our customers. This year, Gather AI’s ARR has doubled, and Andrew, with a strong background in scaling robot networks in the supply chain, is uniquely suited to help us continue to accelerate our growth.”
Hoffman’s supply chain robotics experience complements the Gather AI leadership team which consists of the founders and deep AI experts, Arora, Daniel Maturana, Geetesh Dubey, and President and COO Charlie Reverte, who joined last year. Reverte brought SaaS experience across robotics, augmented reality, and large-scale data systems. Their collective knowledge positions Gather AI for market growth and affirms their place as the industry leader, with the most customers among competitors, the company added.
The Gather AI solution is currently deployed in warehouses across third-party logistics, retail distribution, manufacturing, food & beverage, and health & wellness at companies including Bosch USA, GEODIS, NFI Industries, Barrett Distribution, Army & Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES), KeHE, and more.
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