We’re stepping into the future in this episode of Manufacturing Happy Hour to look at how RIOS is helping to pave a way for the “factories of the future.” 

We sat down with CEO and Founder Bernard Casse to get his take on where automation and robotics fit into factories and what a smart factory will actually look like. Bernard explores the benefits of using automation to speed up processes, collect data, and adapt according to turbulent market conditions (which we’re seeing plenty of right now!) 

Bernard also tells us a little about how RIOS has achieved its Series A funding round and how current economic conditions are affecting venture capitalists and start-ups.  

In this episode, find out: 

• Bernard’s educational background and why he did a PhD 
• What factory automation in the future could look like 
• Why automation isn’t just about labor replacement 
• How smart factories will operate 
• How automation can help with data analysis 
• Step one for getting into automation 
• Bernard’s experience with funding rounds and VCs 
• Why VCs are increasingly looking for category creators 
• What sets RIOS apart from the competition 

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Tweetable Quotes: 

• “We walk them through how they can increase productivity, we walk them through how we are building process optimization modules for them, and how we're delivering robots.” 
• “It's a lot of data that we’re aggregating and then transforming that in business intelligence to allow the customer to really understand their operations to optimize based on that understanding.” 
• “We are envisioning the smart factory to be connected to other systems and networks, allowing you to seamlessly share data and communicate with other factories, supply chain partners and customers. So this would enable the factory to respond quickly and effectively to changes in the market.” 

Links & mentions: 

• RIOS, a company that provides factory automation-as-a-service with end-to-end AI-powered robotics work cells  
• Antonio’s Nut House, a now-closed dive bar that Bernard used to frequent during his earlier career days  

Make sure to visit http://manufacturinghappyhour.com for detailed show notes and a full list of resources mentioned in this episode. Stay Innovative, Stay Thirsty.