Launchpad Build AI Aims to Revolutionize Manufacturing with New AI Model

EL SEGUNDO, CA – April 30, 2026 – In a significant move signaling a new era of industrial innovation, AI robotics firm Launchpad Build AI today announced a major strategic expansion. The company is establishing a new U.S. headquarters in the high-tech corridor of El Segundo, California, rebranding to reflect its AI-first mission, and launching what it calls the world's first Manufacturing Language Model (MLM™), a technology designed to make advanced automation accessible to factories of any size.

These developments, fueled by an $11 million Series A funding round secured in late 2025 from backers like Lockheed Martin Ventures and Ericsson Ventures, are coupled with the appointment of seasoned technical leadership to steer the company's ambitious vision for "Physical AI." The series of announcements positions Launchpad Build AI to tackle some of the manufacturing sector's most persistent challenges, including labor shortages and the high cost of automation.

"Physical AI isn't just the future, it exists in the here and now," said Jon Quick, CEO of Launchpad Build AI. "What better place to be building it than in El Segundo surrounded by first class entrepreneurs, top-tier talent, and established deep tech and defense tech companies. This is an important step forward in our journey alongside the launch of our Manufacturing Language Model and rebrand as Launchpad Build AI."

A New Language for Manufacturing

The centerpiece of the announcement is the launch of the Manufacturing Language Model (MLM™), a proprietary AI purpose-built for industrial automation design. The company claims this technology democratizes the development of robotic systems by allowing factory operators to generate automation solutions from simple inputs like a photograph, a video, or a CAD file. This approach is designed to drastically lower the technical barriers that have long kept advanced robotics out of reach for many.

While artificial intelligence is not new to the factory floor, its application has largely been confined to specific domains. Major industrial players have integrated AI for predictive maintenance, process optimization, and quality control, while AI "copilots" are emerging to help engineers generate code for robots and PLCs. However, Launchpad Build AI’s MLM™ carves out a unique niche by focusing on the initial, and often most complex, phase: the design of the automation system itself.

By training its model on intelligence from live production environments, the MLM™ learns to interpret a desired task from visual or design data and translate it into a functional automation plan. This innovation directly targets a core bottleneck in robotics adoption—the time-consuming and expensive custom engineering required for each unique application. The company projects its systems can reduce the time and expense of automation delivery by up to 50 percent.

Targeting the Factory Floor's Backbone

The technology's primary target is the vast market of high-mix, low-volume (HMLV) manufacturers. These businesses, which represent the overwhelming majority of factories—making up 95% of the 64,000 factories in the U.S. and 98% in the U.K.—specialize in producing a wide variety of products in smaller batches. This operational model makes them particularly vulnerable to the drawbacks of traditional automation, which is typically engineered for long, unchanging production runs.

For HMLV manufacturers, the high costs, complex programming, and frequent changeovers required for conventional robotics are often prohibitive. Launchpad Build AI's MLM™ aims to level the playing field by offering a flexible, cost-effective alternative. By simplifying the design process, the technology promises to slash setup times and enable smaller operators to finally harness the power of robotics.

This comes at a critical time for the industry, which is grappling with a severe and worsening labor shortage. Projections indicate the U.S. manufacturing sector could face up to 1.9 million unfilled positions by 2033. By making automation more accessible, Launchpad Build AI’s platform could provide a vital lifeline, helping these essential businesses improve efficiency, increase throughput, and maintain competitiveness in a challenging economic landscape.

Building a Future in the Aerospace Capital

Underscoring its strategic ambitions, the company has planted its U.S. headquarters at 1330 E Franklin Avenue in El Segundo. The location is no accident. Known as the "Aerospace Capital of the World," the city is a concentrated hub of aerospace, defense, and advanced manufacturing giants, including Northrop Grumman, Boeing, Raytheon, and SpaceX.

This move embeds Launchpad Build AI within a rich ecosystem of potential partners, clients, and top-tier engineering talent. The city's focus on "hard tech"—physical hardware and engineering over pure software—creates a synergistic environment for a company dedicated to building the next generation of physical AI systems.

El Segundo's Mayor, Chris Pimentel, lauded the move, stating, "El Segundo's interdisciplinary hard tech community is truly unique, and Launchpad Build AI is exactly the kind of innovative, technology-driven company our city attracts and nurtures. They are not only building new solutions in AI and advanced manufacturing, they are building networks of partnerships across El Segundo."

The Minds Behind the Machine

To execute its vision, Launchpad Build AI has bolstered its leadership team with two key hires. Ken Moynihan joins as Chief Technology Officer, bringing over two decades of experience in computer vision and robotics, most recently from senior R&D roles at TOMRA, a global leader in AI-driven sorting systems. His expertise in deploying vision-based AI in real-world industrial environments will be critical to scaling the company's technology.

Leading the development of the company's core technology is Yannis Georgas, the new Head of MLM™. Georgas comes from Capgemini Invent, where he led industrial data and AI initiatives and delivered agentic AI and digital twin solutions for global manufacturing and defense clients. His deep background in applying advanced AI models to industrial problems directly aligns with the technical challenges of the Manufacturing Language Model.

Founded in 2020 with operations in Edinburgh, UK, and now El Segundo, the company's rebranding to Launchpad Build AI solidifies its identity as a leader in the emerging field of Physical AI. With fresh capital, groundbreaking technology, and a strategically positioned team, the firm is poised to accelerate the deployment of its automation systems across the U.S. and Europe, aiming to redefine what is possible on the modern factory floor.