GrayMatter Robotics CEO named one of the Most Exceptional Entrepreneurs by Goldman Sachs. Ariyan Kabir, ph.d. Named one of the Most Exceptional Entrepreneurs at 2026 Builders and Innovators Summit. Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) has recognized Ariyan Kabir, Co-Founder and CEO of GrayMatter Robotics (GMR), as one of the Most Exceptional Entrepreneurs of 2026 at its Builders and Innovators Summit in Healdsburg, California. Goldman Sachs selected Kabir from among founders across multiple industries to be honored at the two-day event. Kabir co-founded GrayMatter Robotics in 2020 with a mission to build Factory SuperIntelligence (FSI), an Intelligence Platform for autonomous manufacturing at superhuman performance. Under Kabir's leadership, GMR has secured partnerships with the US Government, Fortune 100 to 1000 enterprises, and other businesses, including the U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Caterpillar, Huntington Ingalls Industries, Oshkosh Corporation, and GE Vernova. Serving aerospace, defense, shipbuilding, energy, and other critical industries, the company's autonomous systems deliver a radically new way to design, launch, and operate factories with optimal humans, robots, and AI teams. GMR's approach is built on a growing foundation of real-world industrial intelligence. The company has the largest data-set and data fly-wheel across industries and processes capturing complex interactions among tools, materials, and manufacturing environments. Their real-2-sim-2-real approach underpins its exponentially compounding Physical AI capabilities. "Manufacturing is the foundation of our national economy and national security, yet the gap between manufacturing demand and capacity is growing exponentially," said Kabir. "We founded GrayMatter Robotics to change that. With Factory SuperIntelligence (FSI), we are unlocking a new era of industrial productivity while making dangerous work safer for people. This recognition from Goldman Sachs reflects the extraordinary work of our team and the importance of what we are building for the United States and its allies." To function well, a factory needs a combination of the right expertise, well-trained specialized talent, appropriate organizational structure, effective management, and a culture of continuous adaptation and improvement. Factory SuperIntelligence provides these capabilities through Physical and Digital AI: manufacturing expertise as AI models, specialized experts for task execution in the form of AI agents, management and organization as AI for agent orchestration, and culture for change management embodied as an AI architecture that creates and leverages a data flywheel to continuously learn and adapt. The four capabilities working together in a synergistic manner provide the superintelligence to deliver the right outcomes. Kabir's commitment to Physical AI is rooted in the conviction that intelligent machines should take on dangerous and physically demanding work, allowing people to focus on higher-value responsibilities, creative problem-solving, and critical decisions. He pursued graduate research at the University of Maryland before earning his PhD at the University of Southern California, where he studied physics-informed planning and learning for complex robotic systems. "We are pleased to recognize Ariyan Kabir, Co-Founder and CEO of GrayMatter Robotics, as one of the most exceptional entrepreneurs of 2026," said David Solomon, Chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs. "As AI reshapes the global landscape, the leaders at GrayMatter Robotics are proving that agility and vision can be the ultimate competitive advantages. They are not simply building a great enterprise; they are redefining what is possible in their industry." In its 15th year, Goldman Sachs' Builders and Innovators Summit is the can't-miss gathering for founders and CEOs of hypergrowth companies. Previous honorees have gone on to successfully lead multibillion-dollar companies, both in the private and public markets. In addition to honoring the most exceptional entrepreneurs each year, the Summit consists of general sessions and clinics led by seasoned entrepreneurs, academics, and business leaders, as well as resident scholars. About GrayMatter Robotics. GrayMatter Robotics (GMR) is building Factory SuperIntelligence (FSI): the AI-native manufacturing infrastructure that modernizes the industrial base from the inside out, restoring its ability to produce at the speed and scale with demands. The factories running today were designed for a workforce that no longer exists. FSI serves as a foundation for GrayMatter Robotics Inc. to rapidly develop, deploy, and sustain superhuman autonomous factories performing skilled work, and human-robot-AI team orchestration across aerospace, national security, shipbuilding, industrial vehicles, energy, and other critical industries. It eliminates human bottlenecks from all stages by dramatically boosting human productivity, reducing the level of required expertise, and delivering superhuman performance. GMR works with the Department of War to Fortune 100 through Fortune 1000 manufacturers. GMR builds, deploys, and operates autonomous manufacturing solutions inside the most demanding factories, deeply integrating into customers' businesses and processes to drive decades-long partnerships. Guaranteed quality consistency, productivity gains, and reduction in ergonomically hazardous work. Share the Post:

GrayMatter and Path will bring robotic welding to ship manufacturing. Seven-year, $900 million deal with defense contractor HII is set to deliver physical AI automation to U.S. Navy shipbuilding programs. The manufacturing automation vendors GrayMatter Robotics and Path Robotics will provide physical AI across U.S. Navy shipbuilding programs, through a $900 million deal announced Thursday with the Virginia-based military shipbuilder HII. Under the agreements, HII intends to award up to $900 million in total shipbuilding work to Path and GrayMatter across seven years, contingent on the two companies meeting technology and manufacturing readiness targets. That sustained demand signal would enable Path and GrayMatter to make significant long-term investments in robotics, autonomous systems, facilities, and workforce required to deliver Navy-grade production at scale. The announcement marks the latest step in a plan announced in February to explore integrating Path's physical AI for welding into shipbuilding operations, accelerating throughput and strengthening the maritime industrial base. This week, the group said they will now accelerate the development and deployment of advanced physical AI automation across U.S. Navy shipbuilding programs, including aircraft carriers, submarines, destroyers, amphibious ships, future frigates, and unmanned surface vessels. The deal is part of HII's strategy of distributed shipbuilding capacity. In 2026, HII plans to outsource more than 2.5 million hours of shipbuilding work, a 30% increase from 2025, while expanding its structural assembly network of assembly partner companies, enabling more work to be completed outside the shipyards before final assembly. The performance-based production agreements are part of a broader set of strategic agreements that form the High-Yield Production Robotics (HYPR) program, including collaboration and joint development frameworks that establish governance, program execution, and long-term operational alignment among the companies. "This agreement represents an important milestone in bringing Factory SuperIntelligence to America's leading shipbuilding company," said Ariyan Kabir, CEO and co-founder of GrayMatter Robotics. "By combining Physical AI with autonomous production systems, we're helping create manufacturing that learns, adapts, and improves over time, making complex shipbuilding faster, more resilient, and more scalable."