Patrick Nelson

At Manifest 2026, Scott Luton spent time with Josh Gruenstein, Co-Founder and CEO of Tutor Intelligence, to talk about a future that’s no longer theoretical: AI-powered robot workers operating inside America’s warehouses and factories. And this isn’t a science experiment. It’s already happening.   From MIT to the Warehouse Floor Gruenstein and his team came out of MIT’s Computer Science and AI Lab with a bold idea: build AI-powered robot workers that can handle the manual labor people don’t want to do. “We build physical robots,” Gruenstein explained. “We build AI models that enable robots to perceive their environments, and then we deploy those robots into factories and warehouses across the United States to do manual labor that people don’t want to do.” Unlike traditional automation projects that require massive capital outlays, Tutor Intelligence operates on a robots-as-a-service model. Companies can engage a Tutor robot for roughly $14–$18 an hour, creating a flexible, scalable path to automation without multimillion-dollar implementation risk.   Automation Isn’t New. AI Is Changing the Playbook. When asked about dominant supply chain themes, Gruenstein pointed to a constant drumbeat: automation. But 2026 feels different. “Automation is obviously a constant theme,” he said. “What really seems different…

Get ready to increase your supply chain IQ! We’re looking back on the latest episodes, interviews, conversations, and livestreams from this week right here. On Monday, we released 2 new episodes! In this episode of Digital Transformers,hosts Kevin L. Jackson and Scott Luton learn about the power of the IBM cloud ecosystem from Brian Fallon, Vice President of Global Sales for the IBM Partner Ecosystem. On This Week in Business History, Kelly Barner dives into the rise of Warren Buffet, the completion of the transcontinental railroad, some interesting business birthdays, & the invention of the tubeless tire. On Tuesday, we released 2 new episodes! On this episode of Supply Chain Now, Gugulethu Hughes, Founder of Clinch, joins our hosts Scott and Greg to share the number one challenge for the startup economy in Africa, why corporate social responsibility programs are falling short in eliminating child labor, & more. On TECHquila Sunrise, host Greg White welcomed stealthy startup co-founder and Venture Partner at Kubera Venture Capital, Sena Zorlu, to look into the minds of investors, revealing what makes them tick and how founders can communicate clearly with them. On Wednesday, we released an episode in our Reverse Logistics Series in collaboration…