Sergei Beliaev

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…

The late Steve Jobs demonstrated how to create a podcast using Apple’s audio editing software during a developers conference in 2006. Today, Apple hosts nearly 2.7 million podcasts devoted to everything from AI to zoology. There’s obviously a lot of noise in every industry, including supply chain, and not all supply chain podcasts are the same. Your time is valuable. You should get your supply chain industry insights from proven leaders, not self-proclaimed freight and logistics experts pontificating from their basements. The Power of Supply Chain Podcasts: Standing Out in a Crowded Industry Broadcast journalist Walter Cronkite was known as the most trusted man in America. You’ve got to wonder what he would have thought about the proliferation of social media influencers disseminating “news” on TikTok videos filmed with cellphones and flattering glow lights. Like other smart people with limited time, Cronkite probably would have skipped the fluff and gone for the substance — truly informative programming presented by industry thought leaders. The American people trusted that what newsman Cronkite said was accurate. Listeners of supply chain podcasts deserve the same — accurate, straightforward information delivered by a person who really knows what he or she is talking about. Why…