Theresa Lanowitz

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…

Keep up with all the latest conversations, interviews, and episodes right here on Supply Chain Now as we look back on everything that’s happened this week! On Monday, we released 3 new episodes! On Digital Transformers on Supply Chain Now, hosts Kevin L. Jackson and Scott Luton welcome Dr. Evaristus Mainsah, with IBM, to the show to discuss IBM think #2021, post-pandemic digital transformation, using AI to make your workforce even more effective, and exactly what drives innovation. On This Week in Business History, guest host Kelly Barner, Owner of Buyers Meeting Point and Host of Dial P for Procurement remembers key innovations, inventions, and firsts that took place between June 7th and 13th, including the questionable career of Samuel Slater, the tricky first passing of the Panama Canal, and how the Post Office stopped the shipment of children through their national parcel service. On Supply Chain Now en Spanish, host Enrique Alvarez interviews Sofia Rivas Herrera learning about her journey from curious child to industrial engineer to supply chain leader and much more. On Tuesday, we released 2 new episodes! On our Logistics with Purpose series, produced in partnership with Vector Global Logistics, as Pat Plonski, Executive Director of…