Reshape Automation Unveils AI Agents for Industrial Automation Sales and Procurement
August 8, 2025
By Krystie Johnston
Reshape Automation, a startup based in San Francisco, California, is building a platform designed to help industrial automation companies modernize their sales operations. The company’s flagship product, ReshapeX, is an AI-powered sales acceleration platform built specifically for OEMs, systems integrators (SIs) and distributors. Its goal: eliminate inefficiencies and close deals faster.
Carlos Vanegas, Reshape’s co-founder and CTO, explains the platform’s purpose and how it’s already being applied in the field.
Vanegas brings decades of experience in the tech industry and has worked with numerous startups. Juan Aparicio Ojea, Reshape’s co-founder and CEO, has spent his career in robotics. Together, they saw a critical problem in the manufacturing space across the U.S. and Canada: companies face increasing pressure to implement automation due to reshoring and labour shortages, but the sales process around automation hasn’t kept up.
A new approach to expediting industrial automation
“Everybody wants to make goods closer to the consumer, whether in the U.S. or Canada. But one of the biggest challenges is labour,” Venegas says. “Research shows there are roughly one million unfilled jobs in manufacturing in the US alone.”
The obvious answer might be to add more robots. But according to Vanegas, only about 30,000 industrial robots were deployed in the U.S. in 2024, a number he calls “a drop in the bucket.” For comparison, China deploys roughly that number each month.
“Something has to change. We need to increase robot deployment in manufacturing by a factor of ten.”
Venegas and Aparicio turned to AI, not as a vague buzzword, but as a practical tool, to understand and eliminate the bottlenecks that slow down robotic deployment. What they found surprised them.
“Companies are already improving robot vision systems, using digital twins, and making robot programming easier. But most of the focus is on post-deployment. We realized a major bottleneck actually happens earlier, in the sales procurement process.”
Not just another Silicon Valley AI startup
Unlike most AI startups chasing general purpose chatbots, Reshape Automation zeroed in on a specific under-addressed problem: the outdated and manual processes used to sell automation equipment.
“The way that robots are sold in North America is stuck. Sales tools and processes haven’t evolved. Legacy ERP systems, spreadsheets, and manual steps dominate the quoting process,” Vanegas says.
This leads to long, error-prone sales cycles that require multiple people to coordinate. After speaking with hundreds of companies, the Reshape team saw an opportunity to transform these workflows using automation and AI.
“We helped customers process 10 times as many inbound inquires and generate 10 times as many quotes, without adding headcount, by using agentic AI workflows to automate what’s currently done by hand.”
Vanegas says the work has been both technically challenging and rewarding.
“You can’t solve this with ChatGPT or Claude alone. You need domain-specific intelligence. That’s where Reshape differentiates–it’s built for industrial automation, not general productivity
What Reshape Actually Does
Reshape Automation’s core product, ReshapeX, enables companies to map and execute real-world sales operations using agentic AI workflows, not just chatbots or LLM wrappers.
“We’ve built a system to define how sales processes actually work, step by step, with clearly defined input, outputs, and logic notes in between,” says Vanegas.
These nodes might use models like ChatGPT or Claude, but they’re governed by strict instructions that define roles, actions, and collaboration patterns between agents. The workflows integrate with CRMs, ERPs, shared drives, and communication platforms like Slack, Microsoft Teams, and WhatsApp.
In parallel, Reshape built a lightweight CPQ (Configure, Price, Quote) tool.
“If a company doesn’t have its own quoting software, they can use ours. It’s a traditional web app where users can access their price books, quotes, customer data, and contact information.”
The entire system is designed to complement and accelerate their existing tools, rather than replace them.
“That’s a core design principle for ReshapeX,” Vanegas says.
Who It’s For
ReshapeX is tailored for OEMs, systems integrators, and distributors in the industrial automation sector.
“We work with companies that manufacture industrial robot arms, distribute components like cameras or end-of-arm tooling, and integrators that pull everything together,” says Vanegas.
While Reshape sees long-term potential in adjacent markets, for now, their focus remains on the industrial automation industry.
“This industry that needs help now. And we’re not throwing around AI as a buzzword, we’re using it in practical, provable ways that show real results.”
ReshapeX in action
Sales teams in this sector often drown in inbound quote requests, sometimes hundreds per week. Each one requires someone to understand the customers’ requirements, dig through supplier catalogs, check price books and validate quotes with engineering. That process can take days or weeks.
“And your win rate might be 10-30%, if you are really good. So most of that time and effort ends up wasted,” Vanegas notes.
With ReshapeX, this entire process is automated. The system extracts the inbound email, references past proposals and quotes to match the new requirements, connects to the ERP or CRM for the latest pricing, and automatically creates a proposal, ready for the sales rep, in minutes.
“You can do this right from your inbox, Teams, or directly in the ReshapeX App. It’s faster for the sales rep and better for the customer.
Another use case where ReshapeX is creating an impact is for integrators visiting factories, sometimes two or three per day. They gather data, take notes, and generate reports afterward. ReshapeX can turn those field notes or voice memos into full-formed proposals automatically.
“These might sound like very different applications, but they all run on the same engine. What changes is the workflow logic, which LLMs are brought together, how they talk to each other, and how they integrate with third-party systems. But the underlying ReshapeX platform is the same.”
What does the future hold for Reshape Automation?
AI evolves fast, and Vanegas says Reshape Automation is keeping pace. Six months ago, many of these capabilities weren’t feasible. Now they are.
While sales operations remain the focus, the team is experimenting with broader applications. Recently, Reshape collaborated with an HMI (human-machine interface) OEM to explore AI-assisted operator interfaces.
“Instead of duct-taping a chatbot to the HMI, we used Model Context Protocols (MCPs) to create a structured bridge between the AI and the machine. You get conversational interaction, but within a secure, defined framework.”
That’s the bigger vision: accessible, intelligent, integrated systems across the factory floor.
“We’re building the tech that makes these systems easier to use, and we’re doing it in a way that’s grounded in industry expertise.”
Vanegas closes with a call to collaboration:
“We bring the AI expertise and the platform. You bring the knowledge of your business and sales operations. Together, we’ll figure out how AI can work for you.”
More Information
Ready to see how ReshapeX can accelerate your sales ops?
Visit Reshape Automation today!
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