Read the pitch deck a father of four used to raise $4.5 million to help fuel the US manufacturing 'renaissance' with AI

"RMFG was launched in July 2024 by Kenneth Cassel, a 32-year-old college dropout and Y Combinator graduate, as well as a father of four. Cassel grew up in a large, blue-collar family in Texas and taught himself to code while working maintenance at a gas station company. "We're in this kind of renaissance where there's a lot of renewed interest in manufacturing," Cassel told Business Insider."

"Its AI-powered sheet metal factory, located in Dallas-Fort Worth, handles work that is usually done manually, using AI agents and other technologies to handle quoting, automate quality control, and tweak designs. This cuts lead times from months to weeks, the company said. In the past, factory jobs lacked status, Cassel said, though technology has transformed the industry, and more people are interested in physical products "because they're seeing AI capabilities erode the value of pure software startups," he said."

"RMFG is jumping in on the white-hot robotics industry, where most of its clients operate. "These companies have raised venture capital, they're scaling, they're trying to build out really quickly," Cassel said. "Ultimately, I think it's going to be larger than automotive." Y Combinator, Day One Ventures, and Soma Capital participated in RMFG's pre-seed round, along with angel investors Balaji Srinivasan, Patrick Collison, Charlie Songhurst, and Joshua Browder."

RMFG raised $4.5 million in pre-seed funding to expand AI-powered manufacturing capabilities in the United States and support startups that want domestic production. The company launched in July 2024 and was founded by Kenneth Cassel, who taught himself to code while working maintenance. RMFG operates a Dallas-Fort Worth sheet metal factory that uses AI agents to automate quoting, quality control, and design tweaks, shortening lead times from months to weeks. The company targets robotics startups, has shipped more than 100,000 parts in the last year, and serves about 200 customers. Investors include Y Combinator, Day One Ventures, Soma Capital, and several angel backers.

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