Manufacturing Happy Hour

Two worlds that have never previously spoken the same language are now building the same machine.
This week Chris sits down with David Nichols, CEO, Co-Founder and Engineer at Loupe, an alum of the show making his return. We are also joined by Kristen Quasey, Architecture & Portfolio Sales Manager, and Jan Bajorat, Senior Director of Software-Defined Automation, both at Siemens, for this special bonus episode of Manufacturing Happy Hour, live from Automate 2026.
Together they get into software-defined automation, what that looks like on the shop floor, and why it's picking up momentum right now.
David shares the story behind SASE, the Society of Automation Software Engineers, and what it felt like building a community around an idea before most of the industry had caught on. Kristen and Jan bring the perspective of a company adapting to a new generation of engineers and a shifting global workforce.
In this episode, find out:
What David means when he compares software-defined automation to a "chocolate and peanut butter" combination.
Why David describes SASE as starting from a place of desperation rather than strategy.
How Kristen and Jan see a new generation of engineers changing what companies need from automation.
How building the software of a machine before its mechanics has changed what David's team was able to deliver.
How a distributed team can fix a production issue without setting foot on the plant floor.
Why Jan believes software-defined automation is what makes industrial AI possible at scale.
Why global workforce shortages are pushing manufacturers toward a software-defined approach.
Why software-defined automation is not the same thing as software automation.

Enjoying the show? Please leave us a review here. Even one sentence helps. It’s feedback from Manufacturing All-Stars like you that keeps us going!
Tweetable Quotes:
“If we can make it through this phase where we're kind of out in the wilderness, it's great. We're excited about what the next 10 years are going to look like, and I hope a lot of it looks like this.” - David Nichols, CEO, Co-Founder and Engineer at Loupe
“When you have certain devices that are typically on the hardware side and you have a software-defined approach, you can now scale much quicker and be a lot more flexible.” - Kristen Quasey, Architecture & Portfolio Sales Manager at Siemens
“With so many unfilled jobs that you need, you need a huge step. You need to drastically change, and this is what SCA is about. It's a big step up. It's not a small incremental thing.” - Jan Bajorat, Senior Director of Software-Defined Automation at Siemens

Links & mentions:
Loupe is an engineering organization serving machine builders by providing control systems and developing software for automated equipment.
Siemens is a leading technology company focused on industry, infrastructure, mobility, and healthcare. The company’s purpose is to create technology to transform the everyday, for everyone.
SASE is a community of engineers who are converging and completely revolutionizing software practices and automation.

Make sure to visit http://manufacturinghappyhour.com for detailed show notes and a full list of resources mentioned in this episode. Stay Innovative, Stay Thirsty.

What does it take to build something well, on purpose, in a world that keeps pushing you to move faster?
This week Chris sits down with Tyler Mincey, Co-Founder and General Partner at Baukunst, a San Francisco and Boston based collective of creative technologists that also runs an early-stage venture fund. Tyler opens up about where the name Baukunst comes from and what building with intention means to him, drawing on a path that started with the touchscreen on the original iPhone at Apple.
Tyler breaks down research Baukunst has been running on AI adoption on the factory floor, talking through the different stages companies move through as they bring it into their operations. He gets into where the hype lines up with what he's seeing and where it doesn't, and challenges the idea that manufacturing is behind on technology.
The chat also turns to what AI could mean for the people doing the work day to day, not just the businesses putting it in place.
In this episode, find out:
How Tyler's work on the original iPhone influenced his approach to building physical products.
The meaning behind the name Baukunst and what "artful building" means to Tyler.
What it took to build deep, trusted manufacturing partnerships during his time at Apple.
Tyler's non-linear career path from engineering into digital design and venture capital.
Why Baukunst formed research organizations/study groups to research AI and manufacturing.
The stages companies move through as they bring AI into their operations.
Where AI is already delivering results on the factory floor, and where the hype outpaces reality.
Why the human side of AI adoption matters, and what the shift from bank tellers to ATMs can teach us.

Enjoying the show? Please leave us a review here. Even one sentence helps. It’s feedback from Manufacturing All-Stars like you that keeps us going!
Tweetable Quotes:
“Part of the reason I'm hungry for artful building is that there’s a whole lot of coulda but not a lot of shoulda in how we develop technology these days, where we feel like we're just rushing and accelerating towards an inevitable future that feels dystopian.” - Tyler Mincey, Co-Founder and General Partner at Baukunst
“I love people talking about how much of a will gap versus a skill gap we have in manufacturing these days. It's really an attractive place to work for the future and its inspiring for the next generation of engineers, of industrial labor and of operations professionals.” - Tyler Mincey, Co-Founder and General Partner at Baukunst
“Getting back to the human face, I think it's within our power to build different things too. And I think really holding our feet to the fire, asking ‘do we want to live in a world where things work this way’ is another gut check that I'm very passionate about.” - Tyler Mincey, Co-Founder and General Partner at Baukunst

Links & mentions:
Baukunst is a collective of creative technologists advancing the art of building. Our inaugural $100M venture fund is dedicated to leading pre-seed investments in companies at the frontiers of technology and design.

Make sure to visit http://manufacturinghappyhour.com for detailed show notes and a full list of resources mentioned in this episode. Stay Innovative, Stay Thirsty.

What happens when a former SpaceX engineer decides manufacturing software needs to be completely reimagined?
In this special live episode of the podcast, recorded at Arts District Brewing in Los Angeles as the final stop on the Golden State Takeover Tour, Chris sits down with Karan Talati, CEO and Co-Founder of First Resonance, to explore one of manufacturing's biggest transformations: the convergence of AI, software, and reindustrialization.
Karan shares the story of growing up around manufacturing in Chicago, his experience during SpaceX's explosive growth, why he founded First Resonance, and how AI agents are poised to automate some of manufacturing's most tedious work while enabling the next generation of advanced manufacturing companies.
Along the way, they discuss why Southern California has quietly become one of the world's most exciting manufacturing startup ecosystems, and why we're only at the beginning of manufacturing's next chapter.

What if your AI strategy doesn't need more agents, just a better plan?
This week Chris sits down with Joseph June, who leads AI strategy at PTC to talk about what companies are getting wrong with AI - going too broad too fast.
Joseph goes into why picking one problem and really solving it is the way to go when onboarding AI. He shares a great example of what a strong AI use case looks like on the shop floor and unpacks the concept of ‘production data foundation’.
The conversation turns to where agents are headed. There's also some good, grounded discussion here on building trust with AI and how the process mirrors onboarding any new employee.
In this episode, find out:
How AI experience helped Joseph make the leap from ServiceMax into leading AI strategy at PTC
The most common mistake manufacturers make when rolling out AI
What separates companies making AI progress from those stuck in pilot purgatory
What ‘production data foundation’ means, and why simply having more data shouldn’t be the goal
How AI agents are being used in manufacturing today, and where that's headed next
Why the plan behind your agents matters more than the agents themselves
How to build trust in AI gradually, using the advise, assist and automate framework

Enjoying the show? Please leave us a review here. Even one sentence helps. It’s feedback from Manufacturing All-Stars like you that keeps us going!
Tweetable Quotes:
“A lot of the hesitation and a lot of the concerns people have about AI are probably real, but a lot of them are sentiment, and it takes time to be able to build that trust.” - Joseph June, Head of AI Strategy at PTC
“What's unique about AI that is different from a person - it is capable of processing a very large amount of data in a faithful and ruthless way to be able to accomplish a particular outcome.” - Joseph June, Head of AI Strategy at PTC
“The type of data matters. Data that represents individual decisions that people or groups of people have made in efforts to accomplish a specific goal. That's really valuable data.” - Joseph June, Head of AI Strategy at PTC

Links & mentions:
PTC enables companies to differentiate their products and services, improve operational excellence, and increase workforce productivity. Manufacturers can capitalize on the promise of today’s new technology to drive digital transformation.
ServiceMax helps customers keep the world running with asset-centric field service management software. Their cloud-based software and mobile apps provide a complete view of assets to field service teams.

Make sure to visit http://manufacturinghappyhour.com for detailed show notes and a full list of resources mentioned in this episode. Stay Innovative, Stay Thirsty.

Andres Naranjo sailed a race around the world, wrote Japan's digital agenda, and spent his sabbatical teaching himself AI from scratch.
This week Chris sits down with Andres, CEO of Software Toolbox, to hear some incredible life stories and dig into what bringing AI into the industrial world looks like right now.
Andres has lived a lot of lives as a consultant, entrepreneur, ocean racer and AI builder. He's pretty direct about why he walked away from consulting to pursue his current endeavors - the AI wave was moving far too fast to be on the side-lines of it.
There's also practical conversation here for anyone thinking about how to deploy AI on the plant floor, and Andres' breakdown of how to effectively train an agent.
In this episode, find out:
Why Andres left one of the most prestigious consulting firms in the world to go build things himself
What sailing a race around the world taught him about data, analytics and machine learning
What the industrial tech stack of the future actually looks like and why it's simpler than anyone is making it sound
The difference between machine learning, generative AI and agentic AI and why confusing them is holding the industry back
Why the era of the dashboard is over and what should replace it
What an AI agent actually is, how you train one, and where on the plant floor you should be deploying it first
Why Andres bought Software Toolbox instead of building from scratch and the simple framework behind that decision
Why Andres moved back to Silicon Valley after Japan and what he saw happening in AI that made him think it was time to stop advising and start building

Enjoying the show? Please leave us a review here. Even one sentence helps. It’s feedback from Manufacturing All-Stars like you that keeps us going!
Tweetable Quotes:
“AI is a salad bowl of technologies and almost always people conflate one with the other in really strange ways.” - Andres Naranjo, CEO of Software Toolbox
“ It is a wonderful time to build. It's probably the best time ever. I want it to be in it. I didn't want to be on the side-lines for it.” - Andres Naranjo, CEO of Software Toolbox
“There are many ways to lean in, and it's okay if there is some failure. Everything is a normal distribution. You’ve got to blow up rockets to land rockets on the moon.” - Andres Naranjo, CEO of Software Toolbox

Links & mentions:
Software Toolbox is a full-stack industrial AI company, delivering industrial connectivity software, data platforms, and AI agents that augment the people working in manufacturing and process industries.
Allie integrates intelligence into factory operations: learning from machines, sensors and systems to detect problems, recommend actions and coordinate responses in real time.

Make sure to visit http://manufacturinghappyhour.com for detailed show notes and a full list of resources mentioned in this episode. Stay Innovative, Stay Thirsty.