Forge Robotics

What do they actually do

Forge Robotics builds a vision and control system that lets welding robot arms see real parts, find weld seams and features, and adapt the robot’s motion in real time instead of following a hard‑coded path. In practice, they mount a camera and compute on the robot, generate a sub‑millimeter 3D map, propose a weld path for operator approval in simulation, then execute while continuously correcting based on live vision YC page and company site. The company is in pilot/early‑customer stage, emphasizing modular cobot cells for faster installs; public materials claim higher first‑pass yield and less setup/teaching, but these are still being validated in customer deployments YC launch, Portershed interview, Forge site.

Who are their target customer(s)

• Small-to-medium welding shops relying on skilled welders: Chronic welder shortages and variability across operators lead to rework; they want consistent first‑pass quality without building custom automation Portershed, Forge site.
• OEMs running low-volume, high-mix part variants: They lose hours when robots must be re‑taught or fixtures tweaked; need faster setup and fewer teach points to keep lines moving YC page, Forge site.
• Contract/job-shop fabricators with frequent changeovers: Short runs require rapid changeover, repeatable quality, and auditability; existing automation can be brittle or opaque for these jobs Portershed, YC launch.
• Plants with legacy fenced robot cells or dynamic shop floors: Retrofitting old cells is hard and welding environments are harsh (smoke, spatter, reflections); they want robust, modular solutions that survive real factory conditions Portershed, YC launch.
• Tier suppliers and production managers focused on ROI and uptime: They need clear lifecycle economics versus hiring, and proven reliability/uptime; hesitant to swap manual labor until pilots show repeatable savings Portershed, Forge site.

How would they acquire their first 10, 50, and 100 customers

• First 10: Run tightly scoped, paid on‑site pilots with SMB weld shops, OEM high‑mix lines, and job shops, including install, operator training, and a data/testimonial agreement in exchange for discounted pricing to generate repeatable install learnings and references YC launch, Portershed.
• First 50: Convert pilots via a standardized “pilot→paid” playbook: a modular install kit (camera, compute, mounts, UI), short‑term financing or success‑based pricing, and a first cohort of certified local integrators to handle installs/support and reduce founder‑led work Portershed.
• First 100: Scale through partnerships with robot integrators, welding OEMs, and tooling distributors to resell bundled cells plus service contracts, while growing Forge’s regional service and remote commissioning to keep install time/travel low; productize the cell and onboarding so procurement can buy confidently YC page, Forge site.

What is the rough total addressable market

Top-down context:

The robotic welding market is roughly USD 7–10B today, which is the most directly relevant TAM for a vision/control supplier in welding cells; the broader global welding market is about USD 24–25B and underpins long‑term demand Fortune Business Insights – robotic welding, Fortune Business Insights – welding.

Bottom-up calculation:

There are ~4M industrial robots operating worldwide, with about 20.7% used for welding/soldering, implying ~0.8–0.9M welding robots that could be retrofitted or replaced over time IFR, WIPO application share. Dividing a representative USD ~7.4B robotic welding market by ~828k installed welding robots shows average spend per robot of ~USD 9k across hardware/software/services today (actual cell purchases vary widely) Fortune.

Assumptions:

• Uses IFR total robot stock and WIPO’s application share to estimate welding robots (unit TAM).
• Market report ranges for robotic welding (USD ~6–11B) vary by scope/year; we cite a representative figure.
• Forge competes for a slice of robotic welding spend (vision/control/software) rather than the entire welding market.

Who are some of their notable competitors

• Path Robotics: Sells fully autonomous welding cells that use vision/AI to adapt to part variation—directly overlaps with Forge’s “see-and-weld” value proposition Path Robotics.
• Hirebotics (Cobot Welder): UR‑based cobot welding package and Beacon software focused on ease of setup/programming for SMB fabricators; strong in high‑mix/low‑volume deployments Hirebotics Cobot Welder.
• Lincoln Electric (Automation): Major welding OEM with pre‑engineered and custom robotic welding systems, power sources, and service; entrenched sales/support channels Lincoln Electric – Robotic Welding.
• SERVO-ROBOT: Established supplier of laser vision seam finding/tracking and weld inspection sensors used to adapt welding in real time—competes at the vision layer SERVO-ROBOT.
• ABB (Arc Welding): Global robot OEM with modular arc‑welding cells, cobot packages, and arc‑welding software; often bundled via integrators, shaping standards for welding automation ABB Arc Welding.