Endeavor Secures $7 Million to Transform American Manufacturing with AI

Endeavor, a startup revitalizing American manufacturing through cutting-edge AI, announced a $7 million seed round led by Craft Ventures, along with Heartland Ventures, Contrary Capital, and BoxGroup, along with former senior executives from Palantir, AWS, and Fortune 500 industrial firms. The company’s platform empowers manufacturers to unify siloed data sources and automate critical processes across sales, operations, and supply chains.

An Imminent Need to Modernize American Manufacturing

Endeavor was founded by 22-year-old Sahitya Senapathy, a recent graduate of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Born in Michigan to parents who worked for automotive icons like Ford and Chrysler, Senapathy built his first software application at just 11 years old to support FEMA’s disaster recovery efforts. During high school, Senapathy became a contractor for the Air Force Research Laboratory, working on autonomous drones and earning a secret-level clearance. Throughout college, he contributed to AI initiatives at AWS and Palantir before founding Endeavor out of his college dorm room to meet the urgent need for revitalizing American manufacturing.

Challenges Facing American Manufacturers: Legacy Systems and Inefficient Processes

In today’s fast-paced market, many American manufacturers continue to rely on outdated legacy systems that don’t communicate with each other, resulting in inefficiencies and fragmented data management. With a mix of ERP systems and vast amounts of unstructured data scattered across spreadsheets, PDFs, and isolated silos, these companies face significant obstacles in automating operations and making informed, data-driven decisions.

“After visiting dozens of factories across America’s industrial heartland, it became clear that the manufacturing sector has tremendous potential but is being held back by outdated systems and processes,” said Sahitya Senapathy, Founder and CEO of Endeavor. “At Endeavor, we are dedicated to bridging the gap between Silicon Valley’s cutting-edge technologies and the industrial power of the Midwest.”

Sanjeev Tara, an Advisor to Endeavor and former Fortune 500 manufacturing executive, highlighted the challenge: “In our operations, we managed between twelve and twenty different IT systems. With manual data entry and no unified platform, analyzing big data was almost impossible. It’s a nightmare that stifles growth and hampers competitiveness.”

Endeavor’s Solution: Unifying Manufacturing Big Data with AI

Endeavor collaborates with manufacturing enterprises to identify operational bottlenecks, leverage its AI platform to unify siloed data systems, and automate key processes across various departments. The company’s AI platform seamlessly integrates both structured and unstructured data sources—including ERP systems, spreadsheets, and PDFs—unlocking previously untapped capabilities for its customers.

Key use cases of Endeavor’s platform include:

• Sales Automation: Streamlining quoting, pricing, and customer support tasks to reduce lead times, increase revenue, and optimize customer interactions.
• Inventory & Operations Planning: Enabling inventory optimization and material planning to ensure just-in-time operations, minimize waste, and reduce downtime.
• Supply Chain Management: Simplifying purchase orders and advanced shipping notifications to create more resilient and responsive supply chains.

“Endeavor AI has been an invaluable partner for ClarkDietrich,” says Brian Panuccio, President of ClarkDietrich Building Systems, a joint venture between Worthington Enterprises (NYSE: WOR) and Marubeni-Itochu Steel America Inc. (MISA). “Sahitya and his team have applied their technology and expertise to solve several critical challenges facing our company and the construction industry as a whole.”

To spearhead this transformation, Senapathy brought together a team of AI experts and engineers from top institutions like UC Berkeley, UPenn, and UT Austin. Additionally, Endeavor is supported by advisors who are former C-level executives from manufacturing leaders like Bridgestone Tires and Marmon Holdings (a Berkshire Hathaway company). This team is dedicated to building a future for American manufacturing driven by AI, positioning U.S. industries to lead in an increasingly competitive global market. Endeavor will use the new funding to bring cutting-edge AI capabilities to manufacturing firms across the country, strengthening the foundation of American industry.