How Orangewood Labs is Empowering Builders Through Robotics
How Orangewood Labs is Empowering Builders Through Robotics
About a decade ago, Aditya Bhatia was working in the furniture industry when he encountered a major bottleneck in custom manufacturing. Designers had innovative ideas, but translating those concepts into physical products required weeks of coordination with manufacturers. The process was slow, expensive, and inefficient for iteration.
This challenge led to a critical question: Why can’t robots manufacture custom products quickly enough for designers and builders to iterate in real time? In 2017, Bhatia partnered with Akash Bansal and Abhinav Das to launch Orangewood Labs, an AI-powered robotics startup focused on democratizing automation.
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From CNC Machines to AI Robotics
The founders initially built Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machines in a basement in Faridabad, serving architects and coworking spaces that needed custom pieces. However, they soon discovered that the real constraint wasn’t furniture manufacturing—it was access to robotic automation itself.
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) could not afford traditional industrial robots. While automation tools existed, they were not accessible or affordable for most businesses. Recognizing this gap, Orangewood Labs pivoted in 2019 from furniture production to developing robotic arms and automation systems.
Mission: Augmenting Human Capability
From the outset, the company focused on augmenting rather than replacing human labor. Robots are deployed to handle repetitive and precision-intensive tasks, while new roles are created in robotics assembly, maintenance, AI training, and system integration.
By upskilling Indian technicians and engineers into robot operators and automation specialists, Orangewood Labs contributes to workforce transformation rather than displacement.
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Product Portfolio
Today, Orangewood Labs provides industry-focused robotic solutions including:
- Machine tending solutions for manufacturing units
- Bartending robots for hospitality and food & beverage sectors
- AI-native robotic arms with proprietary software
- Robot GPT (RoboGPT), a hardware-agnostic automation platform
RoboGPT enables natural language programming for robots. Instead of writing code, operators can communicate with robots using voice or text instructions. The platform integrates large language models (LLMs), computer vision, motion control, and natural language processing to simulate and test automation workflows without requiring costly infrastructure.
The development of RoboGPT took two to three years, evolving from rule-based systems to advanced AI-driven architectures.
Manufacturing and Operations
While certain components are sourced globally, Orangewood Labs assembles its products at its manufacturing hub in Noida. The team operates across New Delhi and Bengaluru, with a presence in San Francisco as well.
Business Growth and Funding
The company’s first client was a small woodworking unit willing to experiment with CNC automation. Since then, Orangewood Labs has grown to serve more than 25 clients across manufacturing, hospitality, and research sectors.
It has raised approximately $5 million across funding rounds and recently surpassed $1 million in annual revenue. The company is preparing for a Series A round to invest in research and development, expand AI infrastructure, and enter new verticals such as healthcare and logistics.
Competitive Positioning
Operating in a rapidly growing Indian robotics market, Orangewood Labs differentiates itself through:
- Natural language-based robot programming (RoboGPT)
- Affordable, high-precision robotic systems
- Physical demonstrations instead of slide-based pitches
- Multi-industry deployment capability
Rather than competing solely on cost, the company emphasizes capability, accessibility, and usability to democratize robotics for businesses of all sizes.
Future Vision
Over the next five years, Orangewood Labs aims to increase revenue by 20 times, expand globally, and enter sectors including healthcare, logistics, and advanced automation. The company envisions a future defined by human-robot collaboration, with Indian engineers building scalable robotics solutions for global markets.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
1. What does Orangewood Labs specialize in?
Orangewood Labs specializes in AI-powered robotic arms and automation solutions, including machine tending systems, hospitality robots, and its natural language robotics platform, RoboGPT.
2. What is RoboGPT?
RoboGPT is a hardware-agnostic platform that allows users to program and control robots using natural language. It integrates AI technologies such as LLMs, computer vision, and motion control.
3. How does Orangewood Labs support workforce development?
The company focuses on upskilling technicians and engineers to become robot operators, automation specialists, and AI system integrators.
4. Where are Orangewood Labs’ products manufactured?
Products are assembled at the company’s manufacturing hub in Noida, with components sourced from both domestic and international suppliers.
5. What industries does Orangewood Labs serve?
The company serves manufacturing, hospitality, research, and is expanding into healthcare and logistics.
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