Gather AI’s next chapter: From drone vision to warehouse intelligence

Artificial intelligence is everywhere in supply chain conversations, but few companies are applying it with the discipline and precision that Gather AI is bringing to warehouse operations. Speaking with Supply Chain Management Review at the CSCMP EDGE conference, where it won the Startup award, Rob Rozicki, vice president of marketing at Gather AI, said the company’s mission is no longer just about drones, it’s about building a digital twin of the warehouse, powered by software-first AI vision.

“We are in a great space for a number of reasons,” Rozicki said. “I think the market is maturing. There’s a snowballing understanding of what AI vision and AI in general can do, and the benefits it can bring to the supply chain.”

That evolution, he said, comes after several years of hype but limited execution. “We’re seeing that totally reverse right now,” Rozicki explained. “We’re seeing a big influx in companies of all different shapes and sizes that have some form of logistics or intralogistics in their supply chain really looking at us (and similar solutions) as a way of bridging that gap between what their systems are telling them and what the reality is of the floor in a cost-effective manner.”

From drones to a platform

Gather AI was founded at Carnegie Mellon University, where its technology originated from autonomous flight research. But Rozicki emphasized that Gather AI is now less about the drones themselves and more about the intelligence that powers them.

“The core principle of being software-first versus hardware-first enables us to innovate,” he said. “Our AI vision can be placed not just on commercially available drones, but now we have it on forklifts and other MHE. The next stage for us is to say, what other vision-enabled devices should we be placing this information on so that we can create a 100% accurate digital twin of your physical environment?”

Rozicki noted that the company’s technology roadmap now includes integration with static cameras, wearables, and edge AI systems—all aimed at creating “a digital twin that’s as close to real time as possible.”

Consultative by necessity

While many warehouse operators are exploring AI tools, Rozicki said most companies fall into one of two categories: those with a defined use case and those with a problem they can’t quite articulate.

“We’re still seeing companies that are a little bit further along on their digital transformation journeys come to us with specific use cases,” he said. “Others come to us and say, ‘Okay, how do I use this? This makes total sense theoretically, but how do we implement this into our organization?’”

Because of that, Gather AI’s sales cycle can stretch as long as nine months.

“Part of that cycle is understanding the pain points that they have,” Rozicki said. “Showing them how other companies have been successful. Often we find that customers, even if they are unsure of the problem they’re trying to solve, resonate with one of those use cases and say, ‘Okay, I see myself in that.’”

The rise of AI copilots

Rozicki said the company’s next major advance is its Copilot—a natural-language interface that allows customers to query warehouse data directly, combining insights from Gather AI’s vision system with existing WMS and ERP platforms.

“Our Copilot solution is, in the simplest format, a natural language way to interact with massive amounts of physical data,” he explained. “It actually gives customers things they can do to be proactive and not reactive and not fight fires.”

Gather AI expects to roll out a full enterprise version of Copilot in 2026. “It’s connecting more and more data,” Rozicki said. “The results are getting better and better … We will have a Copilot solution that’s for the whole organization. Whether you’re an executive or an operator, you can talk to the data.”

Accuracy, ROI, and trust

What do customers want most from automation? Rozicki said the answer is simple: “They want accuracy.”

“They ultimately want speed and accuracy at a level that’s going to have a material impact on ROI,” he said.

Many of Gather AI’s clients “see a return on their investment in six months or less.”

Security and scalability are also critical.

“Our customers look for a company they can have a long-term relationship with,” Rozicki said. “They don’t have great maturity in AI and data but they’re on their digital transformation journey and they’re looking for a trusted advisor.”

Cutting through the AI noise

Rozicki acknowledged that AI hype has reached a fever pitch, but he cautioned against companies adopting technology just to appear innovative.

“There is a lot of noise in AI and everybody put AI on the thing,” he said. “We try really hard to cut through the noise because there is a lot of hype.”

Gather AI was “born out of a foundation of AI,” he said.

“Our founders are Carnegie Mellon PhDs whose PhDs are in autonomous flying helicopters,” Rozicki said. “They developed vision AI and machine learning on the edge in real-world scenarios … so we are not actually playing the catch-up game.”

From drone company to data company

Gather AI, Rozicki said, is actively redefining its market identity.

“We’ve traditionally been known as a drone company,” he said. “I think that’s something next year that we’re really moving toward shedding. Drones are a wonderful vehicle for what our technology does, but it’s really scratching the surface.”

With vision systems now mounted on forklifts and other material-handling equipment, Rozicki said the company’s horizon has expanded dramatically.

“Those options are now limitless,” he said.

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