Andrew Lonsberry brings physical AI to Ohio's factory floors
Path Robotics CEO Andrew Lonsberry utilizes Obsidian, a proprietary AI model, to power autonomous welding cells. By bringing physical AI to factory floors, his Columbus-based firm solves critical labor shortages and enables manufacturers to produce at four times the standard productivity.
Skilled labor is vanishing and traditional automation doesn't have the adaptability manufacturers need. Andrew Lonsberry is solving these problems as CEO and co-founder of Path Robotics, building intelligent robotic systems that bring physical AI to industrial manufacturing.
Founded in Cleveland by Lonsberry and his brother Alex Lonsberry, Path was born from a mission to address the skilled-labor shortage starting with welding, one of the most critical and hard-to-fill trades in the U.S. By 2030, American manufacturing faces a critical shortage of 600,000 skilled welders – a significant crisis demanding real-world solutions.
Path is a physical AI company whose core product is Obsidian, a proprietary AI model built and trained specifically for welding. Obsidian powers Path's autonomous welding cells, enabling them to see, understand, and adapt in real time, which allows the systems to handle a far wider range of complex, variable welds than traditional automation.
As a result, manufacturers can automate work that previously required extensive programming or manual welding, helping them scale production faster, with higher quality, and with less dependence on increasingly scarce labor. The numbers speak for themselves – Path is turning historically impossible-to-automate work into reliable, high-volume production at four times the productivity and 30% lower cost on average.
Under Lonsberry's leadership, Path has grown from a university lab project into one of Ohio's most advanced manufacturing technology companies. The company has raised more than $300 million from leading investors, including Drive Capital and Matter Venture Partners, to develop systems that strengthen critical supply chains and advance U.S. manufacturing competitiveness. Today, Path supports customers across AI infrastructure, defense manufacturing, and energy construction.
Lonsberry holds a bachelor's degree in mechanical and aerospace engineering from The Ohio State University and a master's degree in mechanical engineering from Case Western Reserve University, where he helped develop the foundational technology behind Path Robotics. His work is anchoring the future of advanced manufacturing in Ohio by supporting critical industries tied to national interest — defense, energy infrastructure, and AI data centers.
Beyond the technology, Path is creating high-skill engineering and manufacturing jobs, attracting venture capital and top talent to Ohio, and positioning the state as a national leader in physical AI and industrial automation.
Andrew's vision for Ohio innovation
By 2050, Lonsberry envisions Ohio as a global center for physical AI and advanced manufacturing — the place where intelligent machines that build, power, and defend the modern world are designed and deployed. The state becomes home to a dense ecosystem of robotics, AI, energy, defense, and shipbuilding companies, fed by a deep pipeline of engineering, skilled trades, and applied AI talent from Ohio's universities and workforce programs.Ohio's reputation shifts from legacy manufacturing to next-gen industrial innovation, where software, hardware, and AI converge to power the nation's critical infrastructure.
This profile is part of the OhioX and Ohio Tech News Next25, a series highlighting the leaders, 35 and under, driving the state's innovation economy. From responsible AI to medtech breakthroughs, discover the full class of 2025. Meet the Next25.
