Vessel acquires Robot Sales Club, betting big on Ohio as a commercial robotics hub

Columbus just got a major vote of confidence in its bid to become a robotics powerhouse. Vessel Investment Group has acquired Robot Sales Club (RSC), a Columbus-based sales agency built specifically for robotics and automation startups. Announced exclusively to Ohio Tech News today, the deal marks Vessel's first move into the sector. Both firms are framing the acquisition around a shared ambition: establishing Ohio and the wider Midwest as the nation's premier hub for commercial robotics.

RSC, founded in 2023 by Max Joseph and Ryan Tanaka, solves a problem most early robotics companies run into fast. The technology is hard enough to build. Selling it into enterprise buyers, with their long and complicated purchasing cycles, is a separate discipline entirely, and hiring a full sales team is expensive before the revenue is there to support it.

RSC's answer is fractional. It embeds experienced operators directly into a client's growth function, handling lead generation, outbound sales, and go-to-market strategy without the client taking on full-time headcount. The company works across three lines: the fractional sales support that anchors the business, a podcast hosted by Joseph and Tanaka that spotlights careers and strategy in robotics, and a professional community that connects founders and sales operators across what remains a fragmented industry. RSC currently has five employees and expects to triple its headcount, adding both domestic roles and a European team as it expands.

That community layer is part of what drew Vessel in.

"When we sat down and really learned of the impact that RSC had in the robotics community, we were fully aligned on the opportunity," commented Corey Myers, Senior Partner and Chief Strategy Officer at Vessel. "We believe robotics are the future. This is our first big bet to make Ohio and the Midwest a robotics hub."

For RSC, the acquisition brings the kind of infrastructure that's hard to build as a founder-led firm, including capital, back-office support, enterprise relationships, and access to Vessel's operating platform across talent, finance, and product. Part of the pitch is geographic. Columbus sits within reach of more than 150 million American end users and close to major manufacturers and logistics companies, and both firms see room for the city to grow into a concentrated corridor of robotics activity alongside the automation companies already based there.

"Over the past few years, we have been honored to work with amazing clients and companies," said Joseph. "We have a deep passion to help companies scale and build lifelong partnerships. Being a part of the Vessel family will allow us to scale and reach the dreams Ryan and I had from day one."

RSC does not disclose its client list, but the company works with venture-backed robotics startups building automation for tasks like palletizing, case picking, quality assurance, welding, and sanding and blasting.

The timing tracks with a broader moment. The commercial robotics market is expanding quickly, and the specialized sales talent needed to navigate enterprise deals hasn't kept pace. That gap is exactly what RSC was built to fill, and Vessel is betting the demand for that kind of fractional expertise is only growing.

Vessel invests in early-stage companies across the Midwest, operating through the Flagship Studio Fund, Carto Advisory, Shipyard Venture Studio, and the United States Angel Collective. Robot Sales Club is operational today and working with clients.