Alex Gruebele & Chandler Gonzalez - Tau9 Labs | How Tau9 Labs Helped a Manufacturer Cut Quoting Time from Hours to Seconds — and Double Win Rates

Alex Gruebele and Chandler Gonzalez, co-founders of Tau9 Labs, build custom AI systems that solve the messy, high-value problems generic manufacturing software can’t touch. With roots in robotics, hyperscale software, and logistics, they focus on the workflows where context matters most—quoting, downtime, document analysis, and technician knowledge. Their work shows how applied AI can transform mid-market industrial operations in months, not years, by fitting the way factories actually run.You’ll LearnWhy generic SaaS breaks in manufacturing—and how custom AI can match real-world workflows without forcing process changes.How decades of unstructured documents hide the root causes of downtime, warranty costs, and defects—and how AI can surface them.A practical approach to turning vague “AI requests” into solvable, ROI-positive operational problems using on-site discovery and the five whys.How AI-accelerated engineering compresses build cycles from quarters to weeks, enabling tools like instant quoting platforms.When to build vs. buy: the signals that indicate a custom solution will outperform configurable off-the-shelf tools.Chapters00:00 Intro01:00 Backgrounds & the origin of Tau9 Labs03:20 Why manufacturing lags in software adoption05:10 Common operational problems & unstructured data07:15 Downtime, tribal knowledge, and automation08:50 Quoting workflows and workflow automation09:50 How Tau9 diagnoses the “real” problem12:20 On-site discovery and the five whys15:20 Case study: injection molding quoting platform18:10 Designing for speed and user behavior20:15 Building the platform in four months22:50 Results: conversion lift & revenue impact25:10 Build vs. buy in industrial AI28:45 Why on-site U.S. engineers outperform remote teams31:20 How AI changes software design principles33:50 Who Tau9 Labs is best suited to help35:50 ClosingLinksExplore more interviews: https://www.justcurious.io/articles/how-tau9-labs-helped-a-manufacturer-cut-quoting-time-from-hours-to-seconds----and-double-win-ratesWatch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/njuUtQucqHUConnect with Alex Gruebele: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexgruebele/Connect with Chandler Gonzalez: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chandlergonzales/Proof of Work is the podcast of Pluris, a platform connecting investors and operators with the world's leading applied AI experts. Each episode features the builders, operators, and investors who've actually put AI into production, turning it from buzzword to bottom line through sharp case studies and practical conversations. We explore how AI is used to grow revenue, expand margins, improve operations, and create measurable value inside real businesses.Learn more at checkpluris.comExplore more interviews and connect with experts at https://www.checkpluris.com Subscribe to our newsletter at https://proof-of-work-ai.beehiiv.com/