Arda Industries AI

Arda Industries co-founders Bob McGrew (CEO), Augustus Odena (Chief AI Officer), Alex Mark (CTO) and Jakob Frick.

Felicis invested in Arda’s Series A in September 2026, backing former OpenAI Chief Research Officer Bob McGrew and team as they build AI to automate manufacturing.

Founders

  • Bob McGrew — Founder & CEO
  • Augustus Odena — Co-Founder & Chief AI Officer
  • Alex Mark — Co-Founder & CTO
  • Jakob Frick — Co-Founder

Headquarters

Alameda, CA

Website

arda.ai/ (opens in new tab)

Stage

Series A

Domain

  • AI

Status

Current

About Arda

Arda is building AI software to automate manufacturing, with the goal of making it cost-effective to build things in the West again. Its platform pairs AI models with factory-floor data to coordinate robots, machines and human workers across production, from product design and manufacturability through assembly-line design to finished goods. Arda was founded in 2026 by Bob McGrew, former Chief Research Officer at OpenAI and an early Palantir engineer; Augustus Odena, co-founder of Adept AI and a former Google Brain researcher; and Palantir alumni Jakob Frick and Alex Mark.

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