What SoftWear Automation does

SoftWear Automation is an Atlanta-based robotics company founded in 2012 that develops and sells fully automated sewing worklines for the apparel and textile industry. Its core product is the patented SEWBOT® platform, which combines high-speed machine vision (ThreadVision, tracking individual threads at 1,000 frames per second), AI/ML for real-time fabric distortion handling, robotic arms, vacuum grippers, and specialized micromanipulators to autonomously sew T-shirts and home goods with submillimeter precision — addressing what is widely regarded as the "last mile" of apparel manufacturing automation. The company also sells LOWRY®, a lightweight four-axis robotic arm for fabric handling, pick-and-place, and direct sewing, and has launched a secondary software product, 'Agents' (rebranded from Workflows), for enterprise marketing workflow automation.

The company's primary go-to-market is direct enterprise sales of Sewbot worklines to apparel manufacturers, fashion brands, retailers, online merchants, and U.S. defense customers, with strategic partnerships supplementing hardware sales — most notably with Tianyuan Garments (operating a $20M Arkansas factory equipped with 24 Sewbots) and BESTSELLER (lead investor and board-level strategic partner). Revenue is generated through Sewbot hardware and workline sales and managed services/support for deployed systems, with the Agents platform providing a parallel subscription-recurring software stream. Production economics are anchored by demonstrated unit cost of $0.33 per T-shirt at the Tianyuan facility, enabling on-demand, localized, Made-in-USA manufacturing competitive with imports from low-wage countries. The company has raised approximately $27.75M across five funding events spanning 13 years, including DARPA and Walmart Foundation grants, Series A/A1 rounds from CTW Venture Partners, and a $20M Series B1 led by BESTSELLER in August 2025.

Name

SoftWear Automation

Legal name

SoftWear Automation, Inc.

Website

https://softwearautomation.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

SoftWear Automation develops and sells patented, machine-vision-powered autonomous Sewbot worklines that fully automate T-shirt and home goods manufacturing for apparel brands, retailers, online merchants, and U.S. defense, enabling on-demand, Made-in-USA production at $0.33 per shirt.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial Robotics & Apparel Manufacturing Automation

NAICS

Apparel Manufacturing (315)

SIC

Apparel & Other Finishd Prods Of Fabrics & Similar Matl (2300)

akta.pro primary industry

Activewear & Athleisure Cut & Sew (IMAOAEAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Outerwear & Performance Apparel Cut & Sew (IMAOAEAB)

Keywords

• Autonomous sewing robots
• Apparel manufacturing automation
• Machine vision robotics
• Robotic sewing systems
• On-demand garment production

Headquarters

HQ city

Austell

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. SEWBOT Hardware & Workline Sales: Sale of fully automated Sewbot worklines to apparel manufacturers. One operator can manage 4-5 Sewbots. Worklines produce T-shirts and home goods at high volume with projected output of over 1 million shirts per year per line. Cost per T-shirt as low as $0.33 at Tianyuan's Arkansas facility.
2. Managed Services & Operation Support: Ongoing support, maintenance, and operational assistance for deployed Sewbot worklines at customer manufacturing facilities. One operator manages multiple Sewbots.
3. AI Workflow / Agents Software Platform: AI-driven marketing automation platform rebranded as 'Agents' with data nodes, CMS integrations (WordPress, Sanity), Slack alerts, conditional branching, and version control. Six pre-built Agents for enterprise-grade workflows.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

SoftWear Automation develops and sells the patented SEWBOT® autonomous sewing workline — a fully automated production system combining machine vision (ThreadVision), AI/ML, advanced robotics, and vacuum grippers to convert cut fabric pieces into finished T-shirts with submillimeter precision and minimal human intervention. The company also sells the LOWRY four-axis robotic arm for fabric handling/pick-and-place/direct sewing, and offers an AI-driven Agents workflow automation platform as a secondary software product. Customers are apparel manufacturers, fashion brands, retailers, and government/defense organizations seeking on-demand, localized, sustainable sewn goods production.

Product overview

SoftWear Automation offers two distinct product lines: (1) SEWBOT® — the company's core patented autonomous sewing technology platform combining machine vision, advanced robotics, and AI/ML for fully automated apparel manufacturing, including the LOWRY robotic component for fabric handling and direct sewing operations; and (2) Agents — an AI-driven workflow automation platform (formerly Workflows) for marketing and enterprise operations with CMS integrations and workflow orchestration capabilities. The SEWBOT® platform is the primary revenue driver focused on disrupting the sewn products industry through on-demand, localized, and sustainable garment manufacturing.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SEWBOTS®: Patented autonomous sewing robot technology that enables fully automated T-shirt manufacturing using machine vision and advanced robotics.
• LOWRY®

Products and services

• SEWBOT® Workline Patented fully automated robotic workline that sews complete T-shirts end-to-end from cut fabric pieces to finished goods using machine vision, AI/ML, and advanced robotics. Designed for apparel manufacturers, fashion brands, retailers, and government/defense customers seeking on-demand, localized, sustainable production. One operator can manage 4-5 SEWBOTs.
• LOWRY Robotic Arm Lightweight four-axis robot used in fabric handling, pick-and-place operations, and direct sewing. Features a high-speed vision system to precisely track and prevent distortion of fabric with submillimeter precision. One LOWRY can equal 10 workers and produce approximately 1,142 T-shirts in an 8-hour period. Used within the SEWBOT workline and sold for home goods, footwear, and automotive-sector applications.
• SEWBOT Managed Services & Operations Support Ongoing support, maintenance, and operational assistance for SEWBOT worklines deployed at customer manufacturing facilities. Includes operator training where one operator can manage multiple SEWBOTs simultaneously. Sold alongside SEWBOT hardware to apparel manufacturers.
• Agents (Workflow Automation Platform) AI-driven workflow/marketing automation platform featuring data nodes, CMS integrations (WordPress, Sanity), Slack alerts, conditional branching, and version control. Includes six pre-built Agents targeting enterprise-grade marketing and operational workflows.

Quantifiable outcome

• $0.33 per T-shirt production cost at Tianyuan's Arkansas factory
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

AI capability4 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and foundational.

• Tianyuan Garments Co.coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Tianyuan Garments (Suzhou, China — largest producer of apparel for Adidas) partnered with Softwear to open a $20M factory in Little Rock, Arkansas equipped with 24 Sewbots. The factory can produce one T-shirt every 30 seconds at $0.33 cost, targeting 23 million shirts annually — a reverse trend in global manufacturing.
• Georgia Tech (ATDC)foundationalStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2012SoftWear Automation was launched in 2012 at Georgia Tech ATDC (Advanced Technology Development Center). Developed Sewbot technology in collaboration with Georgia Tech robotics and engineering professors. The company was founded by Georgia Tech professors and has deep R&D ties to the university.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Sewbo: Sewbo is the most direct comparable: an apparel sewing automation startup pursuing fully autonomous garment manufacturing. Sewbo's approach uses a temporary stiffening agent to make fabric rigid for robotic sewing, vs. SoftWear's machine vision/ThreadVision approach — competing for the same customers and same 'last mile' problem in apparel automation.

Broad incumbents

• Lectra: Lectra is a long-established provider of technology solutions (cutting hardware, software, and services) for apparel, footwear, and furniture manufacturers. While broader than SoftWear's narrow sewing focus, Lectra sells into the same fashion/apparel customers and addresses adjacent steps in the cut-and-sew production chain.
• Gerber Technology: Gerber Technology (now part of Lectra group) provides CAD/CAM, cutting, and material-handling solutions for apparel and industrial textiles. It serves the same sewn-goods manufacturers that SoftWear targets, focused on fabric cutting and workflow rather than the automated sewing step.
• EFI Optitex: EFI Optitex delivers 2D/3D apparel design, marker-making, and virtual sampling software for fashion brands and manufacturers. Comparable as a digital technology provider selling into the same apparel customers SoftWear serves, though focused upstream on design and pattern-making rather than sewing automation.
• Universal Robots: Universal Robots is the leading collaborative robot (cobot) vendor globally, used in light industrial automation including some textile applications. While not apparel-specific, it competes in the broader robotic manipulation layer and could be deployed as an alternative automation platform for sewn-goods manufacturers.
• ABB Robotics: ABB Robotics is one of the largest industrial robot manufacturers globally, with broad deployments in manufacturing. While ABB does not focus on apparel sewing, it represents the incumbent industrial automation vendor against which SoftWear's apparel-specific robots compete for customer automation budgets.
• Yaskawa (Motoman): Yaskawa Motoman is a major industrial robot maker with significant presence in textile and material handling automation. It competes with SoftWear as a broader industrial robotics supplier that could be deployed by apparel manufacturers seeking automation.
• Stäubli Robotics: Stäubli Robotics provides high-precision industrial robots used in textile, plastic, and electronics manufacturing. Its four-axis and six-axis arms overlap with SoftWear's LOWRY robotic platform capabilities and serve similar high-precision automation use cases.

Emerging players

• Apptronik: Apptronik is an emerging humanoid and industrial robotics company developing general-purpose robotic platforms with advanced AI. While not apparel-focused, it represents an emerging class of AI-driven robotics players that could eventually compete for apparel manipulation and sewing tasks.

Others

• Symbotic: Symbotic is a robotics and automation company focused on warehouse and supply chain automation for retail and wholesale customers. While it operates in a different part of the supply chain (distribution vs. manufacturing), it is comparable as a venture-backed robotics company automating traditionally manual operations at enterprise scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/SoftWearInc
• Facebookfacebook.com/softwearautomation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles17 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds4 records

Investors6 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about SoftWear Automation