The story of Bucket Robotics at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas reveals more than just a startup’s presence; it highlights the relentless hustle required to break into the competitive tech landscape. Founded in 2024 and backed by Y Combinator, Bucket Robotics faced an immediate logistical challenge: transporting their booth components to the show. CEO Matt Puchalski bypassed potential shipping delays by personally driving a packed Hyundai Santa Fe 12 hours through rain, ensuring their presence at one of the world’s largest tech events.
The Problem: Quality Control in Manufacturing
Bucket Robotics addresses a fundamental, yet often overlooked, bottleneck in modern manufacturing: surface quality inspection. While automated systems handle structural integrity checks, ensuring flawless aesthetics (color consistency, scratch-free surfaces) has traditionally relied on human inspectors, often described by Puchalski as “dudes in Wisconsin.” This manual approach is slow, costly, and doesn’t scale efficiently.
The industry has struggled with this for decades. Automating surface inspection requires vast amounts of data to train AI models. Bucket Robotics sidesteps this issue by leveraging CAD files of parts and simulating defects (burn marks, dents, color variations) to teach its vision systems how to identify real-world flaws. This allows for rapid deployment – reportedly “in minutes” – without the need for extensive manual labeling.
From Auto Industry Roots to Dual-Use Potential
Puchalski’s background in autonomous vehicles at Uber, Argo AI, and Ford informs Bucket Robotics’ approach. He leveraged existing connections in the automotive sector to generate early interest. The company’s technology isn’t limited to cars; it’s finding traction in defense applications as well, positioning Bucket Robotics as a “dual-use” company catering to both commercial and government markets.
This approach is deliberate: the demand for secure, domestic manufacturing is rising. Bucket Robotics offers a solution that can integrate into existing production lines without requiring new hardware, lowering barriers to adoption.
CES as a Validation Point
CES 2026 served as a crucible. Puchalski spent the week relentlessly networking, from industry parties to impromptu meetings in hotel lobbies, pitching his vision to manufacturers, robotics experts, and investors. The consistent engagement throughout the show demonstrated real demand for their technology.
The key takeaway isn’t just about surviving CES, but about turning initial interest into commercial deals. Bucket Robotics now faces the harder task of scaling, fundraising, and solidifying its position in a market where automation is no longer a future trend, but an immediate necessity.
In the long term, Bucket Robotics doesn’t aim to replace human inspectors entirely. Rather, it seeks to augment their capabilities by automating the tedious, repetitive aspects of quality control. The company’s success hinges on proving that its approach is not only faster and cheaper but also more reliable than relying solely on human judgment.
