# BONUS: From a Sabbatical to Building the First Full-Stack Industrial AI Company with Andres Naranjo, CEO of Software Toolbox

- Show: [Manufacturing Happy Hour](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour)
- Published: 2026-07-07
- Length: 1h 06m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2026-07-07-bonus-from-a-sabbatical-to-building-the-first-full-stack-industrial-ai-company-w
- Listen: http://manufacturinghappyhour.com

## Summary

Andres Naranjo, CEO of Software Toolbox, discusses his journey from a sabbatical sailing around the world to building the first full-stack industrial AI company. He explains why he acquired Software Toolbox to gain distribution and data moats, and outlines his framework for deciding when to build versus buy. Naranjo details the evolution of AI types—machine learning, computer vision, generative AI, and agentic AI—and argues for replacing static dashboards with real-time, AI-driven insights on the plant floor.

## Chapters

- [0:48](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2026-07-07-bonus-from-a-sabbatical-to-building-the-first-full-stack-industrial-ai-company-w#t=48) Introduction: Andres Naranjo and Software Toolbox
- [2:23](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2026-07-07-bonus-from-a-sabbatical-to-building-the-first-full-stack-industrial-ai-company-w#t=143) Sailing the Globe and Learning AI
- [12:54](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2026-07-07-bonus-from-a-sabbatical-to-building-the-first-full-stack-industrial-ai-company-w#t=774) Writing Japan's Digital Agenda
- [18:12](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2026-07-07-bonus-from-a-sabbatical-to-building-the-first-full-stack-industrial-ai-company-w#t=1092) Building Alley AI and Acquiring Software Toolbox
- [27:02](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2026-07-07-bonus-from-a-sabbatical-to-building-the-first-full-stack-industrial-ai-company-w#t=1622) Business Lessons: Buy vs. Build and Resource Allocation
- [38:01](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2026-07-07-bonus-from-a-sabbatical-to-building-the-first-full-stack-industrial-ai-company-w#t=2281) Defining the Industrial AI Stack and AI Types
- [48:03](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2026-07-07-bonus-from-a-sabbatical-to-building-the-first-full-stack-industrial-ai-company-w#t=2883) Training and Deploying Agentic AI
- [54:57](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2026-07-07-bonus-from-a-sabbatical-to-building-the-first-full-stack-industrial-ai-company-w#t=3297) Replacing Dashboards with Real-Time AI Insights
- [59:37](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2026-07-07-bonus-from-a-sabbatical-to-building-the-first-full-stack-industrial-ai-company-w#t=3577) Empowering System Integrators

## Topics

- [AI & machine learning](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/ai-and-machine-learning)
- [Scaling production](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/scaling-production)
- [Connected products & IoT](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/connected-products-and-iot)
- [Leadership, teams & culture](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/leadership-and-culture)
- [Hiring & workforce](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/hiring-and-workforce)

## Most relevant to

companies scaling up

## Mentioned

- Software Toolbox (company)
- Alley AI (company)
- Brighton Group (company)
- Yacht Devices (product)
- McKinsey (company)
- Chat UNS.AI (product)
- Open AI (company)
- CSIA (company)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Clarifying AI Terminology and Applications in Manufacturing w/ Alex Sandoval](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2024-01-16-clarifying-ai-terminology-and-applications-in-manufacturing-w-alex-sandoval) (The Manufacturing Executive)
- [The Sims for Founders: What Agent-First Companies Actually Look Like](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/built-2-scale/2026-03-31-the-sims-for-founders-what-agent-first-companies-actually-look-like) (Built 2 Scale)
- [Generative AI for Dirty Jobs—The Next Industrial Revolution?](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/moores-lobby/2025-05-20-generative-ai-for-dirty-jobs-the-next-industrial-revolution) (Moore's Lobby)
- [Industrial DataOps and Rise of AI Agents w/ Aron Semle](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-manufacturing-executive/2025-07-01-industrial-dataops-and-rise-of-ai-agents-w-aron-semle) (The Manufacturing Executive)
- [Specialized AI brains for physical industry](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/catalyst/2025-04-04-specialized-ai-brains-for-physical-industry) (Catalyst)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/manufacturing-happy-hour/2026-07-07-bonus-from-a-sabbatical-to-building-the-first-full-stack-industrial-ai-company-w. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to Manufacturing Happy Hour.