West of Ireland Startup Forge Robotics Joins Y Combinator to Redefine Manufacturing

 Forge Robotics, a Galway-based AI robotics startup, has secured a place in Y Combinator, one of the world’s most prestigious accelerators that has backed household names including Airbnb, Stripe and Uber. Acceptance into the programme comes with $500,000 in pre-seed funding, positioning Forge Robotics among the most ambitious Irish companies to emerge in recent years and one of the few tackling a global manufacturing crisis head-on.

“When we got the news on Thursday, we knew we just had to go,” says CEO Eoin Cobbe. “Robert quit his job, I deferred my degree, and by Saturday, we were on a flight to San Francisco.”

Co-founded by Eoin Cobbe, 21, and CTO Robert Cormican, 22, Forge Robotics are tackling one of the most urgent challenges in industry: the shortage of skilled welders. With hundreds of thousands of experienced welders set to retire in the coming years and too few new entrants to the trade, manufacturers face mounting pressure to keep production lines moving.

Forge Robotics are building an AI-powered intelligence layer that gives robots the adaptability of a human welder. Its system allows robots to scan a part, interpret its geometry and execute welds even when the setup is imperfect.

“When a factory buys a robot, the cost of setting up the robot and keeping the robot running is more than the cost of the robot. Forge Robotics eliminates months of expensive engineering hours, changing the game for factories,” says Cobbe.

The company’s vision extends far beyond welding. Its long-term ambition is to create a universal factory operating system that makes robots more intelligent and adaptive across every stage of production, from cutting and assembly to inspection.

Both founders already bring a depth of experience. Cobbe studied mechanical engineering, worked in steel fabrication and robotics, and previously ran a €100,000 a year manufacturing business. Cormican is a published researcher in AI and image quality in the IEEE Open Journal of Vehicular Technology, and has worked in silicon development at Analog Devices as well as in self-driving car technology at Valeo.

Forge Robotics first came to prominence earlier this year in Galway through the national AI Venture Forge accelerator operated by PorterShed. The AI accelerator is funded through the NDRC realisation fund. The programme gave the team early exposure to international mentors and access to advanced computing resources through the Irish Centre for High-End Computing (ICHEC).

Now, just days into Y Combinator, Forge Robotics has already incorporated a US entity, interviewed engineers and is on track to launch their first product in July 2026.

“Every day we are proving that intelligent robotics is not just possible, it is inevitable,” says Cobbe. “And we want Ireland to be at the centre of this global shift.”

When asked about the announcement, Mary Rodgers, CEO of PorterShed, remarked, “From Galway to Silicon Valley, Forge Robotics is showing how Irish startups can compete on the world stage, develop technologies with global impact and redefine the future of manufacturing. For Eoin and Rob, this is only the beginning; their vision and speed of execution already mark them as Irish founders defining the future of global industry.”

AI Venture Forge is made possible through funding received from the NDRC Realisation Fund.