
“Alpharetta Tech Talk,” Episode 16: Samay Kohli, GreyOrange
GreyOrange uniquely combines robotics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning to shape the fulfillment industry and help their customers respond to “Amazon customer experience” expectations. CEO Samay Kohli joined host John Ray to discuss this and much more in a fascinating interview. “Alpharetta Tech Talk” is produced virtually by the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX® in Alpharetta.
GreyOrange
Three technologies are fundamentally changing the nature of how things work: Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Robotics. GreyOrange combines all three to shape the future of the fulfillment industry in real time.
GreyOrange is the only company that integrates software and robots built together specifically to improve order fulfillment throughput, scale, accuracy and economics. Ranger robots are developed in concert with GreyMatter software and use machine learning to adjust decisions and behavior based on real-time observations. Additionally, maximum-life engineering ensures every Ranger robot delivers ‘last and learn’ value. Communication among the robots and the GreyMatter central system incorporates that learning so the entire system continues to get smarter. The GreyMatter Command Center gives fulfillment personnel on the warehouse floor insights into the movement of inventory, performance levels of people and robot teams, order fulfillment rates, Service Level Agreement rates and other relevant information.
GreyOrange is a global company headquartered in the United States with additional core operations in Singapore, Germany, Japan and India. The company has more than 70 installations of its solutions around the world.
Samay Kohli, CEO
While still an engineering student at India’s Birla Institute of Tech and Science (BITS Pilani), Samay Kohli began attracting attention as an innovator in robotics as the founder and leader of a team of students who invented a humanoid robot, AcYut, at the institute’s Center for Robotics and Intelligent Systems.
As the team successfully competed in various global robotics competitions, Samay and fellow teammate Akash Gupta decided to join together to channel their passion for robotics, Artificial Intelligence and machine learning into a company focused on “a problem big enough to be worth solving.”
After interviewing leaders from several different industries, Samay and Akash were struck by the lack of modernization they saw in fulfillment operations. They found the core challenges perfectly suited for solving by robotics, AI software and machine learning: thousands of decision variables shaped in real time, the ‘it depends’ nature of optimal decisions, the need to operate quickly but also at the right cost, and the challenge of attracting and retaining high-performing workers. They founded GreyOrange in 2011 to solve these challenges.
Today, Samay Kohli, GreyOrange Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, and Akash Gupta, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer, are changing the face – and pace – of fulfillment. GreyOrange has evolved from the right idea to a global force of innovators defining “what’s next” in eCommerce and omnichannel fulfillment, working in partnership with leading retailers and third-party logistics providers worldwide.
What Samay and Akash understood that others didn’t is that tacking robots onto software built for earlier times improves fulfillment performance some…but not nearly enough. After all, those robots are simply hardware appendages limited by the capabilities of the software systems to which they interface.
Instead, GreyOrange delivers a fundamentally new Fulfillment Operating System: One driven by an AI-enabled software brain called GreyMatter that integrates robots rather than merely interfacing to them. Robots leverage GreyMatter software built into their core to communicate with other robots and with the central system, creating continuous feedback between the algorithms in the software brain and the real-time operations on the floor. In this way, prescribed operations are continuously informed by alternate real-time options to ensure GreyMatter’s always-solving intelligence calculates each “best decision” moment to moment.
In recognition of his achievements, Samay has been named to the Forbes 30 under 30 list, MIT Technology Review’s Top 35 Innovators Under 35, and Fortune’s 40 Under 40 list. He is a frequent speaker at logistics, fulfillment and robotics industry events.
Find out more at their website, or call (470) 223-2260.

About “Alpharetta Tech Talk”
“Alpharetta Tech Talk” is the radio show/podcast home of the burgeoning technology sector in Alpharetta and the surrounding GA 400 and North Fulton area. We feature key technology players from a dynamic region of over 900 technology companies. “Alpharetta Tech Talk” comes to you from from the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX®.
Past episodes of “Alpharetta Tech Talk” can be found at alpharettatechtalk.com.
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Karin Bursa serves as Executive Vice President at
Chris Barber serves as Chief Executive Officer for North America for GreyOrange. GreyOrange is a multinational technology company that designs, manufactures and deploys advanced robotics systems for automation in distribution and fulfillment centers. Through the use of flexible automation, the power of AI and exceptional customer service, we work closely with businesses to recognize their needs, optimize the supply chain and enhance process efficiency. As we prepare businesses for the future, our customers can focus on what they do best: create, sell and innovate. We help our customers evolve their business, without sacrificing what makes it unique. Founded in 2011, GreyOrange is headquartered in Singapore with offices in India, Japan, Germany and USA, and three state-of-the-art research and development centers in India, USA and Singapore. To know more, visit
Will Haraway is Founder & Lead Evangelist at Backbeat Marketing. Will has 20 years of executive experience in B2B Technology Marketing. Will is a certified analyst relations practitioner by the Knowledge Capital Group and has helped companies including Manhattan Associates, Aptos, Atlantix Global Systems, American Software and Rubicon Global improve their brand reputations with marketing results that help increase sales. Will also serves as a member of the APICS Atlanta Executive Advisory Board. The Backbeat team includes lead generation, digital marketing, media relations and content marketing specialists with a combined 50 years of experience in their chosen disciplines. Connect with Will on
Ben Harris is Director of Supply Chain Ecosystem Expansion for the Metro Atlanta Chamber. Ben comes to the Metro Atlanta Chamber after serving as Senior Manager, Market Development for Manhattan Associates. There, Ben was responsible for developing Manhattan’s sales pipeline and overall Americas supply chain marketing strategy. Ben oversaw market positioning, messaging and campaign execution to build awareness and drive new pipeline growth. Prior to joining Manhattan, Ben spent four years with the Georgia Department of Economic Development’s Center of Innovation for Logistics where he played a key role in establishing the Center as a go-to industry resource for information, support, partnership building, and investment development. Additionally, he became a key SME for all logistics and supply chain-focused projects. Ben began his career at Page International, Inc. where he drove continuous improvement in complex global supply chain operations for a wide variety of businesses and Fortune 500 companies. An APICS Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP), Ben holds an Executive Master’s degree in Business Administration (EMBA) and bachelor’s degree in International Business (BBA) from the Terry College at the University of Georgia. Connect with Ben on
Scott W. Luton is the founder of 













