How This Manufacturing-Automation Startup Signed Up Auto-Parts Giant Denso For Tech That Helps Humans Work Smarter

Employees toil at lines, doing the same task, repeatedly, in order to assemble a final product. A line stoppage or bottleneck can cost a fortune. What if the manufacturer could see what was going on, in real time, and fix any issues before they become real problems? Or come up with ways to make the process run smoother and more efficiently? That's the basic idea behind Drishti Technologies, a four-year-old startup cofounded by Prasad Akella, a 57-year-old Indian entrepreneur who's best known for leading the General Motors team that developed collaborative robots in the 1990s.