Forgepoint, a New York-based startup developing AI-powered sales automation software for manufacturers, announced a $9.8 million seed funding round on October 14, 2026. The round was led by Primary Venture Partners and a16z speedrun, with participation from angel investors affiliated with OpenAI, Brex, Vercel and SoFi.
Founded by Jack Strauss and Alex Pareto, Forgepoint develops AI software designed to automate administrative workflows for manufacturing businesses. Strauss serves as CEO, while Pareto is the company’s CTO.
Forgepoint’s flagship product, Frank, is an AI inside sales representative that helps manufacturers manage the process from receiving a request for quotation (RFQ) to preparing a customer-ready quote. The software analyses technical drawings, part files and customer requirements, identifies missing information, retrieves relevant historical jobs and calculates pricing using each manufacturer’s existing cost models.
Frank also coordinates engineering reviews, prepares quotation documents, manages customer follow-ups and records information in existing customer relationship management (CRM) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. Engineers, estimators and sales teams retain responsibility for technical decisions and final approvals.
According to Forgepoint, the company reached seven-figure annual recurring revenue within six months of launching Frank. The company also reported that its customers increased monthly quotation volume by an average of 30% while reducing quotation turnaround times by more than 55%.
Forgepoint plans to use the new capital to expand adoption of Frank among manufacturers, strengthen integrations with existing business software and grow its team. The company also intends to extend its AI automation capabilities into additional manufacturing back-office workflows.
