Artificial intelligence-enabled robot company OnSight Technology has taken space in a Folsom light industrial building as its new headquarters and manufacturing space with room to grow.
OnSight has 20 employees now and plans to grow to 60 people in the next year, which will be accommodated in the 11,000 square feet of office and light industrial space the company's leased in the Lake Forest Tech Center.
Folsom “offers an unparalleled environment for growth, with access to a talented workforce, supportive local government and a thriving tech community,” said Derek Chase, CEO of OnSight Technology. “Folsom is the perfect place for OnSight to continue pushing the boundaries of AI and robotics.”
OnSight is a great example of the strength of the local ecosystem to help a startup ramp up to sales and production, said Barry Broome, CEO of the Greater Sacramento Economic Council.
“It’s a real success story, the formation of a business,” Broome said. “We can help build these new industry models, help them scale and help them grow.”
OnSight was founded in 2022 by repeat local entrepreneurs, it was incubated by and then received investment capital from the Growth Factory in Rocklin, and then went on to raise seed-round investment money from Folsom-based venture capital firm Moneta Ventures, and from international investors. In addition to Moneta and Growth Factory, OnSight raised money from Stäubli, a Swiss manufacturer of industrial products.
OnSight’s first product was the Bulldog, an autonomous robot on tank treads with computer vision capabilities and built-in artificial intelligence analysis. It can visually inspect connections and junction boxes on the underside of utility-scale solar photovoltaic panels in remote locations. It can detect bad cells and panels, offering operators an exact coordinate of where problems need to be addressed. The robots can also detect micro-cracks and even the presence of protected plants and wildlife on the ground.
OnSight’s second product is called the Owl. It's a series of smart cameras programmed to recognize fire and smoke on rooftop solar arrays, providing early warning to prevent disasters before they escalate.
“These solar systems are out of sight. If they catch fire, they get so big that they are catastrophic,” said Chase. It’s generally not the panels that catch fire. Rather it is the wire connections at the panel, at the invertor or in wire harnesses, he said.
Chase said he can’t name its customers for the product, but he said they include some big-box stores and a company with a lot of warehouses all over the world.
Four Owl cameras mounted on poles can cover a full 360-degree view for about 500 meters.
The company leases the Owl system, or it will sell it with an ongoing subscription for software.
The Owl isn’t even listed on the company’s website yet, but OnSight is backordered for them for months supplying its existing customers, Chase said.
The Owl’s computer vision AI technology camera watches the area all the time. If there is an anomaly, it can signal a person via message or text, and if that person doesn’t respond, it will connect to authorities.
OnSight has leased about a third of a 35,000-square-foot building at 140 Blue Ravine Road in Folsom.
The building, which dates to 1984, has manufacturing areas, warehouse, labs and open-office space along with 16 private offices. It's been updated and upgraded by various tenants over the years, said Cole Strombom, with Strombom Properties Inc., an owner of the building.
"Folsom has long been a center for technological innovation, and the addition of OnSight Technology's headquarters further cements our city's reputation as a leading regional hub for high-tech companies,” said Folsom Mayor Mike Kozlowski, in a news release.
"It is incredibly gratifying to see a company like OnSight Technology start in a small space on Sutter Street in Folsom, expand to El Dorado Hills and ultimately return to Folsom to set down roots for their robotics and R&D hub,” said Choose Folsom CEO Joe Gagliardi, in a news release.
