Axion Founder Daniel First on Solving the $4 Trillion Manufacturing Problem with AI
How Axion is Saving Global Manufacturing
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BY
Alexa von Tobel
,
The Inspired Team
Founder & Managing Partner
November 19, 2025
Axion founder Daniel First is building the command center for American manufacturing that detects product failures before they reach customers. His AI-powered observability platform links IoT data, technician reports, and customer feedback across aerospace, medical devices, and consumer products to identify emerging issues manufacturers don't even know exist. Born from watching enterprise AI pilots fail at McKinsey, Axion is architecting customer-centric manufacturing where products iterate in real time based on what's breaking in the field.
What You'll Learn:
• The trillion-dollar quality crisis plaguing American manufacturing and how AI is solving it • Why most enterprise AI fails and what makes the rare successes different • The future of American manufacturing competing on speed of customer learning • How real-time field data is transforming product development cycles • Unconventional founder habits that enable exceptional speed and deep thinking
Chapters:
2:00 From Orthodox Debates to Independent Thinking 3:00 Neuroscience, Philosophy, and Human Flourishing 6:00 The Pivot from Academia to Industry 7:20 Predicting AI as the Next Cultural Mania 8:10 What Axion Actually Does for Manufacturers 10:35 The Invisible Quality Crisis Costing Trillions 13:30 Surprising Multi-Department Platform Adoption 16:02 Surgery Equipment Failure With Two Root Causes 16:47 Why Axion's Organization Looks Different 18:00 Building an Ecosystem Across Product Lifecycle 20:28 How Quality Data Drives Product Innovation 21:58 American Manufacturing Winning on Empathy 26:00 How Axion Succeeded Where 95% Fail 28:50 Why Robotics Will Create More Quality Issues 31:10 What Enterprise Leaders Think About AI 32:50 Data Centers and Manufacturing Tailwind 34:09 The Experimental Mindset Driving Speed 36:30 Why 2010s Advice No Longer Applies 38:40 The Vertical AI Revolution 39:55 Quick-fire Questions