YC-Backed Bucket Robotics Navigates CES Debut

The outlook for the weather in Las Vegas was concerning. The original plan for the YC-backed company Bucket Robotics was for each employee to carry parts of their exhibition booth in their luggage to the 2026 Consumer Electronics Show. However, CEO and founder Matt Puchalski wasn't willing to risk delays with one or all of their flights. So, he rented a Hyundai Santa Fe and loaded it up instead.

"It was... a tight fit," he chuckled on the show floor.

The 12-hour drive through the rain was worth it; the equipment — and Puchalski — arrived safely in Las Vegas, marking the beginning of the young company's very first CES.

Based in San Francisco, Bucket Robotics was just one of thousands of exhibitors at the annual tech conference, a single grain of sand on a vast beach of products and promises. Despite its modest setup in the automotive-focused West Hall, Puchalski considered the trip a success.

A key part of that success was a commitment to being tireless, observant, and always prepared to deliver a pitch.

An engineer by profession, Puchalski spent most of the past decade working on autonomous vehicles at companies like Uber, Argo AI, Ford's subsidiary Latitude AI, and SoftBank-backed Stack AV.

Those roles allowed him to forge deep connections within the automotive industry, and our paths crossed multiple times throughout the week.

I spotted him at an industry networking event one evening. On another night, he was in my hotel lobby at 10 p.m., deep in discussion with Sanjay Dastoor—founder of mobility startups Skip and Boosted, also YC alumni—about balancing quality with manufacturing yield.

But I first met Puchalski over breakfast at the hotel. Seated at the next table, he and sales associate Max Joseph were reviewing preparations for the conference's "Media Day" over their (reportedly) cage-free eggs.

His enthusiasm caught my attention. After introducing myself, he explained Bucket Robotics's mission. Before long, he had opened a bright yellow Pelican case and I was holding a small plastic component.

Launched as part of Y Combinator's Spring 2024 batch, Bucket Robotics focuses on using advanced vision systems for quality inspection, specifically for surface defects. The goal is to automate a tedious task that Puchalski jokingly said is often handled by "guys in Wisconsin," and to support the broader, cross-industry push to bring manufacturing back onshore.

He used car door handles as an example. It's a part customers interact with daily, so it must be structurally sound—a quality check that is largely figured out.

The real challenge lies in ensuring a flawless surface. Is the color consistent? Are there any burn marks or scuffs? These are the questions Bucket Robotics aims to answer.

"It's extremely difficult to automate this kind of inspection without massive amounts of data, so automakers typically just assign guys in Wisconsin to the problem," he explained.

Bucket Robotics tackles the data issue by starting with the CAD files for a specific part. The system then generates numerous simulated defects—like burn marks, bumps, or breaks—enabling its vision software to quickly identify these issues on a production line.

This approach eliminates the need for manual labeling. The company claims its models can deploy "in minutes" and adapt as products or production lines evolve. A major selling point, Puchalski noted, is that Bucket Robotics integrates into existing production lines without requiring new hardware.

This capability has already drawn customers from both the automotive and defense sectors, positioning Bucket Robotics to pursue the increasingly common "dual-use" company pathway.

When the show floor opened, the first two hours were "intense," Puchalski recalled. Attendees in suits examined the startup's display, picked up orange stickers with the Bucket Robotics logo, and questioned the team about their technology.

More importantly, Puchalski said interest remained steady all week. He engaged in "real technical discussions" with professionals from manufacturing, robotics, and automation. By Friday, he was already busy with follow-up calls from potential customers and investors.

CES can be a marathon, but Bucket Robotics made it through. Now comes the truly difficult part: building the business, scaling up, securing funding, and closing commercial deals.

As for the "guys in Wisconsin," Puchalski doesn't see his company as a threat to their jobs. He pointed out that those roles involve not just spotting defects, but also diagnosing their root causes.

Furthermore, he added, automating surface quality inspection is a challenge the manufacturing industry has been grappling with for decades.

"So when we approach our customers, it's incredibly exciting for them," he said.