SoftWear Automation, an Atlanta-based robotics company, is pushing the textile industry toward a new frontier: fully autonomous, localized garment manufacturing. With its patented SEWBOT® technology, SoftWear Automation transforms how soft goods are sewn, making “lights out” factories, zero inventory, and on-demand production a reality for brands worldwide. As of August 2025, the company has raised over $44 million, including a recent $20 million Series B1 round led by Danish fashion giant BESTSELLER.
What Is SoftWear Automation?
Founded in 2012 by a group of Georgia Tech scientists—including CEO Palaniswamy “Raj” Rajan—SoftWear Automation set out to crack one of manufacturing’s final automation frontiers: sewing flexible fabrics. The company spent over a decade developing machine vision and robotics able to manipulate, cut, and sew different textiles with the micro-precision of a human seamstress—automatically recognizing fabric distortions and making real-time adjustments.
The company’s flagship innovation is the SEWBOT®, a robotic workline that combines smart…
cameras, real-time software, robotic arms, and conventional sewing machines. It was initially piloted to produce bath mats and towels, but now powers local T-shirt factories, home textiles, and denim production lines for major global brands. How Does SEWBOT Work?
At its core, the SEWBOT platform uses high-speed machine vision and lightweight robotics to map soft, moving fabrics, identify their edges, and then steer them from station to station through various sewing steps—all without human handling.
Cameras and sensors replicate the eyes and hands of a skilled operator, so the robots can recognize the exact moment a stitch, seam, or cut is required, adjusting for fabric type and even pattern details.
This enables a single line to turn out a finished T-shirt in just 22 seconds, with labor costs as low as 33 cents per shirt—compared to $1+ per unit in traditional, manual factories. Sewbots can be programmed for multiple garment types, making the system highly flexible…
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