Bringing operational AI to legacy manufacturing

This article is a part of Startup Spotlight, a series that features young, up-and-coming startups.

Photo credit: Mohammad Harris

Mohammad Harris studied the link between commercial performance and sustainability during his engineering PhD. He noticed smaller factories struggled to extract insights from their scattered production logs. This led him to launch Inshira Technologies.

😟 Problem

Small and medium-sized manufacturers struggle with fragmented data across spreadsheets, paper logs, and manual systems. This poor visibility masks the root causes of delays, material waste, and energy losses. These factories often lack budgets for complex digital upgrades.

💡 Solution

Inshira analyzes existing manufacturing data to build a stage-by-stage operational map. The platform uses AI and engineering expertise to track waste and optimize resources. 

The software provides several core features, including:

• Consolidates spreadsheets, quality logs, and production records.
• Identifies operational losses and estimates their financial impact.
• Generates a prioritized action list based on effort and value.
• Tracks realized improvements against a baseline without requiring new sensors.

Image credit: Inshira

📊 Market size

The startup targets industrial manufacturers with fewer than 500 employees. Securing 100 enterprise customers could generate between £1 million (US$1.32 million) and £4 million (US$5.30 million) or more in annual recurring revenue.

Expanding to 1,000 customers represents £10 million (US$13.25 million) to £40 million (US$52.99 million) or more in annual recurring revenue.

🤝 Team

• Mohammad Harris. Founder and managing director. He holds a PhD in Sustainable Engineering Technologies from the University of Hertfordshire
• Saed Hussain. Advisory board. He has more than a decade of experience in AI strategy and machine learning.
• Puja Hazlehurst. Advisory board. She spent over five years as Head of Product Engineering at Caeli Nova, an aerospace technology company.

🚀 Traction

• Completed an initial manufacturing pilot in China.
• Finished a paid operational mapping pilot with a UK manufacturer.
• Formed a strategic partnership with the University of Hertfordshire.
• Won the university’s Flare 2026 Engineers and Researchers in Business Fellowship.
• Developing a commercial pipeline across Vietnam, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka.

🏆 Competition

Competitors include MachineMetrics, Tulip, and Augmentir. Inshira differentiates itself by functioning as an AI decision layer for smaller manufacturers with mixed digital maturity. The platform relies on existing data rather than demanding immediate sensor installations.

💰 Financials

🚩 Risks