Could deep, proven planning, scheduling, and execution deliver higher value if they acted as a closed-loop, real-time system? OK, that’s an obvious yes, particularly for complex discrete industries. While it’s not common in the market, it is the driving vision for Eyelit Technologies (Eyelit). They are leveraging both longstanding Eyelit integration capabilities and more recently developed agentic AI to achieve this. We learned more during a recent update briefing with executives from the four companies that now make up Eyelit.
Planning-Scheduling-Execution
Developing deep capabilities in manufacturing execution systems (MES) typically takes a while, and Eyelit has done so over three decades. The company’s heritage in semiconductor means the MES is suited to mixed-mode and extremely complex production settings. What has perhaps most differentiated the solution is its FactoryConnect no-code/low-code integration platform.
Banneker Partners invested in Eyelit in 2021, shifting Eyelit’s steady, founder-led approach toward a more dynamic one. This growth investment was just the first in a series to expand the footprint both in industries and from MES into supply chain.
- Eyelit acquired MESTEC in 2022, so the company now has two MES platforms, each proven in distinct complex industries.
- In 2024, Eyelit acquired Optessa, a company specializing in detailed production scheduling and advanced planning and scheduling (APS).
- Adexa, acquired in 2025, offers a full suite of multi-echelon demand and supply chain planning; in this suite, it is often called sales, inventory, and operations planning (SIOP).
One Company and Suite from Four
Eyelit now claims over 200 employees and over 100 customers on five continents. Each of the four companies continues to sell independently, but the vision for them to work together has come to life. We can be skeptical, having seen software companies take many years or never really achieve integration among their acquired solutions. However, Eyelit has been coming together rapidly. They now say about a quarter of their interest is from companies looking to apply more than one of MES, APS, and SIOP.
Their secrets for bringing together a closed-loop suite are:
- A proven low-code/no-code hub-and-spoke integration and orchestration platform, Factory Connect. This event-driven middleware is part of Eyelit’s origin story as an integrator of semiconductor fab software. Factory Connect is designed to embrace and extend incumbent software in a manufacturer. That is true not only of plant software but also of supply chain and enterprise software.
- Agent EyeQ, Eyelit’s MCP-based AI platform for agentic workflows leveraging any connected information source. With thousands of APIs and 1700 MCP calls within the Eyelit suite, agents have rich and in-context information as a starting point. Customers can select the LLM underlying it. Beyond a natural language user interface, Agent EyeQ is designed to perform autonomous or more typically semi-autonomous workflows. It can be an electronic co-worker or a caddy. Eyelit says this AI architecture is not just layered on top of the FactoryConnect architecture but embedded in it.
- Automatic Data Services (ADS) delivers the reliability complex manufacturers need. It parses and stores data so employees don’t need to type or transcribe data, avoiding a common source of errors. It also guarantees data persistence. Customers typically have two ADS instances for redundancy, and the Eyelit team pointed to customers who have three or more to balance volume and load and enable nearly infinite scaling.
Both APS and SIOP can integrate with either MES platform to achieve a closed-loop effect. With the integration and AI capabilities to leverage the complete data set, the value available and the speed at which it can be gained are very promising.
Industries and Customers
While Eyelit’s customers range from some of the largest name-brand customers in the world, such as TSMC, Raytheon, Rolls-Royce, AIDC, Stryker, Analog Devices, and Valmont, it also serves mid-size manufacturers. What is common is that they are complex, discrete manufacturers who create high-value products in high volume and variety. Eyelit cited customers’ willingness to discuss their successes with the solutions.
Eyelit targets five major industry segments:
- High Tech, including semiconductors and batteries
- Aerospace and defense worldwide and at multiple levels
- Industrial assembly from consumer hard goods to products for energy and infrastructure, to metal castings
- Automotive, with a strong focus on global OEMs as well as racing
- Medical device, including respiratory, orthopedic, and contract manufacturing
These industries line up well with the heritage companies. The Eyelit MES continues to be strong in aerospace, medical devices, semiconductors, batteries, and high tech and industrial segments. The Eyelit APS schedules not only complex industrial equipment but also automotive in-sequence plant-floor assembly lines. Additionally, the Eyelit SIOP solution has a customer foothold in the semiconductor and high tech industries. Its special capabilities can support planning for products that may come off the line with different quality grades or binning.
Our Take
We have known Eyelit and its constituent companies for quite a long time and have seen the value they bring to customers across sizes, industries, and geographies. While we have not always seen positive results from private equity investors, we really like Eyelit’s vision, approach, and initial results. Closed-loop planning, scheduling, and execution has been a glint in my eye for decades now. Eyelit may be the first company to bring together deep capabilities for this.
Using FactoryConnect with Agent EyeQ could provide the powerful industrial data operations foundation discrete manufacturing companies need for each of these applications to deliver maximum value. Eyelit has used its experience to develop playbooks and electronic employees that could speed AI and application time-to-value. All while respecting the customer’s data and LLM choices.
Thank You
Thank you to John Buglino and Johanna Coutinhofor arranging this briefing for us. Thanks to the Eyelit executives, CTO Salil Jain, VP of Sales Engineering, Crispin Panyard, SIOP Product Manager William Green, and APS General Manager Ashok Erramilli. We learned more than we can share here, and are looking forward to following Eyelit’s progress in the market.