QXO, a startup with intentions of becoming a technology-forward player in the building products distribution industry, announced Ashwin Rao has joined the company as its chief artificial intelligence officer. In the role, he will serve as QXO’s “principal AI architect,” according to the company.
According to a spokesperson for QXO, contractors and builders surveyed by the company say the most important thing for them is getting their orders in full, on time and intact. Rao and his team will use AI-based inventory management to meet that standard.
“Artificial intelligence will permeate everything we do at QXO, including demand forecasting, inventory management, and e-commerce,” QXO chairman and CEO Brad Jacobs said. “Ashwin is recognized as one of the brightest minds in enterprise AI. he will be instrumental in making QXO the most tech-forward company in the industry.”
From 2016 to 2022, Rao served as the first-ever head of AI for Target Corporation, where he led a team that developed mathematical models for pricing, merchandising, customer experience, supply chain logistics, and other critical functions. According to an QXO spokesperson, he led the initiative to build AI into Target’s core retail business, overhauling the product recommendation engine, which helped generate billions of dollars of revenue for Target.
With QXO, Rao will build a team of about two dozen data scientists to build QXO’s AI function. QXO says Rao’s work will span the entire company, from route optimization in transportation to robotics and automation in warehouses to supply chain optimization.
“The opportunities to use AI to transform the building products distribution industry are endless,” Rao said. “I’m excited to get started on dozens of AI workstreams that, combined with advantages of scale, will help QXO increase efficiency, optimize supply chains, and add value for our customers.”
QXO has said it plans to build the company into a building products distributor with $50 billion or more in revenue over the next decade through accretive M&A and organic growth.
“The building products distribution industry’s nascent use of technology, particularly AI and B2B e-commerce, represents a compelling opportunity for QXO as a tech-forward entrant,” the company’s strategy reads. “QXO’s combination of scale and innovation should elevate the customer experience, increase sales force effectiveness, and enable margin expansion.”
