Company Announcements
September 11, 2026
SMU Profile: Emanate AI CEO Kiara Nirghin on using AI to transform the steel industry
Written by Ethan Bernard
AI has gone from science fiction to everyday reality in what seems like the blink of an eye. And now it’s working its way into every corner of business, and the steel industry is no exception. At Steel Summit 2026 in Atlanta last month, Kiara Nirghin, founder and CEO of Emanate, spoke about Emanate’s work in the steel industry. Recently, SMU had a chance to sit down with her to talk about the company and how AI is integral to the future of steel.
First, while many people may be familiar with more general tools like Gemini or ChatGPT, San Francisco-based Emanate is different.
“We essentially build AI agents that run the entire commercial side of industrial material and steel companies,” Nirghin said. “So, one of the ways we do that is we handle everything coming into a commercial inbox.”
She said the company also is able to help manage and grow existing accounts and find new revenue across a customer base.
Diving deeper
This is a crucial time for the US. “Steel is at the center of reindustrialization of the US and all reshoring efforts,” Nirghin said.
While much of the steel industry’s focus is on new plants and facilities, Nirghin said commercial operations are also critical to growth through winning new business, improving pricing, and optimizing product mix.
“Every chip fab, every data center starts on the commercial side of a steel company or industrial material company,” Nirghin said. “That cannot happen unless Emanate exists. It exists to serve them.”
She noted a lot of innovation has happened in the back office for these companies. “Nobody has looked at the front office most of the time because it was just never possible to consolidate all this data in this way before AI.”
And Emanate comes with a hands-on commitment to get up and running. “Emanate strategists and engineers will work side by side with your commercial team, commercial SMEs, or an IT team to deploy.”
Available now, getting better
There might have been a feeling in the steel industry that AI seemed interesting, but practical applications remained always right around the corner. Nirghin was adamant that what Emanate can do is applicable now, and improving all the time.
She quipped that, “The models are the worst now they will ever be, and so they will only keep getting better from now on and for years to come.”
Jokes aside, she was quick to point out that, “We can analyze complex grades, specs, and types of materials. That is where we are right now. So getting Emanate now means we get smarter with you and your business, but you also build that intelligence faster than anyone.”
And she added that the models are good enough right now to perform human-level action and actually grow your company on the commercial side.
Moving forward
Nirghin cautioned that taking a wait-and-see approach to AI is not standing still but being left behind.
“Doing nothing isn’t neutral in this market,” she said. “Maintaining revenue in your commercial operations the way you do today is essentially supporting declining growth.”
She went further, saying that the risk of not working with a company like Emanate and deploying AI in commercial operations is very real. She gave the example of improving efficiency in steel pricing where AI can analyze data, run simulations, develop potential solutions, and help companies implement them quickly.
“If everybody in the industry is growing with superpowers and you’re not, you’re inherently not going to win,” Nirghin said.
