Every industry with a floor to sweep or a phone that will not stop ringing is short-staffed right now. A single cashier ends up mopping a spill, answering three customers, and picking up a call at the same time, then leaving before the shift even ends. Multiply that across warehouses, hospitals, hotels, and schools, and the labor gap starts to look less like a scheduling problem and more like a structural one. Nobody set out to build a career around sweeping floors or hauling pallets, yet a large share of the workforce is stretched across exactly those tasks with no relief in sight.

Albert Saunders Jr. is the Founder and CEO of Neil AI Global Solutions, a North Carolina company that builds and deploys commercial robots and AI-driven software for businesses carrying that exact strain. Company-commissioned research published earlier this year identifies Neil AI as the only Black-owned business in North Carolina currently operating in both enterprise AI software and commercial robotics.

In this episode of Lead with AI, Dr. Tamara Nall speaks with Albert about the more than 38 robots his company has built, the Robots-as-a-Service model reshaping how businesses pay for automation, and the faith and family principles guiding every decision at Neil AI.

 One Person Cannot Sweep, Answer Phones, and Restock at Once   

Albert Saunders Jr. did not set out to build a robotics company. He set out to fix what he saw at a gas station staffed by one employee: a spill on the floor, a phone ringing, and a line forming at the register, all at once. That single visit convinced him the problem was bigger than any one gas station. Businesses across nearly every industry are asking a shrinking staff to do more, and burnout follows close behind.

"I believe everyone was designed for more than just being a cashier or just sweeping floors," Albert says. That belief became the starting point for Neil AI Global Solutions.

 What Does a Robot Workforce Actually Look Like?   

Neil AI's lineup now includes more than 38 robots, split across a few clear jobs. Commercial cleaning robots sweep, vacuum, mop, and dust mop on their own, coordinate with building elevators to move between floors, and send back a dashboard showing which areas got dirtiest and what got cleaned that day. Heavier-duty sweepers handle bigger debris such as glass, nails, and loose material, built for hospitals, hospices, and university campuses where a standard broom is not a safe option. Delivery robots, including one Albert calls FlashBot, are built to move up to 1,200 pounds and require a code to release their cargo, useful for jobs like hotel deliveries or warehouse pallet runs. On the software side, AI voice agents and AI-driven "employees" handle phone calls and email for businesses that cannot staff a full-time front desk.

 Why Neil AI Stopped Selling Robots and Started Paying Them   

For a while, Neil AI sold robots outright, and the price tag kept smaller businesses out of the market entirely. The shift came from an idea Albert credits to his CIO, Sam Banks, who has since become a part owner of the company because of it. Instead of a large upfront purchase, a business can treat each robot as an employee on a weekly labor budget. Albert calls the model RaaS, short for Robots as a Service, a deliberate echo of the software-as-a-service model most businesses already understand. Every business already budgets for labor. Now that budget can cover a robot instead of, or alongside, a person.

 300,000 Square Feet, One Robot, No Days Off   

One of Neil AI's clients needed a 300,000-square-foot warehouse swept clean, a job that had previously fallen to whoever could grab a broom between other tasks. Albert describes the old approach as inefficient at best; the floor rarely got fully done. Neil AI installed a single industrial sweeping robot that now runs the space day and night. The job that used to get finished halfway now gets finished.

 Faith, Family, and Being First in North Carolina   

Albert is direct about where his decisions come from. He describes himself first as a father, then as a faith-driven leader, and credits his approach to business ethics directly to that faith. He talks about treating clients and business partners like family rather than numbers, laying out pricing and terms clearly before any deal moves forward. That approach sits alongside a distinction Neil AI has publicized this year: company-commissioned research identifies it as the only Black-owned business in North Carolina building both enterprise AI software and commercial robotics under one roof.

Being first, in Albert's telling, means the mistakes are his to make and the standard is his to set.

 What Comes Next for Neil AI   

Albert says Neil AI is preparing to provide cleanup support around a large-scale event at a major entertainment venue, though the partnership had not been publicly announced at the time this episode was recorded. Looking further out, he expects Neil AI to be publicly traded by 2030, alongside a broader shift toward robots as a service, the same way software became a service before it. His boldest prediction is simpler: walk into enough hotels, gas stations, and schools by then, and a Neil AI robot will be doing part of the work.

 Quick Answers   

What is Neil AI Global Solutions? Neil AI Global Solutions is a North Carolina company that builds and deploys commercial robots and AI-driven software, including cleaning robots, delivery robots, and AI voice agents, for businesses dealing with labor shortages and staff burnout.

What is Robots as a Service (RaaS)? RaaS is Neil AI's model for pricing robots the same way software-as-a-service prices software. Instead of a large upfront purchase, businesses pay for a robot on a recurring basis, similar to a labor budget line item.

What kinds of robots does Neil AI build? The lineup includes commercial cleaning robots that sweep, mop, and report on floor conditions, heavy-duty debris sweepers for facilities like hospitals and universities, and delivery robots built to move up to 1,200 pounds. The company also offers AI voice agents that handle phone calls and email.

Is Neil AI Global Solutions really the only Black-owned AI robotics company in North Carolina? Company-commissioned research published in 2026 identifies Neil AI as the only Black-owned business in North Carolina currently operating in both enterprise AI software and commercial robotics. The company says it will update the finding if evidence of an earlier example surfaces.

Who is Albert Saunders Jr.? Albert Saunders Jr. is the Founder and CEO of Neil AI Global Solutions. He built the company after watching a single employee at a gas station try to cover cleaning, cashier, and phone duties at once, and describes his faith and family as the foundation for how the business runs.

For businesses watching staff burn out over jobs no single person can cover, Neil AI Global Solutions is live at neilai.ai with its full robot and AI employee lineup. For more conversations with the founders and leaders building the future of AI, subscribe to Lead with AI on your favorite podcast platform.

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