Vention Inc. founder and chief executive Etienne Lacroix in the company's Montreal, Que., shop in 2019; Photo by Dave Sidaway/Montreal Gazette files

In an industrial shop near downtown Montreal, a startup is seeking to revolutionize how businesses use machines on the factory floor.

Vention Inc. is trying to make robotics more accessible to companies of all sizes with a combination of Nvidia Corp. -powered computers and hardware that can be designed online and assembled somewhat like a Lego set. Founder Etienne Lacroix says he believes his company holds part of the solution for helping U.S. manufacturers boost their production efficiently.

But the industry has been thrown into uncertainty after the White House last week launched an investigation into imports of robotics, a first step

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