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Accelerate Program

The Robotics Factory Accelerate Program invests in early-stage robotics startups based in Southwestern Pennsylvania.

Program Description

The Robotics Factory will invest up to $100,000 in the form of a convertible note in addition to receiving 2% common stock equity from participating companies.Qualifying alumni companies have the opportunity to raise additional capital from the Innovation Works Seed Fund after graduating from the accelerator.

Program Features

  • 1:1 Mentorship with seasonedstartup leaders via the Pittsburgh Robotics Network

  • 12 months of office space at the Robotics Factory in Lawrenceville, Pittsburgh with access to an expansive prototyping workshop and robotics testing shop

  • Product development resources including manufacturing bootcamp, product design reviews, and manufacturing toolkit templates, one-on-one manufacturing office hours

  • 1:1 Business coaching with the Innovation Works program team to help you achieve your specific milestones, with little/no “mandatory” programming

Current Companies

Reclamation Factory is building the future of a distributed circular economy for plastics.

Humotech provides a wearable robotics platform (Caplex™) that enables researchers and developers to rapidly iterate on and evaluate different approaches to assisting human mobility.

Journey Robotics builds aviation automation solutions to improve the safety and efficiency of airport & airline operations.

ForSight Assistive Devices is a company dedicated to creating products to assist the visually impaired.

HeadStrait Labs is a female-led medical device company developing a new technology to improve patient outcomes during prehospital care and ambulance transportation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to be located in SWPA?

Yes, we expect each startup to have a significant presence in SWPA for the duration of the program and for five years following the program.

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How do you define “robotics” as far as the companies you accept into the accelerator?

We define robotics as a technology that will “sense, perceive, act”. Please tell us more about your product if you are unsure if you meet that definition.

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Do I need to have customers to be accepted into the accelerator?

No, your company can be pre-revenue, but we expect that a company has completed customer discovery and is actively listening to the needs of potential customers.

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When is the 2024 cohort happening?

The 2024 cohort will take place from June-December 2024, and we will accept 5-6 companies in the program. The application will be open on January 15th and stay open until February 29th, 2024.

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