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Meet our team

The mission of the Robotics Factory is to further the region's efforts to grow robotics startups and link them to industry and manufacturing capabilities. What captured the attention of the EDA and made the Southwestern Pennsylvania application stand out for the competitive Build Back Better grant was the region's cohesive approach to building the workforce and capabilities of robotics industries.
Not only do the Robotics Factory programs address existing problems experienced by industries that can be solved using robotics and automation solutions, but we also provide the resources and funding that are critical to emerging companies. Together, the Robotics Factory Create, Accelerate, and Scale programs are dynamic components of the region's most important economic engines.
Dejana Raggi
Accelerator Operations Lead
Kevin Dowling PhD
Managing Director of the Robotics Factory and Hardware
Matt Verlinich
Senior Program Manager, Manufacturing Program
Connor Claussen
Manufacturing Program Associate
Aaron Tainter
Director of Accelerators
Afshan Khan
Portfolio Executive, Hardware Sector
Jeffrey McDaniel
Portfolio Executive
Andrew Katon
Electromechanical Engineer
Luca DeGroot
Robotics Technician

Mentors

Jess Pedersen

Founder and Former COO, re2

Julie Gulick

CEO, Bally Design

Brandon Contino

Co-Founder & CEO, Four Growers

Dan Seitam

Black Ice Strategies, Principal

Doug Descalzi

Founder & Principal, Thiopoly

Jorgen Pedersen

Robotics Entrepreneur in Residence

Parag Batavia

Founder, Neya Systems

Rich Flati

COO, AutoRabit

Tom Lauwers

BirdBrain Technologies, Founder and CEO

Tom Galluzzo

Director of Engineering at Near Earth Autonomy

Proud Partners

Innovation Works is proud to launch the Robotics Factory with support from partners