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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.

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

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

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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