I know it looks like these guys are beginning at the wrong time. (On that note, I have a post coming that we are ALL startups now, thanks to the pandemic.)

But, they really began their planning about a year ago. It’s just that the pandemic quarantine (and a few other circumstances) came just as they began their public announcements.

Most of you know that Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) has been a world leader in robotics and driverless cars. And, has been developing some pretty advanced technology over the years.

Well, just like the talented folks at MIT looking to capitalize on their expertise and knowledge (Bob Langer comes to mind) , there are folks at CMU looking to do the same.   These smart folks plan to participate in a new venture to capitalize on  that technology from a different perspective, bringing AI (artificial intelligence) and robotics into everyday use. Who are they? The Carnegie Foundry (CF). CF will be leasing space from the National Robotics Engineering Center (NREC) at CMU, so they can be at the heart of the action.

Why a foundry? After all, foundries have been around for a very long time. The first one, back when the Iron Age began, was somewhere in Mesopotamia. But, when we think of foundries today, we recall Andrew Carnegie and his perfection of the steel production process. Providing the building blocks that powered America’s golden age. Starting in Pittsburgh, PA.

That’s exactly what CF wants to do. They want to provide the building blocks of AI and robotics that will power America (or as they call it, America 2.0) to another zenith. Their goal is to do for robotics what tech companies have been doing for software.

Instead of having to spend beaucoup bucks to acquire the technology, CF plans to offer robotics as a service (RaaS). To make it even easier for companies to adopt- and adapt- the technologies to improve their performance and bottom line.

CF has chosen a few areas for its initial efforts. Given the pandemic’s effects on restaurants and hospitality industry, aiming to improve and perfect automated food processing stations is a wise choice. Autonomous inspection and security robots is another focus, as are smart cameras and sensors and robotics and AI educational technology.

Leveraging the capabilities that exist at the robotics center can compress a 5 or 10 year development project down to a year or 2, or a scale-up/customization process from a year down to a few months. Bringing the technology to use in rapid fashion means lowered costs and faster benefits for the firm.

Carnegie Foundry, being a separate entity, plans to subcontract the R&D portions to CMU and NREC. This allows the Carnegie Foundry to specialize in adapting those building blocks into manufacturing milieu and the supply chain. Helping advance the marketing and sales of these developments will also be part of their portfolio.

Which is why they are currently raising capital. To leverage that capital into one or two high value projects to demonstrate their abilities, as well as to fund the next round of development. Plus providing returns (and exits) to their investors after 4 or so years.

CF has an impressive founding team. Dr. Robert Szczerba (formerly of Lockheed Martin), Dr. H. Herman (NREC director), Jeff Legault (Associate Director, NREC), Karl Sanchack (formerly of Lockheed Martin and the Erie Innovation District), and  Mike Lutzky (formerly of McKinsey and NPR).  [By the way, this post is appearing today as a birthday present to Mike.]

Now it remains to be seen if the American economy (and venture capitalists) will have the funds- and the foresight- to help propel the venture.

 

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