A homegrown robotics company is a Pittsburgh success story, but it's only one of a few, why is that?
It's one of the hottest tech companies in the country and tens of thousands of applicants are trying desperately to get a job there. It's also located right here in Pittsburgh.
It's called Gecko, a homegrown company making AI-powered robots on the North Side.
Gecko, and companies like it, may well be the future of the local economy, but success stories like it in Pittsburgh have become fewer and fewer.
Who is Gecko Robotics and what do they do?
The AI-powered robots can climb over just about anything - the hulls of great ships or massive metal casings of refinery tanks - mining and delivering critical information to identify structural problems and avoid potential disaster.
"It's information that we never had and wasn't possible before the technology," said Jake Loosararian.
When Loosararian was a student at Grove City College, he walked the industrial landscape of southwestern Pennsylvania with its aging steel mills and power plants. During those walks, he tested his growing knowledge of robotics and wanted to know how it, along with artificial intelligence, might address real-world problems.
"These are the sectors and industries that have been completely forgotten about by Silicon Valley and tech elites and that is our opportunity," Loosararian said. "We can go out, like I did in college, and say 'What can I do to help you, help me understand how your world works.'"
In his dorm room a decade ago, Gecko Robotics was born. Loosararian began creating prototypes of the robots, which like their climbing lizard namesake, can scale our aging but critical infrastructure.
The sensors detect metal thickness, weakness, and possible fissures while its AI platform produces visual images of the structure, giving clients the information they need to restore or replace their equipment while heading off disaster.
"We have things that are so old that we continue to rely on that are way past their usefulness," Loosararian said. "It's really important to ensure that we extend the life of the infrastructure, to put capital against the infrastructure, to modernize, and not have bridges collapsing like we did in Pittsburgh."
Gecko's robots and expertise are now sought after all over the world as the application of the technology is almost limitless. So is the backlog of people who want to work there. With offices in Pittsburgh, New York, Boston, and Washington, they were flooded with 40,000 interns and new graduate applications last year alone.
Now, the sky is the limit, but will it be here in Pittsburgh?
Gecko's success started here, why haven't there been others?
WATCH: Andy Sheehan Reports
While Pittsburgh has seen success and become a world leader in robotics, artificial intelligence, and computer technology in the past, recently, success stories like Gecko's have been few and far between as the region has failed to attract and retain companies and turn those assets into jobs.
"It's been very disappointing economic growth," Loosararian said. "We have received not one tax incentive from the city, not one tax incentive from the state."
"We have the assets, so it breaks my heart to watch us not focus and take advantage of this and have the leadership to make it happen," said former Pittsburgh Mayor Tom Murphy.
Since the pandemic, the region's economy has stalled. According to a recent survey by the Cleveland Federal Reserve, Pittsburhg ranks last in the industrial midwest in creating new jobs. Meanwhile, regions like Lexington, Kentucky and Columbus, Ohio have gained jobs, surpassing pre-pandemic levels.
Pittsburgh is losing both jobs and people. Former Mayor Tom Murphy is among those sounding the alarm, saying our economy stagnating and the region is in an economic crisis.
"For the first time in 25 or 30 years, we're beginning to see a decline in population and in jobs, and in fact, we're one of the two or three lowest regions in country in creating jobs and that's a huge problem that feeds on itself," he said.
Outside of Columbus, Intel is building a $20 billion microchip manufacturing plant with $1.5 billion in grants from the federal government. Rochester, Nw York also landed a giant chip plant, but since our state and leadership didn't aggressively pursue either, we've been passed over.
"We failed in bringing those projects here," said Stefani Pashman, CEO of the Allegheny Conference on Community Development. "We didn't put together the aggressive strategy to make it happen."
Pashman said a comprehensive strategy of assembling properties, offering tax incentives, streamlining permitting, and marketing the region was needed. For the past several years, the ACCD concedes these things haven't been done and businesses have gone elsewhere.
"You've seen the data, it's abysmal," Pashman said. "If we have to turn it around, this has got be multiple shots being taken in multiple directions."
Governor Josh Shapiro has said the days of neighboring states pick-pocketing the region are over and has launched a slate of incentives to bring in jobs and business to Pennsylvania, however, Murphy and others said the region is sending out mixed messages.
"When was the last time you heard the mayor or the county executive talk about bringing jobs to Pittsburgh?" Murphy asked. "They're out to lunch, in my mind. I don't see them really aggressively pursuing jobs, opportunities, and growth here."
However, Pittsburgh's Office of the Mayor is pushing back on that.
"It's a false narrative to say they're not part of the effort to grow the regional economy," said Pittsburgh Deputy Mayor Jake Pawlak. "We just also want to grow it in a holistic way that works for everyone."
Deputy Mayor Pawlak said city and county leadership are pursuing growth and equity and affordable housing at the same time, but Loosararian said he wants a strategy.
"I'd like to see the City of Pittsburgh's vision in 10 years, I haven't seen one," he said. "I'd be happy to help wit that because I have a lot of ideas about what it looks like to win. We're a city of champions, winning is part of our DNA and I'd like to see us win, not just on the field."
Civic leaders agree and said that this is going to take a concerted effort from state and local leaders to bring back jobs and opportunity.
