Gecko Robotics is planting a new manufacturing flag in Western Pennsylvania. The Pittsburgh-based robotics-and-AI unicorn announced at the Pennsylvania Defense and Innovation Summit in Carlisle on July 16, 2026 that it will open a 10,000-square-foot manufacturing and integration facility in Sewickley — a hub aimed squarely at accelerating U.S. Navy shipbuilding and other defense component production.
10,000 Square Feet In Aleppo Township
The Sewickley-area facility will serve as both a manufacturing plant and an integration hub, where Gecko's climbing inspection robots and its Cantilever operating system for physical infrastructure will help defense manufacturers build components faster and to higher quality. Gecko spokesperson Steve Bourner told Axios the plant will open "within weeks" and that robots are already operating inside the building.
Cantilever + Robots For Naval Sustainment
Gecko's core business is inspecting critical infrastructure — power plants, refineries, aircraft carriers and submarines — using magnetic-tracked robots that climb steel surfaces and stream sensor data into Cantilever, which the company describes as an operating system for physical infrastructure. That data feeds condition-based-maintenance models that predict failure and prioritize repair. The new Sewickley site pushes Gecko further upstream from inspection into helping shipyards physically build components more efficiently.
Pittsburgh's Tech Boom, Not California's
CEO Jake Loosararian used the announcement to double down on a message he has been making for a year: local tech companies should expand where they were founded rather than decamping to the coasts. "The future will be built by combining advanced robotics, AI, and skilled workers into a single manufacturing ecosystem," Loosararian said, adding that Gecko is trying to help defense manufacturers produce "the critical systems our military depends on faster, more safely, and with higher quality." The move follows earlier 2026 wins for Gecko including a $71 million Navy IDIQ deal to slash maintenance delays and a partnership with Trident to raise shipyard production 40%.
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Reporting based on coverage from Axios Pittsburgh, TribLive and Beaver County Radio.