In 2012, a group of students from electrical engineering of the Grove City Collegein Pennsylvania, received a peculiar challenge: build a robot capable of scaling the walls of a power plant to identify problems such as cracks or corrosion. Among them was Jake Loosararianwho together with his team created an 18-kilogram robot equipped with an ultrasonic scanner that could operate in dangerous environments more efficiently than any human.
This innovative device not only prevented risks for workers, but also saved the plant tens of millions of dollars in productivity costs, according to the plant itself. in Loosararia.
The potential of the creation was evident to Jake, who decided to explore the idea of turning this student project into a company. However, his immediate environment did not share his enthusiasm. Family, friends and even teachers dismissed the viability of his vision, calling it a “bad idea.” Despite the criticism, Loosararian spotted what he called “a secret in plain sight”: a nearly unexplored niche in the tech industry that involved using robots to inspect critical infrastructure, a problem that no company was effectively addressing.
To turn your idea into reality, Jake Loosararian He faced a path full of financial and personal obstacles. With no relevant work experience, no significant capital, and no connections in the tech industry, he needed to gather resources to get his business off the ground. With barely $15,000 in personal savingsknew that this sum would not be enough to sustain the project. Thus, he combined a full-time job in systems automation with long hours at his fledgling company. He spent his workdays at a desk and his weekends in power plants, perfecting the robot he had designed.
According to what he told CNBCover the course of a year, worked 100 hours per week to save between $30,000 and $40,000. During that time, in Loosararia He fell on hard times: he ran out of money, slept in friends’ apartments and spent endless hours in power plant boilers, an environment he described as “horrible, dusty and suffocating.” I even soldered circuits and programmed code under these conditions.
Commitment to his vision led him to make difficult decisions, such as purchasing for $2,500 the participation of its co-founder, who decided to abandon the project due to mental exhaustion and doubts about its viability. These years of extreme sacrifice and financial hardship laid the foundation for what would later become a multi-million dollar startup.
From the beginning, Jake had to deal with an overwhelming lack of support. The advice from family members, teachers and people with business experience was clear: do not start a business. The hardware industry is known for its high failure rate, with almost 70% of startups unable to reach the market or consolidate a customer baseaccording to data from CB Insights. In addition, the lack of connections in the technology sector and the absence of start-up capital made the situation even more difficult.
Despite these challenges, in Loosararia I was determined. Their focus was not only on building advanced robots, but on solving critical problems for customers. It identified an unmet need in infrastructure inspection, a market considered by many to be too specialized to be profitable. He believed that offering technology that collected data efficiently and safely, in hazardous environments such as boilers or industrial plant pipes, would be enough to attract major customers.
However, convincing these customers was not easy. In the early years, the entrepreneur and his team had to tirelessly demonstrate the value of their robots in terms of cost savings, safety and improved productivity. Without a solid foundation of initial investment or an established team, it depended on confidence in its vision and the usefulness of its technology to overcome barriers.
Despite its humble beginnings, Gecko Robotics experienced a meteoric rise since its founding in 2013. in Loosararia managed to attract the attention of key investors, entering the acceleration program in 2016 Y Combinatora crucial step that allowed the company to obtain the resources necessary to scale.
Since then, the company raised 220 million dollars in several rounds of financing, including a significant investment of 100 million dollars in 2023which raised its rating to 633 million dollars.
The company, based in Pittsburgh, has positioned itself as a leader in the critical infrastructure inspection niche. Its robots, designed to operate in extreme conditions and collect data with high precision, have proven to be valuable tools for industries such as energy and manufacturing, saving millions of dollars in operating and maintenance costs. In recognition of his impact on the sector, Gecko Robotics was included in the CNBC Disruptor 50 List of 2024ranking 42nd.
Financial success has allowed the company to expand significantly, both in terms of technology and market. As it grows, in Loosararia remains focused on solving critical issues related to human safety and the longevity of vital infrastructure.
