Robotics Hotbeds Flourishing Across the Globe

1. Robotics Hotbeds Flourishing
Across the Globe
By: Chris Moehle

2. Robotics Hotbeds Flourishing Across the Globe
As The Managing Director of the Robotics Hub, Chris Moehle has provided funding to many promising
new companies. His background as an entrepreneur and former associate director of new ventures at
CMU’s National Robotics Engineering Center have given Chris Moehle the knowledge to select those
that hold the most potential in developing companies that use robotics to collaborate with human
beings, not compete with them. Complementing this venture capital activity, the Robotics Hub's parent,
Coal Hill Ventures, has worked to drive collaboration amongst Robotics ecosystems domestically and
globally starting out of their base in Pittsburgh.

3. Robotics Hotbeds Flourishing Across the Globe
Carnegie Mellon, Uber, Facebook, Google, and Bosch are among the names that tout Pittsburgh as
an innovator and an emerging tech hub. While it is quickly becoming the center of the global robotics
revolution, Pittsburgh is joined by other world cities that might not be seen as significant players in the
industry and get lost in the limelight of Silicon Valley. One of those cities is Odense, Denmark, which is
starting to get recognition for its big impact in artificial intelligence and automation. Odense is currently
home to well over 100 companies in the industry. Odense has been quietly engaged in helping the
world build out its robotics infrastructure for more than three decades. The initial push came when the
city’s steel shipyards were in close competition with Southeast Asian counterparts. Their intense focus
on automating their work processes led to the growth of Odense’s own AI ecosystem, emphasizing
smaller and more agile companies making component parts. Eventually, universities and the
government of Denmark began to support and invest in the education and research of robotics.

4. Robotics Hotbeds Flourishing Across the Globe
Another is Toronto, Canada, which is quickly becoming the focal point for a revolution in quantum
computing. Anchored by the University of Toronto and startup programs such as Creative
Destruction Labs, the city is ready to make its mark on this potentially transformative field. As part
of their roots in Pittsburgh, Coal Hill Ventures is trying to do its part in connecting the strengths of
these emerging robotics centers in a manner that supports our collective abilities to see Robotics
transform our global economy for the better.