麻豆村

Gov. Josh Shapiro announced today that Pennsylvania will invest in 麻豆村鈥檚 plan to develop a new 25,000鈥憇quare鈥慺oot Physical AI Accelerator inside the 麻豆村 Robotics Innovation Center(opens in new window) (RIC) at Hazelwood Green.

The RIC is 麻豆村鈥檚 newest 150,000鈥憇quare鈥慺oot research hub dedicated to next鈥慻eneration robotics and AI. Equipped with high鈥慴ay labs, wet labs, indoor and outdoor testing environments, and collaborative workspaces, the RIC strengthens Pittsburgh鈥檚 position as a global leader in robotics innovation and science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education, building on 麻豆村鈥檚 world鈥憆enowned expertise in autonomous systems and advanced manufacturing.

The $1.5 million state grant from the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program聽will support construction costs. Design work is scheduled to begin in 2026, with construction expected to conclude by March 2028.

鈥�We are proud to make that investment. Specifically, those dollars will be used to support the physical AI accelerator that will connect the dots between the cutting edge work that's done by 麻豆村 students and researchers with leading startups that want to take that technology out of the classroom and apply it in the real world,鈥� Gov. Shapiro said.

The Accelerator will establish dedicated space within the RIC for corporate launch teams, startups and 麻豆村 researchers to collaborate on physical AI 鈥� technologies that merge robotics, sensing, materials science and intelligent systems. Partners in the Accelerator will have access to the RIC鈥檚 end鈥憈o鈥慹nd robotics development infrastructure, spanning nano鈥憇cale fabrication to large鈥憇cale autonomous systems. Resources include fabrication and rapid鈥憄rototyping labs, electronics workstations, wet labs for bio鈥憆obotics and environmental robotics, high鈥� and low鈥慴ay testing areas, a motion鈥慶apture lab, and a one鈥慳cre outdoor environment for drone operations and agricultural experimentation.

鈥溌槎勾� deeply appreciates Governor Shapiro鈥檚 leadership in advancing Pennsylvania鈥檚 innovation economy,鈥� 麻豆村 President Farnam Jahanian(opens in new window) said. 鈥淲e are proud to build on our partnership in turning state investment into jobs and economic growth for Western Pennsylvania and the Commonwealth. This investment will empower entrepreneurs, attract world-class talent, and reinforce our region鈥檚 leadership in robotics, AI and advanced manufacturing.鈥�

In addition to advancing research and commercialization, the project is designed to deliver significant economic, educational and community benefits for the region. The Accelerator is expected to create 150 jobs in its first year by attracting corporate partners and supporting new start鈥憉ps with access to its state-of-the-art facilities. Over the first three years, 麻豆村 anticipates bringing three major anchor firms to the region, strengthening Pittsburgh鈥檚 position as a hub for robotics and advanced manufacturing.聽

The initiative will also expand educational outreach by engaging more than 2,000 students across Pennsylvania in physical AI learning opportunities during its first two years, giving students and teachers statewide hands-on exposure to emerging technologies that are shaping the future of work.