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TechVibe Radio


Oct 5, 2021

The Pittsburgh autonomy sector has reached critical mass and has the potential to become a major player in the global market, a new study finds. But urgent action is needed to compete more effectively against other regions and to encourage autonomy companies to locate and remain in Southwestern Pennsylvania as they mature and grow. 

The report — “Forefront: Securing Pittsburgh’s Break-out Position in Autonomous Mobile Systems” — was issued by Regional Industrial Development Corporation (RIDC) and the Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce with research conducted by TEConomy Partners. 

Listen to RIDC president Don Smith detail:

The culmination of a nine-month long study, the report finds that the Pittsburgh region is one of the top centers for autonomous mobile systems — a sector predicted to grow to a $1 trillion+ global market by 2026, with an estimated 5,000 jobs and a $10 billion impact for a region that captures 1 percent of that global market growth. 

The study was conducted with funding from the Richard King Mellon Foundation and in collaboration with Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Pittsburgh, the Pittsburgh Regional Alliance, the Pittsburgh Technology Council, the Pittsburgh Robotics Network, and the region’s top autonomous technology companies, including Argo AI, Aurora, Carnegie Robotics, Motional, Seegrid, and Thoro.ai.  

The estimated direct employment footprint of Pittsburgh’s autonomy sector totals over 6,300 jobs which provide an estimated $651 million in labor income, $34.7 million in state and local tax revenues, and $126.7 million in federal tax revenues.  These companies generated an additional 8,604 full- or part-time indirect jobs, bringing the total number of jobs in the region that are dependent on the industry to 14,923.