Sarcos Technology and Robotics Corp. Chief Operating Officer Jorgen Pedersen has departed from the company, which acquired the Pittsburgh-based robotics firm he founded as part of an $100 million deal made in April 2022.
In a public LinkedIn post, Pedersen announced he'd be transitioning over to an advisory role for the Salt Lake City, Utah-based company after spending more than a year working to integrate his former company, RE2 Robotics Inc., into the Sarcos family of various robotics products.
"As with any founder who goes through an acquisition, there comes a time to move on from the day-to-day responsibilities," Pedersen said in the post. "After 22 years, it is going to be hard not starting my day by walking the halls of the company that I built with some of the most amazing friends and colleagues. Thank you to the dedicated and brilliant people who made my daily work life a joy."
Over the past two decades, Pedersen saw RE2 become one of Pittsburgh's most acclaimed robotics companies, launching the firm well before the robotics boom that has come to fruition over the years.
RE2 developed autonomous and teleoperated mobile robotic systems for various industries. Its signature product, the Sapien Sea Class system, performed inspection and maintenance tasks across these different industries in shallow and deepwater environments. Similarly, Sarcos' mobile robotic systems are designed to augment human performance and can perform tasks where physically demanding work is required, much like RE2's products.
And while Pedersen declined an interview with Pittsburgh Inno at this time, he hinted in a statement and in his LinkedIn post that there's still more to come from him as it relates to future endeavors. Additionally, a representative from Sarcos could not be reached for comment as of this article's publication.
"The past year has reminded me just how much I love building a robotics company centered on values that truly put people first," Pedersen said in the LinkedIn post. "I love working with smart, kind people. I love the process of building a great place to work and solving challenging real-world problems. My passion for robotics and entrepreneurship drives me toward the next chapter. Stay tuned."
Pedersen is the latest high-profile local robotics executive in recent weeks to depart from a post in pursuit of a yet-to-be-named venture.
In June, Mike Formica, managing director of hardware at Innovation Works Inc.'s AlphaLab Gear startup accelerator and lead of the Robotics Factory initiative, left his post at the North Side-based investment organization to pursue his "next big thing." That followed a decision made by Joel Reed in May that saw him depart from serving as the CEO of the Pittsburgh Robotics Network to pursue "nontraditional job opportunities."
