New York Robotics, a non-profit organization set up to advance the robotics community in the New York metropolitan area, has officially launched.
Opening last week with more than 160 robotics startups, the group pitches itself as helping cement New York as a viable contender in the growing robotics space, ramping up to compete with more established hubs such as Boston, Silicon Valley and Munich. SDP/SI, a global leader in precision gears and mechanical components, is also a founding partner.
NYR’s launch coincides with a sponsorship of AlleyCorp’s inaugural Deep Tech NY conference, which NYR said also advances the state’s standing as a melting pot for robotics innovation and investment.
Established as a non-profit in 2024, NYR was set up to improve what it identified as a long-standing gap: While the technological know-how for New York to emerge as a robotics leader is there, companies are often held back by organizational silos.
By creating a shared ecosystem, NYR said it hopes to remove these barriers and support automation uptake across the state.
SDP/SI’s role as a founding partner will provide startups with access to hardware, engineering expertise, and supply-chain reliability needed to “move from prototype to production.”
“Our vision is to leverage New York’s centrality on the global technology stage to become a leading hub for robotics innovation,” Jacob Hennessey-Rubin, executive director of NYR, said in a blog post on the launch. “By rapidly expanding the ecosystem and elevating robotics as a serious investment class on Wall Street, we’re positioning New York for long-term leadership in this transformative sector.”
As part of the launch, NYR also released a private-beta version of the NYR Index, a proprietary platform that provides partners with exclusive access to data, insights and mapping across startups, investors, labs and enterprise participants.
NYR said its network now includes more than 450 global startups, 45 international and domestic government entities, 75 industry leaders and more than 40 robotics and embodied AI research labs.
To date, the group has also named several founding members including J.P. Morgan, New York University, AlleyCorp, EisnerAmper and Cybernetix Ventures.
“We see New York as essential to the global robotics community, and the work New York Robotics is doing to strengthen that network is hugely impactful to the future growth and success of so many startups here in the city,” said Abe Murray, general partner at AlleyCorp.
