Gecko Robotics brings AI to Navy ship repair to boost fleet readiness
Jake Loosararian and Orion Correa, founders of Gecko Robotics.
Courtesy: Gecko
Gecko Robotics, a Pittsburgh-based robotics startup, announced Tuesday a $71 million deal with the U.S. Navy to cut ship repair time as the government works to reindustrialize America’s aging defense systems.
The company said its robots, which can fly, swim and climb critical infrastructure, use cameras and sensors to shorten a three-month process to two days. Gecko also said robots can assess needed maintenance 50 times faster than other manual techniques.
“This is the kind of thing that hasn’t been possible before, and that’s why it takes 18 months to get a destroyer out of dry dock,” CEO Jake Loosararian told CNBC in an interview. “This is no longer acceptable.”
Loosararian says Gecko will support Navy’s goal 80% of the fleet will be ready by 2027 and streamline ship production so soldiers can focus on fighting and other threats.
The United States is increasing its reliance on defense technology startups like Gecko as it seeks to modernize legacy U.S. military systems amid rising geopolitical tensions.
These companies are increasingly disrupting traditional base defense contractors with innovative AI and autonomous technology solutions.
“Software is not enough, and your ability to use AI to predict and make decisions is only as good as the data inputs,” Loosararian said. “This is a fundamental change, and what Gecko is doing now has never been done by any robotics company in the military before.”
President Donald Trump has prioritized scaling and restoration since taking office US shipbuilding capabilitieshas been lagging behind China for a long time. management last month launched a multi-page plan to revitalize the struggling industry.
Over the years, Gecko has collaborated with the mining, manufacturing, energy and defense industries to improve aging equipment and reduce repair times. This includes defense contractors L3Harris Technologies And mining giant Freeport-McMoRan.
Gecko’s value last reached $1.25 billion in the $125 million financing round in June. The two-time Disruptor 50 company ranked 30th on last year’s list.
