A growing Pittsburgh startup is establishing a new headquarters in East Liberty – with a small hiring spree on the way. 

KEF Robotics, which develops software for autonomous aircraft, is moving into the former AlphaLab Gear building on Broad Street as it actively hires several new positions. The company secured more than $3.2 million in contracts just last quarter, according to cofounder and CEO Fraser Kitchell — a sign of its growth in Pittsburgh and internationally. 

“We made this move because we can afford it, and we needed to have a nicer space to attract the best engineering talent.”

KEF Roboticss cofounder and CEO Fraser Kitchell

“We want local talent,” Kitchell told Technical.ly. “We’re getting great resumes these days from people who are in Pittsburgh, so we’re really excited.”

The 20-person team plans to hire up to three new members in the next several months, he said.

A woman selects colored wire from a wall-mounted rack while a man observes in a workshop with tools and equipment.
Members of the KEF Robotics team at the old Larimer headquarters (Courtesy)

KEF’s new 10,000-square-foot facility is just a few blocks down from the startup’s original headquarters in Larimer, but the new space is more secure, Kitchell said. The new headquarters is better suited for KEF’s regular business with the Department of War, formerly known as the Department of Defense. 

KEF is working on multiple defense projects, including a $1.25 million Air Force contract focused on high-speed navigation, a $250,000 Army project to improve helicopter path planning and a $1.2 million Air Force initiative aimed at scaling its software across unmanned aircraft systems.

Founded in 2018, the startup specializes in designing computer vision software. Its proprietary system, Tailwind, helps aircraft fly without a human pilot at any time of day and in hazardous environments without GPS.  

A small twin-propeller drone flies above a grassy field with hills and trees in the background under a cloudy sky.
KEF Robotics makes camera vision software for autonomous aircraft (Courtesy)

When Kitchell originally founded KEF with his cofounders Kerry Snyder and Eric Amoroso, they anticipated selling their product to both commercial and defense markets, but the defense market has proven to be much more lucrative, according to Kitchell. 

“After three or four years of business … the defense market grew dramatically,” Kitchell said. “Of course, the main driver there has been the conflict in Ukraine, where the product we develop is a supplement for GPS.”

KEF Robotics goes international

KEF Robotics expanded internationally last year, establishing an office in Oslo, Norway.

The move to Oslo allows KEF to stay closer to new business opportunities, Kitchell said. The startup recently received a more than $580,000 contract from the German government’s innovation agency to develop autonomous systems for search-and-rescue missions in GPS-denied zones. 

To further accelerate its work overseas, KEF also helped establish a new US-based entity called Blue Arrow, which operates out of Ukraine. After collaborating informally with a Ukrainian team for about a year, KEF formalized the partnership by standing up Blue Arrow as a separate company that licenses KEF’s technology and builds on top of it. 

A person wearing FPV goggles and a leather jacket operates a drone with a remote control outside near a wooden building.
A KEF Robotics team member testing tech (Courtesy)

Despite the international expansion, Kitchell said KEF is still committed to Pittsburgh as its home base. The startup plans to maintain its Larimer space for storage and continue working with local interns every summer as a commitment to the local community. 

“The company’s looking really healthy,” Kitchell said, “we made this move because we can afford it, and we needed to have a nicer space to attract the best engineering talent.”