Startups

Why Polish software firm Spyrosoft chose Pittsburgh to boost its US presence

While it's not clear yet what the company's local headcount and hiring efforts will look like, CEO and cofounder Piotr Anioła said what attracted leadership to the Steel City was its investment in robotics and autonomy.

Spyrosoft execs in Pittsburgh. (Courtesy photo)

The Steel City is adding another robotics company to its cluster, and it’s coming all the way from Central Europe to set up shop in the North Shore.

Introducing: Spyrosoft, a Poland-based software firm that develops, among other services, robotics solutions such as computer vision and robot mobility. Its clients include Fortune 500 companies and Pittsburgh paint manufacturing company PPG Industries.

This won’t be Spyrosoft’s first US office space, as it currently has a presence in Michigan. But Spyrosoft CEO and cofounder Piotr Anioła told Technical.ly that what attracted the company’s leadership to the Steel City was its investment in robotics and autonomy.

“For us, it was an obvious choice to set up here an office that will be focusing on the robotics industry,” Anioła said. “We met many great people here with huge energy. And I think that that’s another reason that we see that this cultural match between us. [Our] outlook is the same.”

Spyrosoft tech. (Courtesy photo)

About 14% of the company’s revenue is coming from the US, he said, so opening another American office to keep growing made sense. Relationships with entities such as the Pittsburgh Regional Alliance and Pittsburgh Robotics Network, of which it’s a member, helped make the case that the city had a strong robotics cluster and would be a good fit for growth.

“We are thrilled to welcome Spyrosoft to Pittsburgh. This investment underscores a culture — here in the region and across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania — that affirms we are open for business, domestic and international,” said Matt Smith, chief growth officer at the Allegheny Conference on Community Development and its economic development affiliate, the Pittsburgh Regional Alliance, in a statement. “Spyrosoft’s presence adds to a growing number of foreign-owned firms — currently more than 400 — that have chosen to invest in the Pittsburgh region.”

Spyrosoft currently counts 1,500 employees worldwide. Anioła said he doesn’t yet know how many employees will end up occupying the new office at North Shore Place II, or the specific jobs they’ll be filling, because those details are dependent on what customers need.

Spyrosoft employees. (Courtesy photo)

In the UK, however, many of the employees working for Spyrosoft occupy positions such as product managers, business analysts and data architects; the Pittsburgh office could follow suit, Anioła said. He pointed to the company’s 2026 plan to bring on 3,000 new employees worldwide, though which offices they’ll be set up in remains to be seen.

“Our first step would be for local managers [to determine] who is the network of customers,” Anioła said. “Of course, we would like to build a team locally [and] cooperate with our global development centers from Europe or Argentina.”

In the meantime, Anioła said, Spyrosoft’s leadership is looking forward to collaborating with the local tech community. He expects combining the company’s robotics expertise with the Pittsburgh’s growing robotics prowess will benefit the company and the city alike.

“We believe in robotics, the growing trend, and we love to develop such solutions,” he said. “Globally and together with local companies, we see that we could be a good fit.”

Atiya Irvin-Mitchell is a 2022-2024 corps member for Report for America, an initiative of The Groundtruth Project that pairs young journalists with local newsrooms. This position is supported by the Heinz Endowments.
Correction: About 14%, not 40%, of Spyrosoft's revenue comes from the US. (7/13/23, 11 a.m.)
Companies: Allegheny Conference on Community Development / Pittsburgh Regional Alliance / Pittsburgh Robotics Network

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