PITTSBURGH, PA – February 05, 2026 – Carnegie Foundry, the venture studio transforming America’s industrial base through AI and robotics spinouts from Carnegie Mellon University’s National Robotics Engineering Center (NREC), today announced that Anton Papp has joined the firm as Chief Investment Officer. In this role, Mr. Papp will oversee Carnegie Foundry’s capital strategy, institutional investor engagement, and strategic partnerships as demand for industrial AI and robotics accelerates across manufacturing, energy, healthcare, and defense.
Mr. Papp brings more than two decades of experience in corporate development, M&A, and strategic partnerships across technology and industrial automation sectors, including senior leadership roles at Matthews International, Rockwell Automation, and Ping Identity. His appointment comes as Carnegie Foundry accelerates the commercialization of deployment-ready technologies addressing critical gaps in American industry and national infrastructure.
As Chief Investment Officer, Mr. Papp will focus on aligning long-term capital with Carnegie Foundry’s differentiated venture-creation model, which combines deep engineering capabilities, real-world deployment, and strategic industry partnerships to reduce execution risk and compress time to market.
“Carnegie Foundry isn’t just another venture studio talking about the future,” said Papp. “They’ve built a highly differentiated model for translating advanced robotics and AI research into real-world industrial impact, with the engineering depth to deploy at the speed and scale this moment demands. My role is to ensure West Coast investors clearly understand both the urgency and the opportunity before the window for American industrial leadership narrows.”
Bridging Pittsburgh’s Engineering Excellence with Silicon Valley Capital
Based in California, Mr. Papp will introduce West Coast investors and strategic partners to Carnegie Foundry’s model: leveraging more than $500 million in de-risked technology development and a bench of 150+ elite engineers to build companies that would typically require two to three times the capital and time elsewhere. The venture studio has already launched multiple portfolio companies with backing from U.S. Steel, Oshkosh Corporation, and other Fortune 500 and private partners.
Carnegie Foundry’s model prioritizes deployed systems over prototypes, pairing advanced AI and robotics research with industrial-grade engineering, early customers, and capital structures purpose-built for deep-tech commercialization.
Portfolio Momentum Accelerates
Carnegie Foundry portfolio companies are already demonstrating commercial adoption:
- Freespace Robotics, named Startup of the Year at ProMat 2025, is redefining warehouse automation with systems delivering up to 60% lower cost per filled order than incumbent solutions
- VoxEQ is deploying real-time voice AI to detect deepfakes and mitigate fraud across financial institutions, governments, and regulated industries worldwide, in any language
- Thryve Labs is addressing America’s caregiving crisis with privacy-preserving AI systems that support aging in place while improving caregiver confidence
The venture studio is advancing a pipeline that includes radiation-hardened robotics for nuclear facilities, autonomous construction systems, advanced manufacturing technologies for energy grid resilience, and modular defense platforms addressing multi-billion-dollar markets where domestic capability has become both an economic and national security imperative.
Proven Track Record in Complex Technology Commercialization
Most recently, Mr. Papp served as Vice President of Business Development and M&A at Matthews International, where he led strategy and inorganic growth initiatives across the company’s $300 million industrial technology segment. His prior leadership experience includes:
- Vice President and Head of Corporate Development at Ping Identity (acquired for $2.8B)
- Senior corporate development roles at Rockwell Automation, Teradata, and Aprimo
- Board positions at Freespace Robotics, Thryve Labs, Claroty (past), and Revolution Analytics (past)
- Over a decade in technology investment banking at Robertson Stephens, Banc of America Securities, and Montgomery & Co.
“Anton brings a rare combination of technical fluency and capital discipline,” said Dr. Robert J. Szczerba, CEO of Carnegie Foundry. “He understands both the complexity of industrial automation and the investment structures required to scale deep-tech companies responsibly. His leadership strengthens our ability to partner with the right investors at exactly the right moment.”
Mr. Papp holds an MBA from Columbia Business School and a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Boston University. He began his career as a U.S. Naval Aviator flying the F-14 Tomcat and is a graduate of the United States Navy Fighter Weapons School (Top Gun).
About Carnegie Foundry
Carnegie Foundry is a venture studio dedicated to commercializing advanced robotics, AI, and autonomy technologies originating from Carnegie Mellon University’s National Robotics Engineering Center. By combining world-class engineering with disciplined venture creation, Carnegie Foundry builds companies that address critical challenges in logistics, manufacturing, healthcare, energy, and defense. Its model de-risks technology early, delivering ventures with proven systems, strategic investors, and customers ready to deploy.
For more information, visit www.carnegiefoundry.com
Media Contact
Michael Lutzky
Chief Strategy Officer
michael@carnegiefoundry.com
301 787 7585