PA: Software Development Firm KMeleon Inc. Opens U.S. Headquarters in Pittsburgh

Tesseract Solutions, a France-based software development company, has announced the establishment of its U.S. headquarters in KMeleon, Inc. in Pittsburgh – an expansion that brings the company’s proprietary technology to the United States.

KMeleon provides a unique solution for the programming of robotic arms, eliminating the need to use source code or complicated programming language.  This technology provides major robot suppliers with a simple, universal language to program robots, as well as a 3D interface to simulate different movements and measure cycle time quickly and efficiently.

CEO Florian Dordain said the company chose the Lawrenceville neighborhood – in the heart of Pittsburgh’s “Robotics Row” – for its first U.S. office and headquarters. “It was an obvious choice, as Pittsburgh is the robotics capital of the world with an extremely strong and supportive robotics ecosystem,” said Dordain.  This ecosystem includes assets like the Pittsburgh Robotics Network, the Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing (ARM) Institute, and Carnegie Mellon University, among others. “Pittsburgh is a place where connecting with people and establishing business relationships is easy,” Dordain added.

KMeleon will lead change in the robotics industry through its programming interfaces for industrial robotic arms.  Prior to adaption of this technology, engineers and technicians were required to spend significant time to learn and implement complicated programming languages.  The KMeleon software reduces programming time by fivefold and learning costs by tenfold. 

During the process of global expansion, the company was supported by the Pittsburgh Regional Alliance (PRA), the economic development affiliate of the Allegheny Conference on Community Development. The PRA attracts strategic investment opportunities and talent to the 10-county Pittsburgh Region – comprising 10 southwestern Pennsylvania counties – and helps existing regional businesses to grow.  The PRA, in partnership with the Pittsburgh Robotics Network, was integral in accelerating and streamlining KMeleon’s expansion.  KMeleon was also assisted by Sparksense, a company that provides business development services for tech startups.

“We couldn’t have been happier to work with KMeleon on selecting Pittsburgh.  France has been investing heavily, over the last several years, in cultivating a strong ecosystem of tech companies, with the United States as a key market for growth,” said PRA President Mark Anthony Thomas.  “By being in Pittsburgh, KMeleon has positioned itself to thrive as part of one of the world’s top robotics clusters.  It’s also adding to an ecosystem of transformative companies and founders that recognize that Pittsburgh is where what’s next in tech is happening now.”  

“I’m thrilled to welcome KMeleon to the Pittsburgh robotics community, “said Pittsburgh Robotics Network Executive Director Joel Reed. “They choose Pittsburgh because of its concentration of talent, innovation and commercial collaboration. It also helped that the Pittsburgh region offers an extensive support system for entrepreneurs and robotics leaders that’s no more evident than in the partnership between the Pittsburgh Robotics Network (PRN) and the Pittsburgh Regional Alliance (PRA). Starting a company and opening new offices is exciting but not without its challenges. Our two organizations exist to make the process of coming to – and growing in – Pittsburgh, the robotics capital of the world, easier.”