UplinkRobotics Graduates from UW’s IMPACT 307, Commits to Grow STEM Workforce in State

This summer, Laramie-based UplinkRobotics graduated from the University of Wyoming’s IMPACT 307 business incubator with a commitment to stay in Wyoming and grow the science, technology, engineering and mathematics workforce.

 

UplinkRobotics was started by UW students Zoe Worthen, Christian Bitzas, Oreoluwa Babatunde and Brady Wagstaff, who entered -- and won -- the John P. Ellbogen $50K Entrepreneurship Competition in 2022. Since then, they’ve been growing their workforce and offerings of inspection tools and robots for various industries, including home inspectors, construction, firefighters and law enforcement.

 

“UplinkRobotics started in my one-bedroom apartment with a 3D printer and an idea,” says CEO Bitzas, who came to UW from Powell to earn his bachelor’s degree in computer science and his master’s degree in electrical engineering. “After winning the 2022 UW Ellbogen Entrepreneurship Competition, our team of four moved into one of the IMPACT 307 incubator suites. By early 2023, we were selling our first robots. We hired our first interns that summer, including an electrical engineering intern who’s still with us today as a full-time engineer. Since then, we grew to over 2,500 square feet across four incubator suites; we have six full-time employees, three interns and three of the original four owners still actively involved. Ninety-nine percent of our revenue comes from outside Wyoming, which means we’re not just recycling local dollars -- we’re bringing new money into the state through our sales.”

 

Having grown up in Wyoming, Bitzas says he and his colleagues desire to stay in state and work closely with UW, the 9H Research Foundation and many other organizations.

 

“We know there aren’t as many STEM opportunities in Wyoming, so we’ve made it a priority to create them,” Bitzas says. “We fund and mentor UW College of Engineering senior design teams; we hire UW interns; and we mentor younger students in 4-H robotics programs to spark early interest in STEM. Building opportunities here matters to us, because we know how much of a difference it makes.”

 

Through IMPACT 307, the team not only gained a physical location for the company to grow; it also took advantage of mentorship and networking opportunities.

 

“Graduating from the incubator feels kind of like leaving home for college or finishing college and heading off to start your first job,” Bitzas says. “IMPACT 307 kept us connected to the University of Wyoming even after we graduated from students to alumni, and that connection gave us a huge foundation. At the same time, moving out gives us a stronger sense of independence and motivation. It’s the next step we need to keep growing.

 

UplinkRobotics’ mission is to create high-quality, purpose-built inspection tools for industries where inspections are often dangerous, dirty or inefficient. The company is expanding further into the home inspection market but also is actively developing solutions for culvert and pipe inspections, firefighters, law enforcement and custom projects.

 

“Each step is about taking the technology we’ve proven and applying it to new industries that need safer and more effective tools,” Bitzas says. “We started as full-time students working on proof of concept in a one-bedroom apartment with a 3D printer, and now we’re shipping products across the country. That shows what’s possible for Wyoming startups.”

---