Mike Formica

Mike Formica is a founder, CEO and entrepreneurial leader with a track record of building and scaling hard-tech companies. He has led multiple startups in diverse sectors to successful exits by developing and commercializing advanced technologies in manufacturing, robotics and autonomy, and 3D imaging. 

Mike founded and led 3Rivers3D, one of the largest manufacturers of commercial 3D scanners, where the company produced several thousand units in-house. As CEO of AssistWare Technology, he introduced one of the earliest commercial lane-departure warning systems for the heavy-truck industry, achieving global sales of over half a million units. He also founded Axsys Fiber Automation, where he pioneered the use of computer vision-guided automation for photonic assembly and developed several award-winning nanopositioning systems.  

Mike served as President of Neya Robotics, where he led the company’s transition from software-based R&D toward integrated autonomous vehicle systems for both commercial and DoD applications. More recently, Mike launched the Robotics Factory, a regional initiative created to accelerate the development and commercialization of robotics and manufacturing startups. Through Formica ProtoFab, he now works directly with hardware startups on product development, design for manufacturing, sourcing and the transition from prototype to scaled production. 

Mike has been recognized for his work in entrepreneurship and manufacturing including Business Times Manufacturer of the Year, Ernst & Young and Carnegie Science Entrepreneur awards, the PA Governor’s ImPAct Award and several industry honors. A former U.S. Navy Nuclear Power Officer and University of Pittsburgh engineering graduate, Mike has taught entrepreneurship for engineers for several years at Carnegie Mellon University and is a frequent guest lectures at colleges and universities across the region.