SEC filings show Gecko Robotics co-founders seeking more capital for venture fund

A venture fund launched by the co-founders of one of Pittsburgh’s hottest robotics companies is looking to raise more capital, according to a filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.

Jake Loosararian and Troy Demmer co-founded North Shore-headquartered Gecko Robotics in 2013, and now, over a decade later, that company is worth approximately $1.25 billion. In April, the two revealed that they had started a venture fund in 2024, the First Order Fund, and that it had raised approximately $20 million and distributed approximately 60% of its capital at that time.

A new filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission indicates that the fund is looking to raise upwards of $50 million. However, before raising the initial $20 million, the fund had also filed to raise with a ceiling of $50 million. The initial fund, raised in 2024, was said to be raised to be deployed over a two-year period. A representative declined to comment at this time.