Jan Zizka of Brightpick
An exclusive Tech Tribune Q&A with Jan Zizka (co-founder and CEO) of Brightpick, which was honored in our:
Tell us the origin story of Brightpick – what problem were you trying to solve and why?
Brightpick’s journey began in 2013 when I partnered with fellow PhD students Michal Maly and Tomas Kovacovsky to create Photoneo, a pioneer in 3D vision and robotic software. Photoneo swiftly became a global leader and was acquired by Zebra Technologies (NASDAQ: ZBRA) in early 2025.
Leveraging our experience from Photoneo, we founded the sister company Brightpick in 2021, aiming to develop the world’s most advanced robotic fulfillment solution. We created the first mobile manipulator on the market and now have hundreds of robots deployed and more mobile manipulators than any other company. These systems are providing human-level performance and versatility, a first for the industry.
What was the biggest hurdle you encountered in your journey?
At the beginning, Brightpick’s biggest challenge was securing funding and attracting investors who share our vision, which is crucial for continuous technological investment and rapid scaling. I like to say that my life changes radically every three years because of how quickly Brightpick is evolving. I always need to adapt and grow and it has been both a challenge but also rewarding. My journey has progressed from managing a small team to now overseeing 200 people, and yet we are just getting started.
What does the future hold for Brightpick?
We reinvested the proceeds from the Photoneo sale into Brightpick and we have the capital base to invest in growth. We are focused on scaling rapidly, especially in the US. We’ve been doing larger-scale projects with 100+ robots per installation now. Looking towards the future, we plan on bringing out new products but for now we are focusing on scaling the robotics systems we currently have.
What are your thoughts on the local tech startup scene in Kentucky?
Kentucky doesn’t have a huge startup scene but our location in Erlanger is just across the Ohio River from Cincinnati. That city is a logistics hub and it’s right in the middle of the country, offering plenty of connections and customers.
What’s your best advice for aspiring entrepreneurs?
To focus on commercialization and delivering customer value rather than building solely for technology’s sake, which is a common and costly mistake that many robotics founders make. Given the expense of hardware prototyping and scaling, be agile and ready to pivot quickly based on customer feedback, ensuring you don’t burn significant capital scaling something without proven customer value.