200
employees
About us
This is Brightpick
With over 200 employees and 10 years of development behind us, Brightpick’s award-winning AI robots enable companies to easily automate every step of their order fulfillment in weeks.
11
nationalities
24
patents
Our mission is to make order fulfillment as efficient and easy as possible.
At Brightpick, we believe in harnessing technology to solve modern-day supply chain challenges. Renowned for our innovative approach in robotics, our team is dedicated to pushing the boundaries of technology to deliver impactful solutions and make our customers’ lives easier.
Our success is intricately linked to that of our customers. We take great pride in seeing our robots enable businesses to thrive in competitive markets. Whether partnering with retailers like The Feed, e-grocers like Rohlik or medical distributors like Dr. Max, our achievements are reflected in the success of those we serve.
our story
How it began
Brightpick’s journey began in 2013 when PhD students Jan Zizka, Michal Maly and Tomas Kovacovsky partnered to create Photoneo, a pioneer in advanced 3D vision cameras. Photoneo swiftly became a global leader in robotic vision sensors, with over 8,000 technology installations worldwide.
Leveraging their experience from Photoneo, the same team founded Brightpick in 2021, aiming to develop the world’s most advanced robotic fulfillment solution.
Today, Brightpick and Photoneo operate under the same unified group. The company’s flagship robot, Brightpick Autopicker, integrates Photoneo’s cutting-edge sensors to power its in-aisle robotic picking.
our culture
What sets us apart
We foster a culture of high accountability and empowerment, where every team member is entrusted with significant responsibilities to make impactful contributions and achieve meaningful results.
We are solution-oriented and work closely together to streamline our customers’ operations. Our approach combines autonomy with a steadfast commitment to operational excellence, ensuring we always deliver high-quality results for our customers.
Leadership Team
Dr. Jan Zizka
Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder
Dr. Jan Zizka
Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder
Jan is the CEO of Brightpick and its parent company, Photoneo Brightpick Group. He leads the overall strategy for the company and loves keeping his hands full with development and marketing. Before co-founding Brightpick, Jan co-founded and led Photoneo, which scaled to become one of the leading 3D machine vision companies in the world with customers such as General Motors, Volkswagen and Kuka. Prior to that, he was a research engineer at Micro-Epsilon, a leading sensor manufacturer. Jan has filed over 20 patents, ranging from 3D sensing methods to mobile robotics. He earned a PhD in Computer Vision from Comenius University, during which he also did research on computational cameras and optics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Tomas Kovacovsky
Chief Technology Officer and Co-founder
Tomas Kovacovsky
Chief Technology Officer and Co-founder
Tomas is responsible for developing and implementing new technologies. His work is what keeps all the Brightpick robots running reliably round the clock. Prior to Brightpick, he co-founded Photoneo and co-developed its patented “Parallel Structured Light” technology as well as over 20 vision systems based on novel computational photography techniques and algorithms. Before that, he was a senior research engineer at Micro-Epsilon, a leading sensor manufacturer. Tomas is an expert in computer vision and robot orchestration software and, in 2017, was recognized in Forbes’ “30 Under 30 Europe” as one of the 30 brightest young entrepreneurs and innovators in the “Industry” segment. He earned a Master of Science degree in Computer Science from Comenius University.
Dr. Michal Maly
Director of AI and Co-founder
Dr. Michal Maly
Director of AI and Co-founder
Michal is responsible for artificial intelligence and machine learning development. He specializes in the construction of rational agents based on reinforcement learning, and has been instrumental in developing Brightpick’s industry-leading robotic picking capabilities. Prior to Brightpick, he co-founded Photoneo, where he also led the AI team, focusing on object recognition, environment mapping and robotic piece picking. Before that, he was a senior systems engineer at AT&T. Michal earned a PhD in Artificial Intelligence and Computer Science from Comenius University.
Branislav Pulis
Chief Revenue Officer and Co-founder
Branislav Pulis
Chief Revenue Officer and Co-founder
Branislav leads the international sales team for the company. He enjoys talking with customers to better understand their operational challenges and help them find solutions for their problems. Before co-founding Brightpick, Branislav co-founded Photoneo, where he built up its international sales team and distributor network and scaled the company to become one of the leading 3D vision providers worldwide. Prior to that, he was the Head of Project Management at KBC Group and transformation advisor at T-Mobile. Branislav earned his MS in Accounting from the University of Economics in Bratislava.
James Cox
Chief Commercial Officer
James Cox
Chief Commercial Officer
James is responsible for Brightpick’s growth strategy in North America, where he focuses on customer success pre- and post-contract. He is passionate about growing the US market and is making fast inroads using his 20 years of customer engagement experience in the materials handling and supply chain industries. Before joining Brightpick, he was VP of Sales at Dematic, where he led Dematic’s sales efforts in the Northeast Region, delivering the region’s all-time highest sales in 2021. Prior to that, James was General Manager at Equipment Depot. He earned a BA in Finance from Bowling Green State University and a MBA from Xavier University.
Adrian Kratky
Chief Operating Officer
Adrian Kratky
Chief Operating Officer
Adrian is responsible for the project management and delivery, manufacturing, customer support and day-to-day operations of the company. Before Brightpick, Adrian was Director of Robot Vision at Photoneo, where he led software development, on-site integrations and customer support. Before joining Photoneo, Adrian spent nine years at Lenovo, most recently as senior manager for incentives and commissions in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA). Adrian started his career at Accenture as a senior programmer. He earned a MS in Cybernetics from the Slovak University of Technology.
Ivana Zizkova
Chief Financial Officer
Ivana Zizkova
Chief Financial Officer
Ivana is the CFO of Brightpick and its parent company, Photoneo Brightpick Group. Prior to this role, she was Director of Finance and Operations at Photoneo since 2018. Before joining Photoneo, Ivana was Finance Team Lead at IBM.
She earned a MS in Economics from the University of Economics in Bratislava.
Andrey Bakholdin
Chief Growth Officer
Andrey Bakholdin
Chief Growth Officer
Andrey is responsible for developing and executing Brightpick’s business development, marketing and growth strategies. Prior to this role, he was Chief of Staff at Brightpick and worked on corporate strategy, fundraising and investor relations. Before that, he was VP of Investments and Strategy at factory14, a diversified ecommerce platform, and an investment professional at Blackstone, where he invested in private and public markets across the US and Europe. Andrey started his career in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) at Moelis & Company. He earned a BS in economics and econometrics from University College London.