Brian Beyer
Co-Founder and CEO
Brian founded Hellbender because he saw an opportunity to support AI enabled IOT and robotics companies by engineering and manufacturing products in the U.S.A. Through innovation in the manufacturing process, supported by an expert hardware and embedded software team, he offers clients a dependable, faster, cost-effective alternative to manufacturing overseas.
Brian is a former USMC active-duty NCO and ARNG infantryman with more than 12 years of service. During Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003, Brian served as an Assault Section Leader for Bravo Company 1st Battalion 2nd Marines. After active duty, he worked at Carnegie Mellon University’s National Robotics Engineering Center as a staff engineer where he led the development of payloads and UX for the USMC Gladiator, DARPA UGCV, and DARPA UPI Crusher programs.
Brian joined Carnegie Robotics in 2011 where he spent the next decade developing defense and commercial products including Inertial Navigation Systems, rugged stereo and monocular cameras, and integrated robotics systems. In 2014, he led the effort to win the $24M AMDS contract and served as the lead systems engineer and project manager for the resulting Standoff Robotic Explosive Hazard Detection (SREHD) system, a semi-autonomous combat engineer mine and IED detection robot. Brian left his Chief Product Officer role in 2021.
Hellbender emerged from Brian’s continued desire to serve his community and country. He established Hellbender as a benefit corporation, with legally defined goals to create dual-use technology and provide economic opportunity for military veterans. Brian has committed Hellbender to meet the highest standards of social and environmental performance while reshoring electronics manufacturing for the United States.
Beyer, B.D. (2020). Autonomous machine navigation and training using vision system (U.S. Patent No. US20200050208A1). U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. https://patents.google.com/patent/US20200050208A1/