The winners of the 2026 Infineon Start-up Challenge – the competition for critical technologies for the next generation of humanoid robots – have been announced by Infineon. After four months of hard work, the jury finally chose 15 startups from more than 100 submissions to pitch their solutions during the Infineon Start-up Challenge Demo Day at EBSCON – the Electronic Based Systems Conference in Graz, Austria.
The challenge united start-ups from Europe and Asia, investors, industry innovators, and technology leaders around robotics and physical AI innovation. The participants innovated solutions to enable humanoid robots to more effectively sense their surroundings and interact with the environment, handle objects, and execute precise movements. The winners were chosen by an international jury of industry, venture capital, start-up ecosystem, and technology innovation experts.
“Strategic collaboration with start-ups creates a win-win situation, combining novel ideas with industrially proven semiconductor technologies and thereby accelerating innovative, market-ready applications,” said Sören Jehmlich, Vice President Ventures, Start-ups & Ecosystems at Infineon. “The Start-up Challenge is a key pillar of our innovation culture, bringing together entrepreneurial courage, technological expertise and rapid implementation.”
“The quality of innovation we have seen throughout this year’s challenge has been remarkable. Start-ups from Europe and Asia demonstrated how diverse perspectives and technologies can come together to solve some of the most important challenges in humanoid robotics. Programs like the Infineon Start-up Challenge are essential for connecting innovators across regions and accelerating the path from breakthrough ideas to real-world impact,” highlights Jerry Park, Director Asia Pacific at Infineon.
The winners are shaping the future of humanoid robotics
First place went to AdapTronics S.r.l. from Italy with its innovative gripping technology, which allows robots to safely handle a wide variety of objects without conventional suction cups or mechanical grippers. Such flexible object handling is a key capability for next-generation humanoid robots. The technology also addresses applications in logistics, packaging, and future space-robotics. The jury highlighted its versatility, innovation, and potential for industrial use. “Winning the Infineon Start-up Challenge is a great recognition of our team’s work and vision,” said Lorenzo Agostini, Founder and CEO at AdapTronics S.r.l. “The challenge gave us valuable access to technology experts, industry insights and a strong innovation network. We look forward to further advancing our solution and exploring new opportunities for collaboration.”
COSMOKE and TECHiFAB complete the podium
Second place went to COSMOKE from South Korea. The start-up developed COSKIN, an innovative flexible magnetic tactile sensing technology that enables humanoid robots to perceive touch, pressure, and physical interactions. By providing essential tactile feedback for dexterous manipulation and safer human robot interaction, COSKIN plays a key role in advancing next-generation humanoid robotics and physical AI.
TECHiFAB from Germany took third place with its In-Memory Computing based approach to real-time motor control for robotic actuators. This is physical AI by definition and is designed to enable faster, more energy-efficient and safer control while improving performance directly within the drive train of humanoid robots.
The solutions presented during the challenge reflect the technologies required for the next generation of humanoid robots, from tactile sensing to dexterous gripping and precise motor control. To support the start-ups in developing and validating their concepts, Infineon provided access to dedicated hardware and software platforms, including Environmental Sensing Kits, Artificial Skin Kits, Motor Control Kits, Visual Feedback Kits, and in-house AI development software, enabling teams to accelerate prototyping and transform innovative ideas into scalable applications.
“Humanoid robots are the most complex form of physical AI and highly relevant for Infineon,” said Dirk Geiger, Senior Director & Team Lead Humanoid Robotics at Infineon. “They combine power, sensing, real-time connectivity, safety and security with software and AI compute, turning machines into autonomous systems. No single company can master
this complexity alone. With the Start-up Challenge, we gave start-ups early access to our hardware stack as well as our software and system offering and brought them together with our partners and application experts. The solutions shown prove how quickly ideas can become building blocks for scalable humanoid platforms and give valuable insight into where the technology is heading.”
The Infineon Start-up Challenge is part of the global Infineon Start-up Co-Innovation Program, in which Infineon collaborates with start-ups as a technology and development partner. As the winner of the Infineon Start-up Challenge 2026, AdapTronics will now join the Infineon Start-up Co-Innovation Program to further develop and scale its solution together with Infineon. The collaboration will officially kick off at the Start-up Night in Munich in November, where Infineon showcases successful start-up partnerships and highlights the value of start-up-driven innovation. Infineon continues to engage with other promising participants for future technological and business collaboration. By combining the agility and creativity of start-ups with Infineon’s technological expertise and global capabilities, the program supports the development of scalable applications and accelerates innovation in humanoid robotics and physical AI.
