Infineon picks AdapTronics as 2026 Startup Challenge winner

The challenge sits inside a broader push by Infineon into humanoid robotics, which the company's Dirk Geiger described as the most complex form of physical AI and highly relevant to the chipmaker's business. His argument is that such machines combine power, sensing, real-time connectivity, safety and security with software and AI compute, and that no single company can master that complexity alone. The competition is one way Infineon acts on that view, pairing its semiconductor platforms with outside startups rather than developing every piece in-house.

The finalist lineup shows where that interest is concentrated. AdapTronics works on gripping without suction cups or mechanical grippers, COSMOKE on flexible magnetic tactile sensing for touch and pressure, and TECHiFAB on in-memory computing for motor control. Each addresses a different physical layer of a humanoid robot — hands, skin and drivetrain — and Infineon supplied hardware and software platforms spanning environmental sensing, artificial skin, motor control and visual feedback. Sören Jehmlich framed the arrangement as a two-way exchange, combining novel startup ideas with industrially proven semiconductor technologies to speed market-ready applications.

For AdapTronics, the prize is a route into that industrial base, which the company's founder Lorenzo Agostini said gave the team access to technology experts, industry insights and an innovation network. The stated next step is entry into Infineon's Startup Co-Innovation Program to further develop and scale the gripping technology.