Startup award strengthens technology transfer

Mr. Jakschik, this year the Startup Award is focusing on two technologies, Embodied AI and cognitive robotics, that are intended to make machines more intelligent, flexible, and autonomous. How do you recognize whether a startup in this field not only has an exciting idea, but can actually make a relevant contribution to everyday industrial practice?

For me, the decisive factor is the concrete benefit a technology provides for mechanical and plant engineering. It is not technological fascination alone that counts, but the question of whether a solution improves productivity, flexibility, automation, or new application possibilities.

With this year's focus on Humanoid Robotics and Embodied AI, we are therefore deliberately looking not only at finished robot systems, but at the entire technology ecosystem behind them - from sensor technology to AI and software all the way to components and enabling technologies. It is precisely there that many solutions emerge that make industrial applications possible in the first place or further develop existing processes.

A startup becomes relevant for mechanical and plant engineering when its technology makes the step from the demonstrator into industrial practice. The decisive factor is whether it proves itself in production and automation environments, supports companies with concrete challenges, and creates a recognizable added value in operation.

The central question is therefore not: How innovative is the technology? Rather: What concrete contribution does it make to mechanical and plant engineering? That is exactly what shows whether an exciting idea can become a relevant industrial application.

The German Mechanical Engineering Summit

The Mechanical Engineering Summit 2026 is the most important meeting point for decision-makers from the industry. Anyone who wants to understand the current technological, economic, and political trends in mechanical and plant engineering first hand should attend the summit: this is where leading minds from industry, politics, science, and startups meet to discuss the key future questions of the industry.

• When: November 10 and 11, 2026.

• Where: Vienna House Andel’s Berlin

• Organizer: PRODUKTION and VDMA

• Program and registration

Mechanical engineering is considered strong in innovation, but often still cautious when it comes to AI applications. What role can an award like this play in accelerating collaboration between established mechanical engineering companies and young AI or robotics startups?

The Startup Award makes relevant technologies and young companies visible to industry. For decision-makers in mechanical and plant engineering, it offers an opportunity to engage with new developments at an early stage and to speak directly with founders.

At the same time, startups are given the opportunity to present their solutions to a high-caliber specialist audience and receive immediate feedback from industrial practice. This is especially important in AI and robotics, because successful applications are not created in the laboratory, but in interaction with real requirements from production, automation, and machine operation.

The award thus complements the activities of the VDMA Startup-Machine, which specifically brings companies and startups together. The aim is to promote technology transfer, initiate collaborations, and accelerate the path of new technologies into industrial applications.

Many machinery manufacturers are under pressure to secure their competitiveness through automation, software, and AI. What signal is the startup award intended to send to the industry - and why has joining forces with startups become more important for mechanical engineering in particular?

With this year's focus, we are deliberately sending a signal: in our view, humanoid robotics and embodied AI are important future topics for mechanical and plant engineering. Anyone who wants to shape the industrial value creation of tomorrow should engage with these technologies at an early stage.

Today, innovation increasingly arises from the interplay of industry, startups, and research. Young companies in particular contribute new technological approaches, speed and often a very clear application focus. Established machinery manufacturers, in turn, have domain knowledge, customer access, and experience in industrial scaling. This very connection is crucial in order to translate new technologies more quickly into viable applications.

The Startup Award therefore does not show abstract visions of the future, but concrete technological developments with potential for industrial practice. It is intended to encourage the industry to classify new technologies at an early stage, enter into collaborations and build up its own experience. This strengthens the competitiveness of companies - and in the long term also the technological sovereignty of Europe as an industrial location.