IHM Start-up wins Saxony Start-up Award

PowerON – Smart Elastic has come a long journey yet. Starting as exist business startup grant project in collaboration between The University of Auckland’s Auckland Bioengineering Institute and TUD Dresden University of Technology’s Institute for Semiconductors and Microsystems, the team around Dr. E.-F. Markus Henke, simultaneously Research Group Leader of TUD’s MEiTNER group and CEO of the start-up, is now working towards their vision of breaking down the barriers between humans and robots.  With that vision and a strong disruptive technology, the team wins the prestigious Saxony Startup Award 2023! This prize is one of Germany’s most important startup awards. The prize giving ceremony was conducted by FutureSAX – The Innovation Platform of the Free State of Saxony and the Minister for Economy, Work and Infrastructure Martin Dulig in the framework of the Saxony Innovation Fair at 4^th July 2023.

„How can you automate monotonous work that requires a sense of touch? Through robots with feelings! The PowerOn team is using completely new technology to create flexible sensory skin that gives robots tactile sensitivity. PowerOn is thus penetrating strongly growing markets such as logistics, automation or pharmaceuticals and is bringing a vision within reach: Robots that can safely handle sensitive objects in households and in the service sector - as direct helpers for humans.“, says laudatory Anke Lemke, Elbe Flugzeugwerke GmbH, Dresden.

PowerON was selected out of 74 high quality entries by a jury, consisting of startup veterans, venture capitalists and industry experts and leaders. This is a huge seal of quality of PowerON. The team will now be part of the FutureSAX Alumni network. A network of successful Saxon startups that supports its members in servers ways, especially with information exchange and mentoring, but also with networking events, to find new customers and partners. Furthermore, we now have access to their industry and partner network of 10,000+ partners, including VCs.

Our Chair and PowerON’s entire management team is grateful for this achievement and we are incredibly proud of everyone, who has contributed to this success. „We also want to thank our entire team of engineers, TUD Dresden University of Technology, or collaboration partners, Prof. Andreas Richter and our investors for for their continuous support, enabling us, to perform great and reach our goals. We are looking forward to the upcoming adventures, for which this price will be an accelerator.“, states Dr. E-.F. Markus Henke and adds: “This price is for all of you!”

PowerON also collaborates closely with TUD Dresden University of Technology’s 6G-life cluster that is funded by the Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung.