ABB announces winners of 2026 Startup Challenge

ABB has announced the winners of its 2026 Startup Challenge, a programme focused on identifying and supporting startups developing AI-based technologies aimed at improving energy efficiency, resilience, and sustainability across industries, buildings, and power grids.

Now in its seventh year, the global initiative brings together startups and ABB experts to work on challenges linked to the energy transition. These include areas such as smart homes, circuit breaker technology, DC power grids, industrial emissions reduction tools, and optimisation of electrical motors and drives.

More than 200 applications were received from 39 countries, with 18 finalists selected to compete at the Energy Tech Summit in Bilbao, Spain. The winning startups will each receive $30,000 in funding to develop a minimum viable product (MVP) in collaboration with ABB over a six-month period. The selected companies are:

• Sesame Sustainability: A platform designed to help industrial companies reduce carbon emissions more quickly and at lower cost.
• MorphoAI: Software that automates circuit breaker design, reducing manual engineering time and enabling faster design validation.
• Bisly: A digital twin-based building automation platform aimed at simplifying smart building system deployment and reducing costs by up to 35%.
• eRoots Analytics: A tool for automating digital twins for power electronics, improving simulation accuracy and reducing development time.
• Forgis: An AI platform designed to connect engineering and operations in industrial environments through task automation and system optimisation.
• Faraday Predictive: A predictive maintenance solution for motor systems that integrates with ABB drives to support condition monitoring and fault detection

The winning teams will conduct pilot projects with ABB customers to test and validate their solutions in real-world environments and support commercial development. They will also gain access to ABB’s global expert network, shared lab facilities, and eligibility for Microsoft Azure credits and mentorship programmes.

Since its launch in 2020, ABB’s Startup Challenge has supported the development of multiple MVPs and the commercialisation of selected solutions, with investment directed towards early-stage technology development in the energy sector.