XPO+ Launcher Award Pitch

On the expo floor

The XPO+ Launcher Award Pitch on 13 May 2026 honors the most visionary start-ups driving innovation in autonomous technologies. As part of XPONENTIAL, selected finalists pitch their solutions live on stage — in front of a high-profile jury of industry experts, investors and corporate decision-makers.

This is more than a competition — it is a launchpad. Finalists gain high-level exposure, direct feedback from key stakeholders and valuable connections across the XPONENTIAL ecosystem.

A dedicated award jury evaluates each pitch based on innovation, impact and scalability.
Whether you are transforming robotics, AI, or future mobility — this is your moment to stand out.

Compete. Connect. Be discovered.
Apply now to pitch for the XPO+ Launcher Award Pitch and become one of North America’s next autonomous tech success stories.

Winning Prizes

First place will get a free booth in XPO+ Launcher lounge during the upcoming XPONENTIAL Europe trade show in Düsseldorf, Germany.

XPO+ Launcher partners may grant special prices like incubation, mentoring, access to industry events and such.

Top three places will get a XPO+ Launcher Certificate.

Criteria

All start-ups who exhibit in our lounge do qualify automatically for the pitch. Depending on available places on the starting grid and the number of exhibitors, there might be the chance to pitch without exhibiting. Please refer to Mark (see bottom) to inquire about such a wild card.

Once again, we only allow early-stage start-ups matching the following criteria to qualify for a participation in our XPO+ Launcher lounge and thus, join our award pitch:

Bootstrapped or in funding stage Pre-Seed, Seed or Series A
Founded 7 years back or younger
Annual Revenue not above 3m EUR (ARR)
50 employees or less

What Our Participants Say

I believe XPONENTIAL is one of the most important events for any startup operating in autonomy and unmanned space. Amazing opportunity to meet clients, partners, investors and place your company on the global map.

We were put on the right track to success gaining access to suppliers and partnerships that we are now utilizing to build a game changing product. Of all possible marketing opportunities, XPO+ Launcher is the gold standard.

Participating in the XPO+ Launcher was a game changer for PLENO, connecting us with new partners and potential customers globally. Winning the startup competition also put us on the autonomous systems landscape map.

Women and Drones is a proud inaugural partner of XPO+ Launcher, which connects emerging technology startups with resources to support strategic growth and potential angel investors.

Startups are the disruptors of our industry and XPO+ Launcher provides a great space and platform for them to get some notice and experience - a truly valuable launchpad.

XPO+ Launcher has been an incredible opportunity for us. It allowed us not only to showcase how we are revolutionizing the security and inspection market, but also to engage with investors and key ecosystem players who provided valuable insights.