News

For the past six years, Extreme Tech Challenge (XTC) has proudly partnered with NXP India on its annual India Tech Startup Challenge, a program dedicated to identifying, supporting, and elevating India’s most promising deep-tech innovators. We were honored to once again participate in this year’s competition, which concluded on June 19th.   NXP India Tech Startup Challenge attracts entrepreneurs and innovators from across India, showcasing breakthrough technologies spanning AI, Electric Vehicle, Industrial Automation, Robotics, MedTech, and more. This year’s finale was held virtually, culminating in the selection of three winners from a highly competitive group of 10 finalists. Those finalists […]

Extreme Tech Challenge’s first partner event in Sweden was held jointly with Norrsken Foundation at their Impact Meetup in Stockholm, on June 9.  XTC’s AI:360 theme looks beyond basic models and into “applied intelligence” and physical AI.  A group of six Scandinavian startups were selected to showcase and pitch their physical AI solutions on stage in front of the Impact Meetup’s audience of investors, corporate executives, and fellow founders.  The winner of XTC’s Excellence in Applied AI Award was Agteria, whose groundbreaking work demonstrates the power of AI-driven discovery, developing entirely new molecules that can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions […]

  Extreme Tech Challenge – XTC – is excited to announce that applications are now open for the AI:360 Global Startup Competition 2026. Startups from around the world are invited to apply for the opportunity to showcase their innovations and present live at the AI:360 Summit and Startup Showcase, taking place in California in November 2026.   APPLY NOW   Advancing Applied AI for Global Impact The AI:360 Summit is the flagship event of Extreme Tech Challenge, the world’s leading community of startups, corporations, investors, and innovators focused on advancing applied artificial intelligence for global impact aligned with the United […]

Extreme Tech Challenge — XTC — is proud to announce the AI:360 Summit for 2026—A global event connecting entrepreneurs, corporate executives, investors and policymakers across the spectrum of AI: energy infrastructure, computation and real-world applications to solve the world’s most urgent challenges.

At Extreme Tech Challenge, our focus has always been on spotlighting practical, investable solutions that drive meaningful benefits and impact across business, society, 
and the environment.   The 2026 Excellence in Applied AI Award is part of our AI:360 focus on Applied Intelligence and recognizes the most effective and innovative ways of Using AI. Whether in mobility, medicine, energy, industrial or physical AI, these solutions are built to work and scale to obtain a more immediate return-on-AI. The winners will be invited to our AI:360 Summit in November in Palo Alto, California where 
they will have the opportunity to pitch […]

6th Annual UN FAO Startup Innovation Awards Applications Open The sixth edition of the World Food Forum (WFF) Startup Innovation Awards has launched with XTC offering a special “Excellence in Applied AI” Award.  XTC has partnered with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization World Food Forum’s Startup Innovation Awards since their inception in 2001.   The 6th edition is now launched with applications open until April 1, 2026 [APPLY NOW] This year, XTC is offering a special “Excellence in Applied AI” award aligned with our 2026 theme of AI:360 – showcasing how AI is transforming real-world operations, from digital systems […]

The seventh edition of XTC Japan was held on 3 March 2026 on the main stage of Japan Innovation Day 2026 (JID) an event drawing thousands of business leaders and held at the Tokyo Metropolitan Industrial Trade Center Hamamatsucho Hall.  This year’s event included a record-breaking number of applications, 90% from university spin-offs and a growing collaboration with the Taiwanese startup community.  Technology knows no borders. Deep tech and technology startups tackling humanity’s greatest challenges have the potential to take on significant ventures with the global market as their stage. However, many international investors view Japan-originated deep tech and technology […]

6th Tech Startup Challenge Launched by NXP in India We are proud to have NXP Semiconductors as a founding sponsor and honored to partner for the 6th year of NXP India‘s Tech Startup Challenge by offering a special Excellence in Applied Intelligence Award whose winner will be showcased at our Flagship AI:360 Conference in November.  NXP’s Tech Startup Challenges always highlight India’s finest deep-tech startups focusing on processors development, semiconductor fabless ASIC design, and embedded product development.  We encourage great innovators, especially leveraging Applied-Intelligence, to apply by March 20. The results will be announced on May 31. For more information […]

What an incredible day at the AI & Energy Innovation Summit! Chaired by Young Sohn and co-hosted by Playground Global, the Extreme Tech Challenge brought together more than 100 leaders from AI, semiconductors, and energy to explore one of the defining questions of our time: How do we power the AI revolution sustainably? From speakers to startups, one message was clear: meeting AI’s energy challenge will require collaboration across all areas, from materials science and chip design to grid innovation and power electronics. Special recognition to Karin Schmid, Co-Chair of this event, whose deep expertise in energy systems and infrastructure […]

5th Annual Startup Innovation Awards at the UN FAO World Food Forum 2025 The fifth edition of the World Food Forum (WFF) Startup Innovation Awards competition reached a successful conclusion with a live pitch session in front of a global audience at the UN Food and Agriculture Organization headquarters on 15 October 2025, granting 6 awards to exciting startups.  From the 41 semifinalists announced in July, 8 Finalists were invited to the WFF Flagship Event in Rome – 2 in each of four award categories: Equitable and Sustainable Nutrition – Recognizing inclusive innovations that improve access to more sustainable, affordable […]