Industrial Next shows factory robots that can switch tasks in minutes

In short: Industrial Next says it can help factory robots switch to new jobs in minutes instead of weeks, and it announced a partnership with BMW to test the idea.

What happened

Industrial Next, a San Francisco startup founded in 2021, presented at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026. The company builds self-contained robot workstations for factories. It says these stations can be moved and reconfigured quickly when a product or process changes.

In many factories, robots are set up for one very specific job. If the product changes, companies often need new parts and new programming, which can take weeks or even months. Industrial Next says its approach avoids a lot of that traditional step-by-step programming.

The company says its robots learn tasks through simulation and demonstration. Simulation here means the robots practice in a detailed virtual world, like a flight simulator but for a robot arm. Industrial Next also said some of its stations are already used in smartphone manufacturing, including delicate steps like threading a flex cable and snapping tiny connector parts into place, though it did not name the customer.

On stage, Industrial Next announced it is partnering with the BMW Group Technology Office to evaluate its “dexterous manipulation,” which means robots doing careful hand-like movements.

Why it matters

If robots can be reassigned quickly, factories could change what they make with less downtime. That can matter for everyday products, because faster changeovers can reduce delays when companies update designs or respond to supply issues. It could also shift which factory tasks still need human hands, especially the small, careful assembly work that has been hard to automate.

Source: TechCrunch AI