Pankau and Pan previously worked at Tesla, Waymo, Neolix and Momenta before starting the company. Industrial Next builds proprietary foundation models that connect vision, task context and motion, which the company says let production lines be retooled in minutes rather than the weeks or months traditional reprogramming and physical retooling require. To train the robots, the company uses high-fidelity simulation engines that mimic real-world physics, which it says lets the systems handle high-precision tasks without extensive real-world training data.

Pankau said the startup's workstations are already deployed in the production of a popular smartphone, handling tasks such as threading delicate flex cables and snapping connector caps, with what he described as 100% accuracy. At Disrupt, the company demonstrated a "film peeling" station that strips protective film from camera modules at or above human speed. Industrial Next's stated long-term goal is automating the end-to-end building of full cars without human intervention.

Separately, EasyMate AI, an AI agent platform founded by CEO Aihui Ong, was named one of 200 startups selected for the Startup Battlefield 200 at Disrupt, the company announced Tuesday. The selection came from thousands of applicants worldwide.

EasyMate AI connects content from videos, courses and documents into configurable AI agents that provide personalized guidance and track community insights. Ong said: "The internet made it possible for one person to reach millions, but not to understand or guide each person individually." The platform has powered more than 5 million AI conversations to date.

One of EasyMate AI's clients is Core of the Heart, a ministry founded by Pastor Johnny Chang with more than 7 million followers. The platform facilitates more than 500,000 conversations per month for the ministry.