Flexxbotics and Zaptic Win Hexagon’s Third ‘Sixth Sense’ Cohort of Advanced Manufacturing Startups

Hexagon’s Manufacturing Intelligence division announces Flexxbotics and Zaptic winners of its third ‘Sixth Sense’ cohort. Both were chosen as winners following an intense program for the eight cohort participants that culminated with a pitching competition at the Sixth Sense Summit, at CodeNode in London yesterday. Acerta Analytics was named as the runner-up in Hexagon’s third cohort.

A panel of distinguished judges from Hexagon’s corporate leadership team awarded Flexxbotics as a winner for its technology that provides workcell digitisation for ‘robot-driven manufacturing’. Zaptic joined the Flexxbotics team in the winner’s circle for its connected worker platform for manufacturing that digitises operations and accelerates operational excellence.

The cohort winners will be given access to Hexagon’s extensive resources for global expansion, including potential funding, worldwide office space, and the company’s comprehensive suite of products and services. Additionally, they will be showcased on Hexagon’s cloud-based digital reality platform for manufacturing, Nexus, providing them visibility with world-class companies and the opportunity to connect to their systems and data to solve bigger challenges and deliver them more value.

“We are thrilled to announce Flexxbotics and Zaptic as the winners of Hexagon’s third Sixth Sense cohort because both address critical automation and productivity challenges while pushing forward the digitisation of the manufacturing industry,” said Josh Weiss, president of Hexagon’s Manufacturing Intelligence division. “Sixth Sense was conceived to identify emerging innovations and has succeeded in providing a platform for high-growth startups such as Flexxbotics and Zaptic, granting them access to resources and customers that are typically beyond reach at this stage of their development.”

“Sixth Sense with Hexagon has been a tremendously valuable experience, and we’re thrilled to be selected as the Industrie 4.0 manufacturing robotics software winner of the program,” said Tyler Bouchard, Co-founder & CEO of Flexxbotics. “We believe that the fleets of robots in the smart factory will run lights-out production, and that integrated inspection will be the critical ‘eyes & ears’ of autonomous manufacturing.”

“It’s an honor to be selected as a winner for Sixth Sense, and we’re thankful for the invaluable guidance and support we’ve received,” said Sandy Reid, Co-founder and CCO at Zaptic. “As knowledge and skill gaps continue to widen, manufacturers desperately need a more efficient way to secure and build capability in the workforce. Partnering with Hexagon will allow us to meet this need at scale with Zaptic’s AI-guided connected worker solution integrated with Hexagon products and service, delivering guided machine operation, troubleshooting, and maintenance to end users.”

Hexagon, the digital reality leader, which plays a pivotal role in the manufacturing of 90% of aircraft, 75% of smartphones, and 95% of all automobiles worldwide, launched Sixth Sense in January 2022 to nurture startups with cutting-edge innovations that address critical manufacturing industry challenges.

US-based Gelsight, was named the winner of Hexagon’s second cohort in February of last year for its 3D tactile sensing solution through a digital sense of touch. It announced a global partnership to develop and sell solutions globally with Hexagon earlier this week. Hexagon would also like to congratulate the rest of the third cohort for their impressive pitches and dedication to growth during the program. These innovative startups include Dessia, Launchpad, Rafinex, RV Magnetics, and ToffeeX.

“Sixth Sense is honored to be open to innovators worldwide addressing some of the planet’s most significant challenges,” said Milan Kocić, Head of Sixth Sense at Hexagon. “Across our three cohorts, we have witnessed how startup innovation empowers manufacturing leaders to confront society’s future challenges. We eagerly anticipate welcoming another new cohort with diverse backgrounds and solutions to the latest challenges.”

About Sixth Sense

Hexagon technologies are used to manufacture 90% of aircraft, 75% of smartphones, and 95% of every automobile produced worldwide. It has the scale, the network, and the ambition to make a difference. As we enter the era of Industry 4.0, Sixth Sense was launched to discover smart and efficient solutions that will boost performance and benefit people and the planet. By inviting the next generation of innovators to the table, Hexagon aims to share its resources and make connections that accelerate progress – pushing the boundaries of design, manufacturing, and engineering and starting to imagine a better future for the benefit of everyone.

About Hexagon

Hexagon is the global leader in digital reality solutions, combining sensor, software and autonomous technologies. We are putting data to work to boost efficiency, productivity, quality and safety across industrial, manufacturing, infrastructure, public sector, and mobility applications.

Our technologies are shaping production and people-related ecosystems to become increasingly connected and autonomous – ensuring a scalable, sustainable future. Hexagon’s Manufacturing Intelligence division provides solutions that use data from design and engineering, production and metrology to make manufacturing smarter.