I’ve spent the last few days at IFA, Germany’s answer to CES and Europe’s biggest consumer electronics show. It’s a strange beast. Beyond the halls of white goods and TVs, you traverse floors filled with robot dogs (including one being walked on a leash), robots fighting in a boxing ring (yes, really), and enough mobile phone accessories to fill a cavernous landfill site.
With exhibitors from 49 countries, with a little effort, you can uncover some fantastic startup gems, although Asian startups occupy noticeably more floor space than their European counterparts.
More strikingly, of the 10 winners and 20 honorees in the Best in IFA Next & Emerging Technologies category in 2026, none appear to be of European origin, to the best of my knowledge.
The closest exception I found is honoree ZENOWELL, recognised for its vagus nerve stimulation wearable, Zeno One (stay tuned for a future review). The company says the idea originated in Heidelberg, Germany, through discussions in a lab at Heidelberg University Medical School. Co-founder and CEO Jo Xue is also a PhD candidate at Heidelberg University.
But that doesn’t mean Europe is short of exciting consumer hardware startups — far from it.
