Robotics & AI Sprint Propel-AIR Gets Underway
Australia's AI and robotics sprint program kicks off with seven companies vying for Boston residency
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Brisbane, 2 July 2026 — ARM Hub's Propel-AIR program has officially launched its 2026 cohort, bringing together seven of Australia's most promising AI and robotics ventures for an intensive month-long sprint culminating in a virtual pitch night and a four-week residency at MassRobotics in Boston.
The seven companies selected for the 2026 program are MotionLogic (Traversal Labs), PROXGRID, Oarsense (Rowboatix), Aurova, SpatioTemporal, JP Robotics, and Contactile, representing applications across industrial AI, aerial robotics, sports analytics, vegetation management, autonomous systems, precision engineering, and tactile sensing.
The accelerator kicks off this Friday with a live webinar featuring 2025 Propel-AIR winner Dominic Lindsay of Nexobot and ARM Hub Director of Research Programs Troy Cordie, giving the new cohort a direct line to the experience of last year's program.
For Lindsay, part of the journey was learning to be clear about his solution's selection and shifting the focus away from the technology and onto the problem it solves. "I think it all has to come down to how you identified the problem. The solution's almost the least important bit. Robotics and technology has to be in support of a problem. It can't be tech first, problem second."
Over the coming weeks, participants will work with an expert cohort drawn from some of the world's leading organisations in robotics, AI, and venture capital, including MassRobotics, NVIDIA, Cooke Capital, Phillips Ormonde Fitzpatrick, RSM Australia, and Stone & Chalk. Sessions will cover commercialisation, intellectual property, R&D financing, investor readiness, and pitching under pressure.
"We're excited to be bringing Propel-AIR back for 2026, and we can't wait to see our winner on the world stage at MassRobotics," said Mike Woodcock, Communications Director, ARM Hub.
The program concludes with a virtual pitch night on 31 July, where a panel of industry judges will select a winner and runner-up. The winning company earns a four-week residency at MassRobotics in Boston, providing direct access to global robotics firms, venture capital networks, and leading US research institutions.
Propel-AIR is delivered by ARM Hub's AI Adopt Centre in partnership with MassRobotics, NVIDIA, and the Australian Government Department of Industry, Science and Resources.
