How does a 177-year-old industrial company maintain startup speed while preparing for technologies that may not mature for another decade?

In this episode of Technovation, Peter High speaks with Vishwanath Hegadekatte, Director of Innovation at Freudenberg Technology Innovation (FTI), about building an internal innovation engine designed to identify, test, and scale emerging technologies across a global manufacturing enterprise. Vishwanath explains how Freudenberg combines strategic foresight, AI-driven research, external partnerships, and startup-style experimentation to help its business units prepare for opportunities years before they become mainstream. The conversation explores humanoid robotics, agentic AI, advanced materials, and the organizational structures required to turn innovation into measurable business impact.

This episode is presented by Celonis — Give AI the context it needs. Learn more at celonis.com/technovation

How Freudenberg Built a Startup-Style Innovation Engine for Emerging Tech

Technovation with Peter High (CIO, CTO, CDO, CXO Interviews)

How Freudenberg Built a Startup-Style Innovation Engine for Emerging Tech