20 startups competing to become ‘Best academic start-up in the Netherlands’
From no fewer than an astounding 57 contenders, the Association of Universities in the Netherlands (VSNU), the Netherlands Academy of Technology and Innovation (AcTI) and Techleap have nominated 20 academic startups to compete in the finals of the second edition of the Academic Startup Competition. The level of the applications was very high, but finally the most ground-breaking and innovative academic startups were indeed selected to compete to become ‘Best academic start-up in the Netherlands’.
Here are the 20 finalists
The finalists are: Bimini Biotech BV, DeNoize, Digi.Bio B.V., ECsens, GOAL 3, IamFluidics B.V., Kaminari Medical B.V., Lusoco, MLA Diagnostics BV, NC Biomatrix bv, NextRound, PATS Indoor Drone Solutions, Phosphoenix, Predica Diagnostics, SOLHO BV, Taylor, uCrowds B.V., VanBoven, Venous Stent BV, Vertigo Technologies.
These startups are responsible for state-of-the-art and ground-breaking innovations in various fields, including Life Sciences, Health, High Tech, Energy, Logistics and Agri-food. The finalists were selected based on their value proposition, the innovative character of the technology involved, the potential of their business and profit model, and the startup team composition.
What's next?
A professional jury will select 10 winners from the list of finalists in November. These winners may lay claim to the title of 'Best Academic Startup of 2020' for a full year and will receive access to special workshops, to peer-to-peer learning, and to a major national and international network of experienced entrepreneurs and researchers.
The startups will also be participating in an online incubator mission to the United States, offered by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy. This mission will introduce the startups to the latest technology and business innovations in their field, while experienced entrepreneurs will be teaching them about all the ins and outs of doing business in the United States.
The winners will also have the opportunity of moving on from startup to scaleup.
About the Academic Startup Competition
The Academic Startup Competition, now being organised a second time, is a joint initiative of AcTI, Techleap.nl and VSNU. The aim of the competition is to raise the visibility of ground-breaking innovations being developed at Dutch universities. AcTI, Techleap.nl and the universities are combining forces in this initiative to develop an academic startup ecosystem which is as strong as possible, allowing outstanding Dutch scientific knowledge to be harnessed to create new products and services. This will generate the strongest possible impact that science can have on society.