Forget the robots taking over, we’ve got five startups from our ecosystem proving that AI is here to make a real impact!

💡 Alphabet
Helping hundreds of thousands with paralysis communicate, use technology, and control their environment.
Founded by Julia Berezutskaya

💡 Yasu
AI Cloud Engineer that prevents waste across AWS, GCP & Azure cloud platforms.
Founded by Vikram Das & John in ‘t Hout

💡 Guideways AI
Develops AI agents that automate regulatory approval, reimbursement planning and QMS management for health tech companies.
Founded by Alexander Habermeier & Sander Denissen

💡 Bosun.ai
A platform for AI agents to write, document and make improvements in your codebase.
Founded by Tinco Andringa & Timon Vonk

💡 Lont
Full-stack platform for personalized video at scale, combining AI and proven technologies to automate content creation and delivery.
Founded by Ruud van der Linden & Ismael Garrido

Would you like to join our ecosystem? Find more about our programs.

 

 

We celebrated with Daniel Burger, Founder of Eightsix Science, on successfully closing their pre-seed round, with legendary investor Tim Draper leading the way. This funding will help Eightsix Science in its mission to revolutionize life extension through its innovative Ectopic Cognitive Preservation (ECP) approach. This is a significant step forward for a startup aiming to tackle one of humanity’s biggest challenge: death.

Daniel, Founder & Neuroengineer (MSc Applied Neuroscience, King’s College London, EPFL, Blue Brain Project), teamed up with Michel Wälti, Neuroscientist (PhD Neuroscience, ETH Zürich, IDUN Tech), Mahmut Yüksel, Physician in Neurology (MD, MHBA, University Clinic Zurich, Harvard, EPFL), and an advisory board that includes experts in neurosurgery, ethics, tissue engineering, and in vivo research from Cambridge University, the University of Tokyo, Imperial College, and the UMC.

 

Cordys Analytics  have officially reached two key regulatory milestones:

ISO 13485 certification, demonstrating that their quality management system meets the highest international standards for medical devices.
MDR certification, confirming that their Galvo™ ECG analysis platform complies with the EU Medical Device Regulation, one of the world’s strictest frameworks.
Their notified body, TÜV SÜD, has just confirmed these achievements. This represents a significant advancement for their team and technology.

With the Galvo™ 12L ECG analysis platform now fully certified, they are moving into the next stage: real-world clinical validation and commercialization.

Appreciation goes to their dedicated team, investors, and partners who helped make this possible.

🌦️ Spotlight on Weather Forecasting: Beyond Weather

Say goodbye to uncertainty in long-range weather forecasts. Beyond Weather is tackling the so-called “prediction desert” by delivering actionable, weeks-ahead insights powered by AI and climate science. Whether you’re managing a farm, a city, or an energy grid, early warnings can change everything.

🔍 Why Beyond Weather matters

• Predicts extreme weather events months in advance, giving organisations time to act
• Fills the gap between short-term forecasts and long-range climate models
• Built for decision-makers: energy companies, NGOs, farmers, and city planners
• Uses AI to translate weather data into real-world impact (not just numbers, but what it means)

🧠 Meet the Team

Spun out of Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the founding team at Beyond Weather includes Steven van den Tol, Jannes van Ingen, Sem Vijverberg, and Dim Coumou. Together, they bring deep scientific expertise into the startup world. Steven has played a key role in shaping a team culture where shared values and regular feedback are part of the foundation. This deliberate approach helps turn cutting-edge research into a focused and mission-driven company.

Joining a startup like Beyond Weather means contributing to the culture of the company. What kind of team environment do you as a co-founder thrive in, and how do you see yourself contributing to a positive and productive culture in a growing company spun out of academic research?

We believe good company culture is extremely important, especially in the early stages. Believes shape values, values shape behaviour, behaviour shapes culture and culture shapes performance. We hold a strong belief that work shouldn’t always be crazy and that people only thrive when they feel supported and valued. That feeling translates into healthy culture, which will make a better team and higher performance. As an academic spin-off we will in a way always stay true to our academic roots, but we have also created our own culture on top of that. Steven has been one of the most influential people in deliberately shaping company culture by setting up repeated processes of feedback within the founding team and for new hires.

Beyond Weather gives specific forecasts for industries like energy and commodities. How would you make complex scientific data easy for these clients to understand and use? 

The beauty of weather is that every single human on earth experiences it and there is no way around it. That already makes it quite understandable for most people we work with. Still, weather can indeed be a complex phenomenon that needs further explanation. In that case, it’s the same as in every other field of work: take a customer point-of-view to explain your own product. Often times it’s not about knowing what the weather will be, but about what the weather will do. Making that translation for the customer can be highly valuable.

Beyond Weather helps predict extreme weather months ahead, filling a “prediction desert.” How would you explain, in simple terms, how this early warning helps people like farmers, city planners, or aid groups save money, resources, and even lives?

The prediction desert is a beautiful storyline that visualises a gap in weather forecast accuracy. On the short-range end of the forecasting horizon – up to 14 days – weather forecasting is quite accurate. Over the last decades, tremendous steps have been made to increase weather forecasting here. On the other far end, the realm of climate projections – years to decades ahead – also have quite accurate predictions based on CO2 content in the atmosphere. Right in between those is where the prediction desert lives. Beyond two weeks ahead, weather forecast accuracy has always been low. The resulting weather insecurity has always been a big problem for many economic sectors, because it decreases the power to anticipate. Luckily, with the power of AI, new opportunities arise to beat this forecasting horizon. We believe this oasis in the prediction desert is the early warning many people need for their business; a farmer who tries to protect his harvest, energy companies that need to optimise renewable energy, NGOs that need to allocate help in areas of the world, water management bodies that anticipate droughts.

Learn more about their journey & mission

 

 

✨ Introducing SOVN: A solution for teeth grinding and clenching!

SOVN is changing how we approach sleep, offering a smart solution for teeth grinding and clenching (bruxism), a widespread issue affecting many.

🚀 Why SOVN matters:

• SOVN originated from a personal experience with bruxism, leading to a clever technology that detects and gently interrupts grinding episodes.
• Their focus evolved; it’s not just about interventions during sleep. SOVN provides crucial insights, helping users identify and shift personal triggers and habits that contribute to grinding, leading to lasting improvements.
• Imagine a personalized sleep “system” that fine-tunes your sensory experience (light, sound, temperature) for optimal rest. SOVN is pioneering this tailored path to better sleep.
• In ten years, SOVN aims to have supported millions in achieving better sleep, making a significant difference in overall well-being.

Meet the dedicated minds behind SOVN: a purpose-driven team committed to using their skills to help millions sleep better. They’re building a future where everyone wakes up feeling refreshed.

How did the spark of innovation for SOVN come about and how has that initial vision evolved as you’ve faced the early challenges and insights from your market?

The inspiration came from my personal struggle with teeth grinding and clenching during sleep. My co-founder and I began with the question: “Can we develop a technology that detects and disrupts these episodes?” The core vision of delivering better sleep is still the same, but our approach has evolved as we learned from our multiple iterations and from our customers. Our focus has shifted to not only providing a product that intervenes during sleep but also offering valuable insights that help users identify and change personal triggers and habits that contribute to teeth grinding and clenching. By providing this type of holistic solution, we empower users to achieve lasting improvements in their sleep and overall well-being.

Looking ahead, what technological leaps or breakthroughs do you dream of achieving to fundamentally reshape the future of sleep health?

We are imagining a personalized sleep “system” that delivers tailored stimuli to optimize each individual’s sleep. It might sound a bit like science fiction, but imagine a system that can optimize your key sensory experiences – light, sound, temperature – so you wake up always refreshed. We think the components are there, but we need to connect the ecosystem and adjust their settings specific to individual’s sleep requirements and responses to stimuli.

If you could fast-forward ten years, what does the world look like because SOVN exists, and what would your dream team be?

In ten years, we hope that we’ve helped millions of people achieve better sleep. As for the team, we believe the dream team is a group of purpose-driven individuals who are passionate about using their talents and skills to further our mission to help millions sleep better. And in that sense, we feel we already have the dream team, though we’re always open to growing our team. So if you’re a sleep tech nerd, come and join us!

Learn more about their journey & mission

 

It’s great to hear that Clear2Cure has successfully raised €380,000 from angel investors. They’re putting the money into securing their intellectual property around the world and speeding up preclinical development, which are key steps for future discoveries. It’s nice to see them acknowledge Daan Van der Vorm (SHAPE Capital BV), Hol Treasury, and Stam Capital for their support. Congrats Jord Stam and Jasper van Berkel.

 

Trianect has recently secured a €1.35 million investment from XO Ventures and CbusineZ! This capital injection will accelerate the development and market launch of StrokePointer™, a portable device designed to assess stroke severity directly in ambulances, enabling earlier and more informed treatment decisions that can dramatically improve patient outcomes. Congrats Wouter Potters and Henk Marquering.

 

NeuroTidal Diagnostics has won the jury prize at the Sustainable Healthcare Challenge! With just a single drop of blood, their technology can not only detect Parkinson’s but also determine its stage. Congrats Pleun van Veghel and Françoise Dekker.

We have selected five startups from our ecosystem, all making significant strides in the health sector:

💡 SPCTR
Medical device and software platform that analyzes tumors during surgery to ensure complete removal.
Founded by Wido Heeman & Rowan Timmermans

💡Summa Biotech
Restoring damaged heart tissue and revolutionizing treatment for ischemic heart disease through RNA therapeutics.
Founded by Ralf Zaal & Paul B.

💡 Bachteravax
Leverages a successful marketed technology to develop vaccines against microbiome bacteria that can initiate and promote tumor growth.
Founded by Ivo Ploemen & Dinja Oosterhoff

💡 I See U Baby Care
Using video observation with AI to improve the development of preterm born infants we need to implement individualised care with a focus on sleep.
Founded by Chanel Sam

💡 NeuroTidal Diagnostics
Transforming the diagnosis of Parkinson’s Disease with a compound that recognises fibrils, the causative agents for dementia diseases and will develop it as a screening tool.
Founded by Pleun van Veghel & Françoise Dekker

Would you like to join our ecosystem? Find more about our programs.

Spotlight on Hable: Digital accessibility for blind and visually impaired individuals  🚀
We’re happy to shine a light on Hable, one of the startups from our Foundership program! Hable is on a mission to make digital communication accessible for blind and visually impaired individuals, by creating user-friendly, inclusive tools.

Why Hable is making waves ✨
Hable isn’t just about accessibility; it’s about fostering genuine inclusion in our increasingly digital world. At its core, the Hable One is a revolutionary Braille keyboard. It’s designed to make typing and controlling your screen reader faster and easier for blind and visually impaired people. The Hable One specifically operates smartphones and tablets. It’s compact enough to fit in a pocket, connecting seamlessly to any device and enabling complete control without ever needing to touch your phone. With Hable One, you can send messages, write emails, and browse the web using simple, familiar Braille taps, all while keeping your phone securely in your pocket.

The Hable One is especially useful for those with visual impairments in these groups:

• Braille users: Type faster and more efficiently using familiar Braille commands.
• Travelers: Keep your phone safely stowed while navigating with ease, wherever you go.
• Those who find touchscreens challenging: Experience simple, intuitive control without the hassle of complex gestures.

Today, over 3,000 users rely on the Hable One every day, with an average rating of 4.9 out of 5 stars. It’s trusted, loved, and ready to help you stay connected. This innovative approach simplifies complex digital interactions, empowering users with greater independence and connection. The platform has the potential to significantly impact various sectors, from education and healthcare to everyday communication for the visually impaired community.

A Story of Impact: Isaac’s Transformation 💡
It’s hard to pick just one, but a story that truly stands out is that of Isaac. He was only 10 years old when he received a Hable One for Christmas. Isaac had been really struggling in school, both socially and with his studies, largely due to his visual impairment. With his Hable One, he gained the confidence to join his classmates on social media, play games on his phone with them, and even use it to take notes in class and do his homework. According to his parents, he became a different person, allowing him to connect and make friends for the first first time in his life. This truly demonstrates the power of accessibility and connection.

The journey from an idea like Hable One to empowering thousands of users often involves significant support. How has being part of an ecosystem like the one fostered by UtrechtInc helped accelerate your mission of digital inclusion?

Entrepreneurship in itself is challenging, combining that with a challenging domain and high focus on impact does not make this any easier. An ecosystem like UtrechtInc assists in many ways. Connecting with entrepreneurs who are several steps ahead of you can help you spot problems before they occur, so you don’t make them. It also gave us access to an incredible amount of resources, from legal expertise to funding expertise to expert founders. This is something you can only get done, at this speed, through this program.

Looking ahead, what’s next for Hable in terms of expanding your reach and impact? How do you envision continuing to revolutionize accessibility and empower even more individuals?

There is so much to do to positively change the lives of people who are visually impaired around the globe. Currently, we are focused on launching our new product, which assists visually impaired people in labeling items around them through smart tech. On a more long-term approach, we want to create a whole new segment in our market, of assistive technology that solves real problems, is affordable, and is simple to use. This is where we see the biggest need on a global scale.

Targeting a specific audience of visually impaired individuals, how did Hable, as a startup, approach understanding the needs of its users to ensure product adoption and impact?  

Over the last years, we have had the privilege to talk to an incredible number of customers, testers, and others in our target audience. As a founder, I still talk to customers every single day. Nowadays, the feedback comes directly to us. Our audience is very vocal; any message we send out, we receive hundreds of replies. This allows us to validate new concepts extremely fast and makes sure we focus on building the right things.

‘’Entrepreneurship in itself is challenging, combining that with a challenging domain and high focus on impact does not make this any easier. An ecosystem like UtrechtInc assists in many ways. Connecting with entrepreneurs who are several steps ahead of you can help you spot problems before they occur, so you don’t make them. It also gave us access to an incredible amount of resources, from legal expertise to funding expertise to expert founders. This is something you can only get done, at this speed, through this program.’’ Luuk Jansen, Co-founder at Hable

What’s next for Hable? 🚀
Looking ahead, there’s so much more to do to positively change the lives of visually impaired people around the globe. Hable is currently focused on launching their new product, which assists visually impaired people in labeling items around them through smart tech. In the long term, they want to create a whole new segment in the market: assistive technology that solves real problems, is affordable, and is simple to use. This is where they see the biggest need on a global scale.

Learn more