UNIIQ invests €2.15 million in five startups
Five South Holland startups have received a combined €2.15 million from early-stage investment fund UNIIQ. The investments will enable Gateway Bio, Deep Breath, Thionics, Weven Energy and Nodyn to further develop their technologies, expand their teams and test their innovations with potential customers.
The investments were announced on 5 November during Festival van de Toekomst in The Hague. InnovationQuarter manages UNIIQ, supporting innovative entrepreneurs at an early stage of their development.
Early-stage funding enables the next step for startups
A promising technology is not necessarily ready for the market. Startups often still need to demonstrate that their innovation works beyond the laboratory and meets customers’ needs. This is precisely the stage at which UNIIQ invests. Through funding and guidance, the fund helps entrepreneurs further develop their technologies, reduce risks and prepare for follow-on investment.
“These five startups are developing unique technologies with great potential. But bringing these innovations forward requires capital. This is precisely the early stage at which we are willing to invest. It allows entrepreneurs to expand their teams, further develop their technologies and test them with potential customers. These are important steps for these startups,” – Jasper Geselschap, Fund Manager at UNIIQ.
Five startups, five different innovations
The five startups operate in a wide range of sectors, from healthcare and battery technology to energy storage and artificial intelligence. What they have in common is that UNIIQ’s investment enables them to take an important step towards bringing their innovations to market.
“At the university, we demonstrated that our technology works. With UNIIQ's investment, we will prove that it also works outside the lab. ”
Gateway Bio – Tackling antibiotic resistance
Gateway Bio, located at Leiden Bio Science Park, is developing a technology that delivers antibiotics directly into bacterial cells, helping overcome a mechanism that bacteria use to resist treatment. With UNIIQ’s investment, the startup can further develop and validate its technology and expand its team.
Deep Breath – Improving mechanical ventilation in intensive care
Deep Breath is developing a platform that analyses respiratory data from mechanically ventilated patients. The technology helps healthcare professionals make better use of this data in clinical decision-making, quality monitoring and education. The investment will support further product development, clinical validation and the steps towards medical certification and market introduction.
Thionics – Making next-generation batteries easier to produce
Thionics, a spin-out of Delft University, is developing moisture-stable solid electrolytes for next-generation batteries. Its technology could make solid-state batteries easier to manufacture. With UNIIQ’s investment, the startup can expand its team and laboratory, achieve technical milestones and prepare materials for testing by potential customers.
“With this first investment, Thionics can expand its team and laboratory and achieve an important commercial milestone. The investment also opens the door to additional funding. A real business accelerator for our company.”- Huib Heezen, co-founder of Thionics.
Weven Energy- Making energy storage accessible to businesses
Weven Energy is developing the Power Brick, a modular energy storage solution based on sodium-ion battery technology. The system helps businesses make more flexible use of electricity, particularly in areas affected by grid congestion. The investment will support certification, preparation for production and the first installations. The startup is testing its technology at The Green Village in Delft, at the moment.
Nodyn – Enabling people and AI agents to work together
Nodyn is developing a platform that enables people and AI agents to collaborate on complex tasks. By bringing organisational knowledge, processes and rules together in a digital model, the technology helps AI agents work reliably within an organisation. The investment will enable Nodyn to further develop its platform and test it with more customers.
Investments announced at Festival van de Toekomst
The five investments were announced on 5 November during Festival van de Toekomst in The Hague. The event brought together entrepreneurs, policymakers and other stakeholders to explore opportunities for innovation in South Holland.
About UNIIQ
UNIIQ is a €50 million proof-of-concept investment fund that helps entrepreneurs in South Holland bring innovative technologies to market. The fund provides academic spin-offs and innovative startups with seed capital and coaching to turn their plans into reality and bridge the high-risk phase between an initial concept and a promising business. More than 80% of UNIIQ-backed startups have secured follow-on funding, collectively raising over €328 million.
UNIIQ is made possible by Erasmus MC, Delft University of Technology (TU Delft), Leiden University, Erasmus University Rotterdam, InnovationQuarter, the European Union, the Province of South Holland, the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy, the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO), TNO and the municipalities of Rotterdam, The Hague and Leiden. InnovationQuarter acts as the fund manager of UNIIQ.
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