UtrechtInc

We had such a lovely time at the community BBQ yesterday! Thanks to all the founders & their teams for joining. Surprisingly sunny for Utrecht, cold flower collins cocktails, games, and a lot of good conversations. It's always nice to see the founders in our community spend time together.

This is the part of building a startup that doesn't show up on a pitch deck, the people around you and the community you're part of. Yesterday was a good reminder of that.

Thanks to everyone who joined. See you on June 18 for Startup Pitch Day! ☀️

🚀 Our startups are hiring and there might be something in it for you!

Across our ecosystem, early-stage teams are looking for people who want to build, learn fast and take real ownership from day one. Whether your strengths are in sales, tech, business, marketing or product, there’s a place where you can make a tangible impact.

Working at a startup isn’t just a job, it’s a chance to grow alongside the company you’re helping shape.

Curious? This might be the right moment to explore what’s out there.

Have a look: https://lnkd.in/eAbbxUpT

Say hi to Alessia. 👋

She's joining us as our new Marketing & Community intern at UtrechtInc and she´s finishing her Master´s degree in New Media & Digital Culture at Utrecht University.

´´I'm here to help build the community, bring your stories to broader audiences, and learn everything along the way. Expect lots of ideas, good energy, and maybe a questionable amount of coffee. Would love to connect, just come and say hi!´´

Welcome to the team, Alessia Benedetta Zito!! 👋

AI in healthcare isn’t limited by research, it’s limited by ex*****on.
While groundbreaking AI for medical imaging is developed every year, only a small part actually reaches clinical practice. Bridging that gap requires strong engineering and deep clinical understanding.

That’s exactly what Rashindra and Gaston are doing at XDMD; building custom AI solutions that bring innovation from the whiteboard into real-world healthcare.
Curious how they do it and what’s next for AI in medical imaging?

👉 Read more on our website https://utrechtinc.nl/artikel/startup-spotlight-xdmd/

Looking for funding up to €5 million for your business? Meet investors interested in life science and health startups at this upcoming event: Show Me the Money - Hard money Edition! Connect 1-on-1 with venture capitalists, regional investors and corporate investors.

📍 unlock_ hub at biopartner 3, Leiden
📅 June 30th
🕓 13:00-18:00

Register via: https://api.leadconnectorhq.com/widget/survey/ilZfPKIUp64kENJfTfvx
More info at: https://plnt.nl/en/events/show-me-the-money-hard-money-2/

Made possible by: Ergo Holding B.V. Leiden Leiden and Bio Science Park

Last week, the UtrechtInc team headed to Rotterdam for Upstream Festival, and it was a good one. 😍

Upstream brings together early-stage founders, investors and ecosystem builders at the iconic Van Nelle Fabriek, with tracks focused on Health & Wellbeing, Climate & Energy, and Port & Maritime.

And we had an extra reason to be proud this year: our portfolio company took home the NL Startup Competition, organized by Entreprise.

Great energy in the Dutch startup ecosystem right now. Thanks Festival for putting it all together. Can´t wait to come again next year.

Lumox won the NL Startup Competition. ✨

The competition was held last week at Upstream Festival in Rotterdam, organized by Entreprise, one of the biggest startup competitions in the Netherlands, bringing together early-stage ventures from across the country. They will head to the Silicon Valley to visit Draper University.

Lumox is developing a cancer treatment that uses llama-derived nanobodies to deliver light-activatable drugs directly to tumor cells, then activates them with harmless light. Cancer cells destroyed. Healthy tissue spared. No disfiguring surgery. They are starting with head and neck cancer, where patients often face devastating treatment options or none at all.

This is the work of Beltrán Hernández and Pronk. Years of research, preclinical validation, and real results in the veterinary clinic. Lumox has been part of UtrechtInc´s community for a couple of years already.

Thank you Entreprise and everyone at Upstream for creating a space where science like this gets seen.

🎓 Startup Pitch Day is coming up at UtrechtInc and you’re invited!

On June 18, we’re opening our doors to celebrate three cohorts of founders who’ve spent months building, testing and refining their startups. Expect an evening full of bold ideas, honest stories and meaningful connections, plus drinks to keep the conversations flowing 🍻

From AI infrastructure to climate tech, this year’s lineup reflects just how diverse and ambitious our founders are.

✨ A glimpse of what you’ll hear:

Hydrominds
Sonu, Arthur, Philip & Walter working on technology solutions for water resource management and disaster risk reduction in high mountain regions.

ReveltaDx
Tim Sakkers working on a simple blood-based test for the early diagnosis of heart
disease, with a specific focus on conditions that disproportionately affect women.

Curious how they’re doing it? You’ll have to be there.

And that’s just the beginning...

Whether you're an investor, builder, student or just curious about what’s next, this is your chance to:
🚀 Discover emerging startups
🤝 Meet founders and fellow innovators
💡 Get inspired by real solutions to real problems

📅 Wednesday, June 18
⏰ 16:00
📍 UtrechtInc
🎟️ Free to attend, sign up here: https://luma.com/hkz9v2lx

Come for the pitches, stay for the conversations. See you there!

Last week we sat down with Marc van den Berg from the Netherlands Enterprise Agency and if you're building an innovative startup in the Netherlands, this one's worth reading.

Marc gave our founders a full overview of the support landscape, which spans 800+ instruments across grants, credits, investments, fiscal benefits, IP support and international networks. A few highlights:

🔬 Early stage? WBSO offers fiscal benefits for R&D and Proof-of-Concept funding can help you validate your idea before you've even built a business plan.

🚀 Ready to grow? The Innovatiekrediet and SEED Capital Fondsen support the jump from prototype to market. BMKB and GO provide state-backed guarantees to unlock bank financing as you scale.

🌍 Going international? Eurostars is a strong option for innovative SMEs collaborating across borders (max €500K, ~20% success rate). And for deep tech at later TRL stages, the EIC Accelerator can fund up to €2.5M in grants plus €10M in equity.

The bottom line: there's a matching instrument for almost every stage of your startup journey. You just need a guide to navigate it.

Thanks Marc for being that guide for our community! 💙