After a pre-selection by experts and submissions by the public, the jury of the LEVEL UP Awards has selected the 40 most promising tech start-ups. The finals are on September 30, but voting for the audience award is already possible as of now. Vote for the startup of your choice here.
During the LEVEL UP event on September 30, the jury will select the three finalists, who will then pitch their solutions in front of hundreds of interested people. Whoever does so most convincingly will win the prize, which includes a trip to the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas and a trip to Silicon Valley. Brabantse Ontwikkelings Maatschappij (BOM), Braventure, and The Gate organize LEVEL UP.
Co-organizer Jeroen van Woerden, director of The Gate, is proud of the 40 nominees. “The diversity is great, and what unites them all is their focus on solving today’s big challenges. Whoever is going to win, I’m sure we will hear a lot from many of these contestants.”
Check out the nominees here:
| Company | Short description | Sector |
|---|---|---|
| AGMAH | Improves manufacturing efficiency and reduces machine downtime | Artificial Intelligence |
| AI Commandos | Bias free recruitment solution that is AI act compliant | Artificial Intelligence |
| ANTENNEX | Takes antenna measurements to the power of X | Deep tech |
| AnyWare – Asset Management Cloud | Asset information availabe anywhere | Deep tech |
| ArtVista | Scan and identify artworks instantly with your camera | Artificial Intelligence |
| ATA Mute B.V. | Ultimate solution for noise pollution | Climate tech |
| Aumens | Let people with dementia explore their environment autonomously | Social impact |
| Autoscriber | AI-engine taking medical notes in real-time, saving valuable healthcare time | Med tech |
| Brabetech | Molten salt systems for the industrial heat transition | Climate tech |
| Choice – Every Child Desired | Non-hormonal technology to make every child desired | Med tech |
| Chrono Eyewear BV | Propeaq light glasses for more energy and better sleep | Social impact |
| Cooloo | Art, design, and industrial solutions can be created within a sustainable and circular economy | Climate tech |
| Covolt | Asset manager and aggregator for renewable energy installations | Climate tech |
| Dembrane | Emphasising the importance of human-to-human conversation, and supporting this with the use of AI | Artificial Intelligence |
| DuckDuckGoose | Technology that protects against deepfake and Gen-AI fraud, identity theft, and misinformation | Artificial Intelligence |
| FLASC | Enabling large-scale offshore energy storage | Climate tech |
| FoamPrint3D | Revolutionizing the foam industry with a breakthrough 3D printing technology | Deep tech |
| Healthy Fridge | 24/7 access to a daily fresh grab-and-go assortment. Making fresh and healthy food easier than fast food | Food tech |
| HELP-ICE by 4People Communications | Portable items to increase safety, mobility, and self-reliance of vulnerable seniors, adults & children | Social impact |
| IM Efficiency | De-carbonizing the transportation industry with onboard solar technology | Climate tech |
| Incooling | Data centre cooling and energy efficiency | Deep tech |
| INNER BV | Optimizing the use of electric vehicle batteries, from the economic and circular perspectives | Deep tech |
| InnerBuddies B.V. | Personalized nutrition advice based on a gut microbiome DNA test | Med tech |
| Jungle the Bungle | Teaching young children a second or third language in a very fun and easy way | Gaming |
| Linksight | Building a world where data sharing and privacy go hand in hand | Deep tech |
| LoopIt.ai | Aims to simplify the repair journey for car owners and leasing companies | Artificial Intelligence |
| Planetpod | Ultra-smart home battery that stores solar energy and uses AI software to trade it for profit | Climate tech |
| Respiro B.V (RespiQ) | Smart breath testing for personalized health management. Focusing on predicting COPD exacerbations | Med tech |
| Returnless | Whatever the challenge, with Returnless online businesses manage a solid all-in-one return solution | Deep tech |
| SARA | Care robot supporting care workers in long-term care, alleviating workload in healthcare | Med tech |
| Senergetics | Cutting-edge photonics sensing solution for the continuous detection of pipeline assets in the industry | Deep tech |
| Simply | Automated conversation administration and CRM integration with AI. Save time, increase employer satisfaction and ensure consistent administration | Artificial Intelligence |
| Skibly B.V. | Building the next collaboration platform for students. Exchange skills, swap time, and connect in real life. | Social impact |
| STOK Electric | Completely integrated electric and hybrid propulsion systems for boats. Efficient, sustainable, and powerful | Climate tech |
| Tarucca | Condition monitoring of wind turbine blades through photonic sensors and AI software, enabling predictive and optimized maintenance and lifespan asset management | Climate tech |
| TracXon | Fabricating the future of electronics. Hybrid printed electronics production experts backed by unique process IP | Deep tech |
| Tulip Tech | Saving lives by making drones fly further. Custom battery systems, designed to provide reliable and unrivalled power | Deep tech |
| UTF.ai | Bridging humans and systems with multi AI agentic workflow automation | Artificial Intelligence |
| Recrubo.ai | Conversational AI revolutionizing volume recruitment, making it faster, smarter, and incredibly efficient. Say goodbye to manual screening processes! | Artificial Intelligence |
| VBTI | Making automation intelligent. Developing a software platform that facilitates the application of Deep Learning solutions for companies in agriculture and manufacturing | Artificial Intelligence |
Vote for the LEVEL UP Audience Award now!
De winner of the Audience Award gains a LIOC Startup IP Voucher and a booth at CES Unveiled, the Dutch pre event of CES Las Vegas.
A helping hand
LEVEL UP arose from the realization that startups deserve a leg up. Job Nijs, director of Braventure: “The growth of startups to scale-ups is crucial for economic growth and employment and, therefore, the future earning capacity of the Netherlands. Research by Deloitte and the leadership program THNK shows that only 1 in 200 startups reach the scale-up phase. This emphasizes how challenging it is to successfully grow a startup.”
An event like LEVEL UP hopes to contribute to that. But money is also always essential, emphasizes Brigit van Dijk-van de Reijt, CEO of Brabantse Ontwikkelings Maatschappij (BOM). “Startups need the right support. The availability of sufficient funds is indispensable for this. Public and private, this requires a contribution of billions of euros.”
Jury
The three best startups pitch their companies on the main stage of LEVEL UP, in a room with investors, fellow entrepreneurs and other interested parties. Already a prize in itself. The prestigious professional jury – consisting of Jeroen van Glabbeek (CM.com), Simone Brummelhuis (Borski Fund), and Kathleen Philips (imec) – will then choose the winner, who will walk away with an impressive prize. In fact, the winning startup will join the 4TU delegation with two people for an exclusive trip to CES Las Vegas – the global stage for innovation, Palo Alto and San Francisco. The audience award winner will receive a Startup IP Voucher from LIOC. The runners-up are not forgotten either. Like the winners of both awards, they will receive a booth at CES Unveiled, the Dutch pre-event of CES Las Vegas, just like the winner of the audience award.
This article was written in collaboration with and published on Innovation Origins, mediapartner of LEVEL UP.