DPD January 2021: George Clooney, Fruitpunch, but... No Drinks!

No DPD this month, but still lots of news!

....so we decided to publish a newsletter anyway…

...in which we promise one thing at least: much more has happened than we can cover in this newsletter. And that’s, we think, the best news in itself.

First, this great story from ByFlow is worth mentioning:

The Midnight Sky is a 2020 science fiction movie directed by George Clooney that, unfortunately, didn’t get too much appraisal in the reviews. One thing from it though, stuck to the minds of all the viewers:

Yes, in 30 years from now, everybody seems to print their food on printers that are made by… ByFlow! Really, the movie director ordered a bunch of printers at ByFlow, just for use in the movie (we bet George Clooney is using all of them in all of his kitchens right now…)

And the really funny part is that ByFlow’s CEO & Co-Founder Nina Hoff actually used a photoshopped picture of George Clooney in one of her pitches some 5 years ago… Reality is always captured by creativity :-)

Now, let’s take a look at some of the 2020’s highlights from the Eindhoven start- and scale-up region.

Our friends of Dispatches Europe were shocked when they looked back at all the Eindhoven startups that got serious capital injections in 2020. Their total comes to somewhere north of 100 million euros. Want to know the details? check the list here.

Startup Recap

High Tech Plaza’s Community Manager, Karina Garcia del Real, put together a 2020 start-up recap:

?? Keiron Printing Technologies secured a partnership with TNO and Holst Centre. This collaboration will tremendously support Keiron’s roadmap and enable their technology to move forward. Keiron is building the next generation microfabrication machine, enabling its users to deposit almost any material on any substrate. Their mission is to give their clients the power to create and innovate on microscopic levels, leaving a footprint with groundbreaking electronics.

?? Just before the closing of 2020 , Alphabeats raised significant seed investment from LUMO Labs. With this investment, AlphaBeats is going to enlighten the world with its app that uses biofeedback technology and AI to help you relax. AlphaBeats knows how stressful startup life is. That’s why they want to offer the DPD community the opportunity to be among the first beta users of their brain tech app! Want to join the beta test? Click here

?? Talking about LUMO-investments… there’s another great new partnership: LUMO Labs Fund II is investing in FruitPunch AI, which will enter the venture builder’s new cohort. FruitPunch AI’s core business can be summed up as an artificial intelligence talent forge, shaping global talent to solve the world’s most daunting challenges through educational programs and building a global “AI for Good" community.

?? 13 Eindhoven tech companies will attend CES 2021, which is a virtual five-week event. The ‘Eindhovens Dagblad’ sat down with all 13 and every day 2 are featured in the newspaper.

?? Thirteen years ago, Martijn Cox co-founded the TU Eindhoven spinout Xeltis that focused on new, self-growing heart valves for children. Although the past year seems to have been a bit quieter around Xeltis, there is a lot of movement behind the scenes. The ‘Algemeen Dagblad’ interviewed Martijn to get an update on the latest developments and plans for 2021.

?? Plasmacure has had a year full of milestones. PLASOMA cold plasma system is officially on the market! This means that the system can be delivered to as many wound care professionals as possible and help them treat chronic wounds. It is already being used by a wound care center in Belgium, and the feedback on its easy and fast application is very positive. Secondly, Plasmacure was awarded the EU grant Horizon 2020, enabling them to develop a large clinical study to demonstrate the positive effect of PLASOMA on the healing of the main types of chronic wounds.

?? Touch Biometrix is a fabless developer of a new type of fingerprint sensor that can be any size on glass or any size or shape on plastic and all at a fraction of the cost of current solutions. The company managed to achieve some major milestones in 2020! Continued investment of one million euros allowed the growth of the team to 8 people to support their go to market strategy. This was combined with the signing of a 2-year JDA with a large consumer electronics brand name that will be manufacturing the revolutionary fingerprint sensors.

?? ??Aircision built and tested its first prototype at the High Tech Campus on the Strip! Aircision builds high capacity Free Space Optics systems that can be deployed fast and operate on a structured beam to deliver high reliability.

?? Bambi Medical is a MedTech startup developing the Bambi-Belt, a medical device that provides non-intrusive wireless monitoring for preterm infants. In 2020, Bambi received the ISO 13485:2016 certificate for its Quality Management System. Also, Bambi has started “First In Man” study at the Amsterdam University Medical Centre. With this study, Bambi is acquiring actual data from premature babies with its neonatal monitoring system, Bambi Belt in the NICU. The first results look very promising! And last but not least, the company completed a convertible loan funding round and raised EUR 1.3 million.

?? More recent news:

• At Innovation Origins we finished the 12-part series on the next ten years of Brainport. What’s needed to remain on top of the world? Here are some answers.
• Deep down inside, we all know: a better world starts with the next generation. That’s why we need to focus on student teams.
• Brainport Meets Brainport: no physical gathering this time, but online there also was a lot to explore (in Dutch). Listen, for example, to the statements around the new ‘One-Stop-Shop’ (YouTube) for the region’s innovative entrepreneurial activities.
• Team Solid (again) was featured in FD!
• Interesting thoughts by Prince Constantijn about being innovative and caring about diversity in your team can be found here.
• And did you know that decision making is all about a Structure in creativity? A new program by Holland Innovative’s Roel Wessels and Vanderpolloffice’s Marijn van der Poll is going to explore it.

Demos Pitches & Drinks

Drinks, Pitches & Demos had one of its best years. The event is considered “the” start-up event in Brainport Eindhoven; it is a platform for casual meetings that encourages knowledge sharing and networking.

A total of 12 editions were held in 2020! The majority were held online and reached international audiences. During the year, over 70 innovators presented their ideas live to more than 1,000 viewers. Furthermore, the founders Hans Meeske and Bert-Jan Woertman celebrated the 5 year anniversary of the event. Interested in the upcoming event? Check our meetup page.

Looking forward to 2021

2021 is just around the corner, and it brings some very interesting start-up events that you definitely want to put on the agenda!

XL Day

Join XL Day and hear from nine deep-tech ventures that present their business propositions online. These teams are working hard to bring technologies from CERN, TNO, Philips, and other global innovators to the market. The event will be fully online on January 15th from 13:00-15:00. You can sign up here today.

5G and the Future of Business

The High Tech Plaza and the 5G Hub organize a special event to explore what 5G means for businesses. Are you aware of the business opportunities that might be available to your company? What kind of opportunities does 5G will bring, and how can you be prepared for them? Save the date: 10 March 2021.

February Drinks, Pitches & Demos

The upcoming edition of Drinks, Pitches & Demos will take place on February 3rd. Join our meetup page to receive the latest updates and news.

Hope to see you there!

Karina, Hans, Bert-Jan, Bart