What started with an inspiring message by Prince Constantijn van Oranje ended with a celebration of startup life, especially for award-winner Antennex. LEVEL UP 2024, with a day filled with workshops, keynotes, and networking, was bigger than before on every level: more visitors (over 1,000), more shared lessons, and most of all, a hugely attractive program for startups, investors, and their ecosystem.
The prize for Antennex includes a trip to the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas and a trip to Silicon Valley. In the final round of pitches, Antennex beat startups Dembrane and Sara. All three finalists had female founders. Jury chair Jeroen van Glabbeek: “Antennex’s product is superb, the pitch was great, and you nailed all the jury’s difficult questions.” Jeroen van Glabbeek (CM.com) was joined by Simone Brummelhuis (Borski Fund) and Kathleen Philips (imec) in the jury.
Based on the votes of 1951 people and handed out by last year’s winner Roger Blokland (Relement), the audience award was for Simply, a startup automating recruitment processes. Blokland: “To be honest, I know that startups prefer working on growth for their company instead of pitching on this stage, but apart from that, it was great to see something other than the usual 50-year-old white males here at the LEVEL UP podium.” The three finalists were chosen from 40 nominees.
Successful event
LEVEL UP stood up to its claim as the event for the national and international startup community where founders, investors, and ecosystem people could meet and support each other. A quick round of reactions at the end of the event showed satisfaction with this edition. Participants said they learned how to align their business model with their market better, experienced how others put together their team, strengthened their pitch, got answers from peers, and networked with entrepreneurs, accelerators, and investors. Some even found their cofounder.
Winner: Antennex
Founded in 2023, Antennex is a deep tech company revolutionizing the testing process for wireless devices. Recognizing that over 30% of development and production time is wasted on testing, they have created a multifunctional platform that speeds up this process, significantly reducing the time to market for these products. What sets Antennex apart is its unique testing platform, which outpaces any existing technology in terms of speed and accuracy. Not only does it measure next-generation antennas more effectively, but it also replaces unreliable workarounds, reducing compliance risks. Their technology is accessible to regular engineers, drastically shortening product development time—an invaluable advantage in the competitive semiconductor industry. Antennex’s work has life-saving implications, testing devices like automotive radars that promote safer autonomous driving and wireless sensors that prevent tragic accidents, demonstrating their profound societal impact.
Highlights of the three award finalists:
Antennex (Deep Tech):
- Founded: 2023
- Problem: Tackles the extensive testing time in wireless device development, offering a multifunctional testing platform that speeds up the process.
- Growth Ambitions: Aims to be integrated into production lines, selling over 200 testing chambers annually.
- Recent Milestones: Certified their product, secured significant funding (over €2.5 million), expanded their team, and filed for additional patents.
- Unique Technology: Their platform offers faster and more accurate wireless testing than current technologies.
- Impact: Enables faster development of life-saving wireless devices, like automotive radars and sensors.
Dembrane (DemTech, Social Impact):
- Founded: 2023
- Problem: Addresses stakeholder participation and knowledge sharing in e-democracy.
- Growth Ambitions: Plans to become a world-leading e-democracy platform, focusing on European values of dialogue and co-creation.
- Recent Milestones: Expanded team, increased sales, secured an EU grant worth €3.2 million, and is launching their first standalone SaaS product.
- Unique Technology: Focuses on human-to-human conversation supported by AI, emphasizing collaboration rather than individual online interactions.
- Impact: Works with a diverse range of communities to make them feel heard and included.
SARA (Medtech):
- Founded: 2019
- Problem: Addresses capacity challenges in long-term healthcare, particularly with behavioral issues.
- Growth Ambitions: Aims to become the market leader in the Netherlands and expand into Europe.
- Recent Milestones: Launched a new, scalable version of SARA and gathered evidence of its positive impact on clients and healthcare workers.
- Unique Technology: SARA acts as an intervention tool rather than just a sensor, helping healthcare workers manage alarms and messages efficiently.
- Impact: Reduces behavioral issues by 40% and changes employee work schedules, providing more peace for healthcare workers.
