Antennas are essential for almost all forms of wireless communication, such as mobile networks, satellite communication, radar, and medical sensors. Not surprisingly, the TU/e’s antenna measurement group, and in particular Ad Reniers (now head of the measurement group), started receiving more and more requests from large companies to measure their antenna systems at the beginning of this decade, as suitable measurement facilities were often not commercially available at the time. “It is tough to measure antennas properly because there are many sensitivities in the wireless testing process. That’s why it takes a long time to perform a good test,” ANTENNEX founder and CEO Anouk Hubrechsen says.
And that’s exactly what the startup does: develop test equipment and perform measurements for advanced radio frequency systems. Earlier this month, it raised €1.5 million.
Starting a startup? No way
Anyone who would have told Hubrechsen five years ago that she would now be CEO of a startup would have laughed at her. “No way I was going to do that. Around me, I saw people working day and night.” However, she took a job at the first spin-off of the TU/e measurement group. While working there, she saw several trends that caused the tide to turn.
First, more and more measurement requests were coming in from semiconductor companies. “That was different than before because chips don’t need to be tested wirelessly. But antennas are getting closer and closer to the chip, so the companies needed us. We are moving toward a world where integrated antennas are indispensable, and more and more testing can only take place wirelessly. So a new way of measuring is needed.”
Also during her PhD, together with graduate student Tim Stek (now coo at ANTENNEX), she is developing a new method to measure noise characteristics of a system or antenna – a test that was almost impossible before.
And then, in June 2022, the ANTENNEX team meets Daniel van der Weide. He gets his name from his Dutch ancestry, from Orange City, Iowa, USA. Van der Weide is a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and “a technical and commercial genius.” In addition to his substantive advice, he teaches the startup to think bigger. Hubrechsen: “The antenna world is much bigger than I initially realized.”
ANTENNEX 2.0
Slowly, Hubrechsen gets the idea: this could be something massive. So, she sets aside her resolve never to become a startup entrepreneur. ANTENNEX will be founded in 2023. Van der Weide will be co-founder, and the management team consists of four measurement experts: Hubrechsen is CEO; Roel Budé, who was already active with measurement services, became CIO; Teun van den Biggelaar decided to quit his job at Ericsson in Sweden and became CTO and Tim Stek coo. Bart Smolders, TU/e professor and group leader of the antenna group from which ANTENNEX originated and the antenna measurement group is a part, also steps in.
Flying start
The team began with the task of being at the U.S. International Microwave Symposium in June 2023 with a booth and a pilot product to get people excited. The team has five months to design a “minimal viable product” (MVP). They succeed: after the trade show, the startup gets much attention and brings in its first investors.
Since then, things have been going fast. In addition to the €1.5 million it brought in, the team expanded from four to twelve, won the LEVEL UP Awards (and thus a trip to CES), is part of the European Chip Act, and received funding from the National Growth Fund.
A unique method
ANTENNEX sells advanced measurement solutions and systems for antenna testing and analysis. The products enable accurate measurements of wireless equipment, such as efficiency, radiated power, and out-of-frequency band characteristics. The equipment allows engineers to test, optimize, and calibrate antennas to perform optimally within complex wireless systems such as radars for self-driving cars or 5G and 6G base stations.
“Customers get support and software licensing when they buy our hardware platform. The product becomes more valuable because we are always developing new functions and applications for the same platform,” Hubrechsen explains.
The company does this based on reverberation chamber technology. Measuring an antenna takes place in such a chamber. ANTENNEX’s approach to this measurement technology is unique. “Everyone assumes that this methodology is a statistical process. However, we also consider it to be a deterministic factor. This allows us to make highly accurate and repeatable measurements. Our methodology makes it possible to make highly detailed antenna measurements within seconds, whereas competing methods typically take an hour to achieve the same accuracy. This saves time and provides more reliable data for antenna optimization.”
Big ambitions
ANTENNEX is currently the only company in the world that performs measurements in this way. The main techniques have been patented. Next year, it plans to expand sales and enter the U.S. market.
It’s been almost two years since Hubrechsen threw her principle of never, ever becoming a startup entrepreneur out the window. What does she think of it? “Very cool. I’m learning an awful lot, especially about myself. You constantly encounter yourself and your shortcomings, which makes me a better person. Moreover, I am very proud that our management team consists of experts in antenna measurements. We know what we are talking about. Our success is a team effort.”
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