UNIIQ invests €2.15 million in five startups

Five startups from South Holland have received a combined €2.15 million investment from UNIIQ. Gateway Bio, Deep Breath, Thionics, Weven Energy and Nodyn are developing innovations in healthcare, battery technology, energy storage and AI. The investments will enable them to further develop their technologies and take important steps towards bringing them to market.

The investments were announced on 5 November during Festival van de Toekomst in The Hague.

Gateway Bio: New technology to tackle antimicrobial resistance

“At the university, we demonstrated that our technology works. With UNIIQ’s investment, we will prove that it also works outside the lab,” says Mark ter Heide, co-founder of Gateway Bio.

The startup, located at Leiden Bio Science Park, is developing a technology that can deliver antibiotics into bacterial cells, thereby bypassing an important resistance mechanism.

The investment will enable the company to expand its team with a microbiologist and a chemist. This will allow the co-founders to focus fully on technical development and the commercial needs of potential customers. The startup also aims to have its results validated by a pharmaceutical company, an important step towards securing follow-on funding.

“At the university, we demonstrated that our technology works. With UNIIQ’s investment, we will prove that it also works outside the lab,” – Mark ter Heide, co-founder of Gateway Bio.

Deep Breath: Greater insight into mechanical ventilation in intensive care

Deep Breath is developing an integrated platform for monitoring and improving the quality of mechanical ventilation in intensive care. The technology combines the collection of detailed respiratory data and breath-by-breath analysis with clinical decision support, quality monitoring and education. Deep Breath aims to help hospitals improve ventilation care, support clinical teams and provide patients with more consistent, evidence-based treatment.

With the investment, Deep Breath will continue working towards European medical device certification (MDR), further develop its technology and strengthen its clinical evidence through international research collaborations. The startup is also expanding its partnerships with hospitals. These steps will prepare Deep Breath for broader commercialisation in Europe while further establishing its presence in the United States.

“Developing medical technology is a long and challenging journey, and UNIIQ’s trust and support are helping us take an important next step. Our ambition is to make high-quality respiratory data and the insights it provides accessible throughout intensive care — from clinical decision-making to quality management and education. We believe this can fundamentally change how hospitals approach mechanical ventilation,” says Anton Balakirev, co-founder of Deep Breath.

Thionics: Making safer batteries easier to produce

Solid-state batteries offer the potential for improved safety and higher energy density. However, manufacturing them remains complex and expensive. Thionics, spin-out of Delft University is developing moisture-stable solid electrolytes that enable this next generation of batteries to be manufactured under less demanding conditions without compromising performance.

The investment will allow Thionics to recruit scientists and work towards its first important technical milestones. This will enable the company to produce solid electrolytes that customers can test in their own batteries, paving the way for joint development projects.

“With this first investment, Thionics can expand its team and laboratory and achieve an important commercial milestone. The investment also opens the door to additional funding. A real business accelerator for our company,” says Huib Heezen, co-founder of Thionics.

Weven Energy: Enabling energy storage where it was previously not possible

Grid congestion is increasingly limiting SMEs’ ability to expand and electrify their operations. Weven Energy is developing the Power Brick, a modular energy storage system based on sodium-ion technology. This salt-based battery can be used in locations where conventional lithium-ion batteries are less suitable.

With the investment, Weven Energy will take its working prototype closer to a certified, market-ready product. Over the next 12 to 18 months, the startup will focus on certification, preparing for production and completing its first installations at Dutch SMEs. It will also strengthen its technical and commercial teams. At the moment, the startup is testing its technology at The Green Village, in Delft.

“With this investment, we can take the final steps towards a marketable product. Certification and preparing for production in particular require substantial capital. Thanks to UNIIQ, we can take these steps and make sustainable energy storage accessible to more businesses,” says Willem Peutz, co-founder of Weven Energy.

Nodyn: People and AI agents working together on complex tasks

Nodyn is developing a platform where people and AI agents collaborate on complex tasks. One of the main challenges is that knowledge about how an organisation operates is scattered across documents, systems and employees. Nodyn brings this knowledge of business processes, roles and rules together in a digital model of the organisation.

Based on this model, organisations can develop and deploy AI agents. These agents receive the knowledge, instructions and tools they need, along with appropriate access permissions and security measures. This enables people and AI agents to collaborate in accordance with an organisation’s rules.

The investment will allow Nodyn to expand its development team and prepare its platform for use in large organisations. The startup is focusing on sectors including insurance and financial services. In the coming period, Nodyn aims to turn existing pilots into applications that customers can use independently and secure its first larger commercial contracts.

“We are building the missing link between organisations and AI. By centrally capturing knowledge and business processes, AI agents can carry out complex work in accordance with an organisation’s rules. This investment enables us to bring our technology into practice with more customers,” say Nodyn’s founders.

Finance for the Future 

“These five startups are developing unique technologies with great potential. But bringing these innovations forward requires capital. This is precisely the early stage at which we are willing to invest. It allows entrepreneurs to expand their teams, further develop their technologies and test them with potential customers. These are important steps for these startups.”

– Jasper Geselschap, Fund Manager UNIIQ

Investments announced at Festival van de Toekomst

The investments were announced on 5 November during Festival van de Toekomst – Missie Mogelijk, organized by the Province of South Holland. During a UNIIQ session, the startups discussed with attendees the challenges they face in developing and scaling their innovations.

Wondering whether UNIIQ is the right fit for your start-up?

Schedule a free, no-obligation introductory meeting to discuss where you are now and what a logical next step could be. You can talk through your idea, funding, team and product development, and how UNIIQ assesses start-ups. Together, we will explore whether and when UNIIQ funding could be an option.