Eindhoven is known for its innovative strength. It is a breeding ground of design and technology. New businesses start-up here almost every day. The second edition of the Top 10 Start-ups to Watch reflects their originality, strength and diversity.
An expert jury selected their top 10 companies on the verge of huge developments. They are all companies that will receive even greater media attention over the next twelve months. They come from this region and represent very different areas, from a games platform to a large-scale waste-disposal solution. The award also showcases the region’s strength. A strength that is drawing worldwide recognition. Forbes has called Eindhoven one of the "Five Entrepreneurial Places in Europe Where Hub Things Are Happening", while Techcrunch writes that "Eindhoven is creating a lasting culture of entrepreneurship".
While far from showing everything that is happening in Eindhoven, the Top 10 is an excellent cross-section of innovation in the region.
The Top 10 Start-ups to Watch 2015:
Avular
Founded in 2014 By Gerbert van de Ven, Albert Maas and Ramon Haken What A maintenance-inspection drone, for everything from agricultural fields to oil tanks. Jury "A drone that flies with the precision of an ASML machine."
Fistuca
Founded in 2008 By Jasper Winkes What Technology to drive piles, offshore, with low underwater noise levels and less damage to the piles themselves Jury "Driving piles offshore with less impact on sea life. How? With water!"
Ioniqa
Founded in 2009 By Tonnis Hooghoudt and Carlos Guerrero Sanchez What Magnetic Smart Materials: materials whose properties change when a magnetic field is applied Jury "As a solution to the waste problem, Ioniqa can convert plastic into raw materials."
Manus Machina
Founded in 2014 By Stephan van den Brink, Tim van Veenendaal and Bob Vlemmix What Gloves that register your hand movements, ideal for virtual reality gaming Jury "This is Eindhoven at its best. A start-up at the cutting edge of design and technology that will spearhead developments in the virtual world."
Medimetrics
Founded in 2011 By Jeff Shimizu, Olaf Weiner, Klaas Kerkhof, Christoph Wanke and Ventzeslav Iordanov What IntelliCap: a smart pill that contains sensors and electronics in addition to medicine. The pill can measure and report conditions in the body so controling the release of medication Jury "The smartest pill for the smartest km² of the smartest region. That makes sense!"
No Food Wasted
Founded in 2014 By August de Vocht What The ‘Afgeprijsd’ consumer app indexes those supermarkets with discounted products approaching their expiry date Jury "The outcry over food wastage has led to a smart solution."
Smart Robotics
Founded in 2015 By Heico Sandee and Mark Menting What The development and secondment of modular robots that can be configured for specific tasks Jury "A robot employment agency that makes the use of robots accessible to many more companies."
Smart Photonics
Founded in 2012 By Richard Visser What Optical chips that allow you to handle more data with less energy Jury "Light can do so much more than simply illuminate."
Spincontrol
Founded in 2005 By Eric Carrier What Efficient worm and worm-wheel technology that reduces power consumption by over 30% when systems are starting-up Jury "An American company that is putting advanced worm and worm-wheel technology on the market here in the Netherlands."
Utomik
Founded in 2014 By Doki Tops and Mark Schroders What Subscription service for gaming Jury "Has the potential to become the spotify of games."
This is the second year that e52 presents its Top 10, listed above in alphabetical order. The previous edition included, among other companies, Sapiens, which has since been acquired for €150 million, and EFFECT Photonics, which won its series A financing round in February.
The Top 10 was presented on 9 July in Eindhoven, which was attended by numerous start-up founders and supporters of the start-up ecosystem. Economy Councillor of Eindhoven, Staf Depla, highlighted the importance of start-ups for the region’s economy in a short speech. The Top 10 is an initiative of the High Tech Campus Eindhoven and will be presented by e52.nl with the support of EY.com, Eindhoven365, Rabobank Eindhoven Veldhoven and Witlox van den Boomen.
Source: E52
