Eindhoven is evolving, growing into Europe’s top deep-tech innovation center. Semi-conductor giant ASML has an impressive campus that just keeps getting bigger. Philips has several, including Philips Health complex in Best. But the center of Eindhoven’s startup and scale-up ecosystem is the sprawling High Tech Campus Eindhoven, where 200-plus companies including Philips, NXP and Shimano with more than 12,000 researchers spend their days toiling away, creating new technology.
So we are dedicating this special edition of the Eindhoven Business Briefing to catching up with everything that’s going on.
That would include the opening of a new cluster of restaurants on campus, a new 5G research center and several big events coming up.
Here’s a (relatively) brief overview:
• The 5G Research Hub just opened on 30 January in Building 25. The lab will let students and researchers “experiment with next-generation test applications, define new business models, and explore live test cases and pilots (including those related to artificial intelligence, machine learning, robotics, and artificial/virtual reality),” according to a news release from Ericsson. The Finnish telecom giant is collaborating with cellular communications/network provider Vodafone/Ziggo and Brainport, Brabant Province’s economic development agency on the project. The campus is home to Aircision, a HighTechXL startup using CERN structured laser beam research to create a crucial 5G link.
• HTC officials have pledged to create the most sustainable campus in Europe. Toward that goal, there is a Sustainable Campus hackathon scheduled for 6 March in the Conference Center. HighTechXL and High Tech Campus will facilitate the event, which will focus on three challenges. The idea is to build teams to generate ideas and move forward with a comprehensive plan to address the challenges.
• Female Tech Heroes returns 9 &10 June after a stellar 2019 inaugural event created by HTC’s Ingelou Stol and Hilde de Vocht. This year, there will be a special guest star who’s out of this world, along with another stellar lineup of speakers. We’d love to tell you more, but we’re sworn to secrecy.
• As part of the plan to become one of the world’s dominant tech centers, High Tech Campus Academy will offer workshops provided by experts from several knowledge institutes including Technical University of Eindhoven, consultancy Holland Innovative, Vlerick Business School in Belgium and Jheronimus Academy of Data Science. The workshops will be open to to the public as well as to people working on campus.
• Our sources tell us several new buildings are planned for the campus, including one major project, with construction starting as early as this summer.
• Look for LUMO Labs to have a higher profile this year. This is a two-year venture building effort for high-tech startups. Founded in 2016 by Andy Lurling and Sven Bakkes, the Eindhoven space is one of two locations, with the other in Los Angeles. LUMO Labs focuses on finding and funding big data/deep learning, AI, VR/AR/MR, Blockchain and Robotics/IoT, including smart mobility.
• HTC has added at least three new restaurants including Brave New World, a veggie-focused, though not vegan, restaurant that’s also focused on zero food waste. In the same building – Building 5 – are Tlab, a 21st century tea experience, and Okinawa, an affordable yet chi-chi Japanese restaurant.
Stay tuned … lots more news coming.
HighTechXL Info Session 11 February
This is a BFD in the illustrious words of Joe Biden. In the startup world, everyone takes a risk … founders, investors … everyone. That doesn’t change.
As a venture-builder, HighTechXL reduces risk by matching the latest technology with the best and brightest tech talent our regional ecosystems have to offer.
Which means you need to be at HighTechXL’s Unleash Your Entrepreneur Info Session on 11 February on High Tech Campus Eindhoven. HighTechXL will reveal details about what’s coming up in the next technologies they’re taking to market from the world’s most esteemed research facilities.
HighTechXL has been busy creating incredibly dynamic companies including Incooling, Dynaxion, Aircision and Carbyon, so you know … they’re starting to get pretty good at this. And they likely have a role for you.
This is all part of the process of building a new cohort of deep-tech companies starting with FasTrackathon, a reverse-hackathon on Friday, 6 March. At FasTrackathon, HighTechXL will reveal the next tech they’re taking to market.
HighTechXL is close to selling out for the Info Session, but there’s still space for aspiring CEOs, CTOs and CBOs. You can reserve a spot here, and the event is free.
The importance of being a highly skilled international
Speaking of HighTechXL, how important are expats to Eindhoven’s tech ecosystem and, indeed, to the business community overall? Let’s look at Incooling, the startup that’s gotten the most pub over the past year.
Incooling, which is developing chip-cooling technology, was in Las Vegas in January, announcing a partnership with Taipei-based GIGABYTE, one of the world’s largest computer hardware companies.
HighTechXL’s venture-building approach guarantees a diversity that a closed group in a startup wouldn’t necessarily have, says CEO Rudie Verweij. The Incooling team includes talent from the Netherlands, Latvia, Iran, Mexico, and Guatemala.
With one exception, we can’t think of a startup or scale-up on High Tech Campus that doesn’t include expats, or at least tap into Eindhoven’s huge expat community for engineering skills.
QUICK HITS:
• A number of HighTechXL alumni have posted on social media about raising new capital, though details have not been made public.
ATO-GEAR has raised more capital from Innovation Industries, BOM and a consortium of investors. ATO-GEAR CEO Andrew Statham developed Arion, a wearable – essentially a “smart” insole – that analyzes running technique and uses AI to coach competitive runner in real-time. Andy is working currently with Adidas.
Amber Mobility has raised an undisclosed investment from BOM Brabant Ventures, a publicly funded venture effort, and a consortium of private investors. Amber will use the capital to double the number of hubs to 140 from 70 now. Amber’s niche is providing drive and forget electric cars to commercial clients such as ABN AMRO bank. Each client has a hub where employees can pickup and drop off BMW i3s. BMW dealer holding company Pala Group BV holds an equity stake.
• Brexit is the new reality, but it’s not stopping the Dutch from adding connections. Starting 30 April, travelers will be able to take a direct train to London from Amsterdam Centraal rather than having to change trains in Brussels to go through customs.
(Editor’s note: We started the Eindhoven Business Briefing in 2017, because we had more news in our headquarters city – which has a huge expat population – than we could possibly post. The future really is being invented here. Send your news to: [email protected])
