Learning from founders: DeepTech pathways in the Northern Netherlands

Learning from founders: DeepTech pathways in the Northern Netherlands

What does it really take to turn world-class research into scalable DeepTech companies?

That question was at the centre of a working visit in Groningen on Friday 23rd of Janyary 2026, where we hosted our partners from Techleap, including Constantijn van Oranje, Peter Maarten and Maarten Cleere, and ecosystem partners met with founders building knowledge-intensive startups in the Northern Netherlands.

Rather than showcasing programmes, the conversation was deliberately centred on founders from the ecosystem, their lived experience of building companies from world-class research, what has helped them move forward, and where the system still creates friction.

What are some shared themes across DeepTech journeys

Despite very different journeys, several common themes emerged:

• ‍Non-dilutive funding and early ecosystem support play a critical role, but only if governance, leadership continuity and timelines are predictable‍
• Strong clinical and academic collaboration matters — long-term trust between researchers, clinicians and founders is often the real engine behind progress‍
• The step from pilot to scale remains one of the hardest transitions, particularly in regulated domains like health
• ‍Founders are often asked to behave like mature companies far too early, while lacking the resources, talent and financial stability to do so
• IP, licensing and investment structures work best when they reduce friction, rather than becoming the outcome themselves

At the same time, the visit demonstrated what does work when institutions, investors and founders align around a shared ambition: turning excellent research into companies that can scale internationally while staying rooted in the Netherlands.

From dialogue to action: What works when ecosystem aligns

We’re grateful to the founders of QT Sense, Ameretat, Protyon, CC Diagnostics and Enatom for speaking openly and constructively.

The discussion was hosted by Innokite, with close involvement from partners across the ecosystem, including University of Groningen, UMCG, SBGG, Founded and Future Tech Ventures.

Most importantly, the visit ended sharing the first concrete steps focused on improving speed, clarity and quality across the full pathway from research to scale-up.

Thank you to Techleap and all participants for an open, honest and forward-looking conversation. This is exactly the kind of dialogue needed if we want DeepTech companies to grow from the Netherlands.