High Tech Campus Eindhoven is a hotbed of innovation and there is never a shortage of companies doing amazing things. In the fourth edition of this annual list, we’ve selected 19 campus companies that you need to watch in 2024.

From small-yet-mighty startups to large corporates to innovation hubs, this year’s list has it all. These organizations are developing or enabling disruptive technologies in AI, integrated photonics, MedTech and everything in between. Each has exciting prospects on the horizon in 2024, and we are sure to hear more good things from them before the end of the year.

The companies on this list are in random order.

This innovation hub is definitely one to watch in 2024 because it isn’t even open yet!Set to open this spring, 3EALITY will be an innovation hub for spatial computing and immersive technologies. From virtual/augmented reality applications to digital twins of factories to Metaverse advertising, this is only the beginning.

How can this technology be used? What are the business cases? These are some of the questions that the hub will explore and showcase to the community in order to build a vibrant ecosystem around these innovations. The hub will provide co-working spaces for innovators, connections to partners, as well as events and educational programs—all to help bridge the physical and virtual worlds.

2. Salvia BioElectronics (MedTech)

Migraine attacks affect more than one billion people worldwide each year and are the leading cause of disability in people under 50. Salvia BioElectronics is helping people take power over these debilitating attacks and reclaim their lives. The company developed a paper-thin, bioelectronic foil implant that is placed just under the skin, near the nerves associated with migraine. This device sends gentle electrical pulses through the foil to calm these nerves and prevent and relieve migraine symptoms.

Salvia BioElectronics has just begun its clinical trials and 2023 saw the first patients successfully treated with the device in Australia and Belgium, a medical first. The company also recently received funding from the European Innovation Council to support the clinical study program.

3. Bambi Medical (MedTech)

Bambi Medical is using technology to help the smallest humans—the millions of premature babies who need care in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Heart rate and respiratory rate are normally monitored with wires and adhesive electrodes, which can damage a baby’s fragile skin. Bambi Medical has developed the Bambi Belt, a wireless vital signs monitoring for neonates. That means no wire and no adhesives, which improves the quality of care for premature infants and facilitates beneficial skin-to-skin care with the parents.

At the end of last year, the company completed the long journey of CE markings for its product, allowing the company to commercialize its product in the European market. In February 2024, Máxima MC became the first hospital in the world to use the Bambi Belt for vital signs monitoring in the NICU. The company plans to further roll out its product to NICUs in the Netherlands, Germany and Sweden.

4. EFFECT Photonics (Integrated Photonics)

With internet traffic predicted to increase five-fold from 2020 to 2026, EFFECT Photonics is providing optical technology to meet this demand in an environmentally sustainable manner. The company is improving digital communications with high-performance, affordable optic solutions. This will allow greater bandwidth and faster data transfer speeds.

The company uses proprietary digital signal processing, forward error correction technology, ultra-pure light sources and integrated optical system-on-chips. EFFECT Photonics closed a $40 million funding round in 2023 and announced another round of $38 million in March 2024. EFFECT Photonics is working to accelerate its product development and get those products to market faster.

5. Alphabeats (Biotech/Software)

Mental performance is much overlooked in the world of sports, compared with physical performance. Alphabeats hopes to change that by helping elite athletes reach peak mental performance. The company’s patented neurofeedback training system combines AI with biofeedback to tweak the frequency of a user’s music of choice. This stimulates the brain to slide into the relaxing alpha wave state, which leads to recovery and stress management, deep focus and mind-body coordination.

Alphabeats has been crisscrossing the United States in the last few months to talk with top athletes, sports teams, training centers and industry experts. They will continue this in May after having won one of the five spots for the Sports Tech Innovation Bridge to the US (STIB-US) program.

6. Brabetech (Systems Engineering)

In a world where 55% of all energy is used as heat, Brabetech believes in a different future—one with 100% renewable heat for industrial processes. The company develops molten heat transfer and storage systems for the industrial heat transition, using innovative molten salt technology. This technology is not only flexible and cheap, but it can handle temperatures from 100 to 500 degrees Celsius.

Brabetech has been refining its technology and products for five years and in 2023, they developed the ThermalPod heat battery. This battery and its software allow customers to optimize charging times based on energy prices, allowing them to buy renewable electricity when it is abundant and cheap.

7. E ink (Electronics)

E Ink is the first of several large global companies on this list that choose to have a location in the heart of Eindhoven’s innovative, high-tech ecosystem. E Ink is the pioneer and leader in ePaper technology with applications that include e-readers, note-taking devices, electronics, healthcare and automotive. The company’s displays are extremely durable and have low power requirements so they can also be used in unique environments where other electronics would be unsuitable.

Sustainability ranks high on its corporate initiatives and the company is actively improving carbon reduction from its product design and manufacturing processes. E Ink’s displays can not only reduce the use of paper resources but also have better energy usage compared to LCD screens. From its HTCE office, E Ink is also working on partnerships and applications to create a future-proof logistics industry, using ePaper for smart labels, warehouse digital signage and airline luggage tags.

8. AI Innovation Center (AI & Machine Learning)

The AI Innovation Center is an open innovation environment dedicated to moving forward the adoption and application of artificial intelligence technology. The center was co-founded by this region’s biggest names: HTCE, Philips, Signify, NXP and ASML. It works to raise AI awareness and knowledge in the region.

With AI-focused startups taking residency in its co-working spaces, there is always a buzz and exchange of ideas. Through events, workshops and these flex spaces, the AI Innovation Hub works to foster meaningful connections to deepen the ecosystem and provide services to support innovative AI projects.

Want to host your event at the AI Innovation Center or use flexible office space at the center of the AI applied community? Learn more here and get in touch.

9. Astrape Networks (Integrated Photonics)

With the incredible amount of data produced worldwide every day, designing efficient data centers with minimal footprints is critical. Using advanced photonics technology, Astrape Networks builds networks for data centers that are faster, cooler and more power efficient than what exists today. The company’s technology allows data to be converted into optical signals only at the edges of the network, eliminating multiple electrical-optical switches and leading to much less power consumption and more bandwidth.

Astrape Networks secured funding in the fall of 2023 to drive forward the development of its technology. The company is demonstrating its system this spring in San Diego and then 2024 will be all about scaling up its technology.

10. Eurofins (Material Science)

The high-tech advances from the region wouldn’t be where they are today without the supportive ecosystem with many behind-the-scenes players. Eurofins is one of these important players that help other high-tech companies innovate. Eurofins’ Reliability Lab on campus provides a range of services to companies and startups for materials analysis and reliability investigation. With 60 reliability test cabinets, the lab can do anything, from environmental simulation to mechanical testing to Highly Accelerated Lifetime Testing.

A subsidiary of global Eurofins Scientific, the reliability lab on campus specializes in testing consumer products, medical equipment, lighting and other high technology products. The lab is a behind-the-scenes player, making Eindhoven-based innovations work reliably and consistently, all while shortening a product’s time-to-market.

11. Touch Biometrix (Cybersecurity)

Touch Biometrix is working towards a more secure, digital world. Just a few months ago, the company announced that it developed the world’s largest capacitive fingerprint sensor. Not only is the sensor the thinnest and lowest power consumption on the market, but it also meets the challenging FAP60 standard of the FBI.

The technology’s unique specs allow fingerprint sensors to be as big or as small as needed. Whether the fingerprint sensor is on ultra-thin glass or a plastic sensor integrated into smart objects or biometric cards, the options are only limited by the imagination. Not only that, but along with Touch Biometrix’s pattern recognition algorithm, the sensors offer the highest level of security for today’s digital world.

12. Senergetics (Integrated Photonics)

How can technology be used to increase the lifespan of industrial assets? That’s exactly the aim of Senergetics, which produces integrated photonics sensing solutions to do just that. The company’s solutions use optic fibers with sensors that measure only with light. These accurate and reliable sensors can work, even in extreme conditions and dangerous environments, such as explosive atmospheres or subsea settings.

More than 30,000 sensors can be used and read in one system, allowing advanced setups for safety and security monitoring. The company’s non-intrusive, continuous monitoring can predict when maintenance is needed, leading to decreased costs, downtime and safety risks. Having received funding from DeepTechXL and PhotonDelta, the company is working to bring its solution to market.

13. NXTGEN Hightech (Systems Engineering)

NXTGEN Hightech supports the development of the next generation of high-tech equipment. It is a National Growth Fund program that is investing as much as one billion euros before 2030. With a focus on energy transition, health, safety and food, NXTGEN Hightech invests in solutions tackling major social challenges. It has more than 60 projects and works with over 300 companies in the Netherlands to support these projects.

The organization provides much-needed funding for Dutch tech companies and projects targeting critical social needs. It is investing in things that may sound far away, but that need investment now to become a reality—everything from organs-on-chips to a hands-free food chain. Just this year, NXTGEN Hightech contributed to a project that had the first successful Dutch test with laser satellite communication.

14. Mantispectra (Integrated Photonics)

Mantispectra uses light to make the invisible visible. That’s the company’s tagline for how its portable near-infrared spectroscopy on-a-chip allows analysis everywhere, right where it’s needed. The company’s chip uses light to understand the chemical composition of materials.

The Mantispectra team envisions a future where its miniaturized spectral sensors can be used directly where needed. This could be in a farmer’s field or along a production facility’s conveyor belt. The sensors can identify raw materials and components, perform soil and food analysis and detect drugs. The startup secured a new round of funding in the fall of 2023 and is now working to scale up its fabrication phase.

15. Maaind (AI and Machine Learning)

Maaind is looking to redefine the experience every time someone steps into their car. Using neuroadaptive AI, the company's Mood-as-a-Service API personalizes the driving experience based on a driver's mood and stress. This is done through tone of voice and heart rate from a wearable device. Based on this information, the user's experience is adapted to their current state – from temperature to music to route – all to nudge the user towards a desired state.

The startup is working with leading automotive OEMs, including Porsche, to test its API and was recently featured in TechRound's "Top 10 Neuroscience Startups." According to Porsche’s article on Medium, “Porsche is working on two projects that allow Porsche drivers to relieve stress and increase mindfulness — and take the individual Porsche experience to a whole new level.” Maaind uses cutting-edge neuroadaptive science and technology to create a safer, more comfortable driving experience.

16. Healthplus.ai (AI and Machine Learning)

Almost one in five people develop an infection after surgery, but what if you could use existing data about a patient to predict post-op complications? That is what Healthplus.ai sets out to solve. Using AI and the patient’s existing electronic health record data, the company’s software, PERISCOPE©, aims to predict with high accuracy bacterial infections after surgery. The prevention and early detection lead to better recovery for the patient, as well as less invasive and expensive treatment.

Currently, five Dutch hospitals support the use of PERISCOPE. The company is on a role after being nominated as a recipient of a CES 2024 Innovation Award for Digital Health. Following up on that honor, Healthplus.ai was recently one of ten promising Dutch healthcare startups to join The Cedars-Sinai Accelerator for a week in the U.S. to explore the country’s unique challenges in healthcare. The company announced in March they have received their CE mark in Europe and are working on getting FDA approved in the U.S.

17. PRECEYES, a ZEISS Company (Future Tech)

Eye surgery requires precision and PRECEYES is defining new standards of precision. The company developed the PRECEYES Surgical System, a market-approved, robotic assistant for retina surgery. Guided by commands from the surgeon, it supports surgeons in inserting and manipulating instruments inside the eye.

The company’s solution provides high precision and steadiness to improve treatment for patients. The system also empowers surgeons to deliver advanced therapeutics and to establish new innovative surgical techniques. The company has been part of the ZEISS Group since 2022.

18. SBMC: Smart BioMaterials Consortium (Biotech)

Regenerative medicine supports the body’s self-healing function and Smart BioMaterials Consortium believes that these can radically change the future of healthcare. The company offers shared development facilities and pilot production facilities, helping the region’s companies to innovate faster. These services accelerate market introduction and large-scale production of smart biomaterials and regenerative medicine.

With R&D facilities already on the Eindhoven University of Technology campus, just last year, Smart BioMaterials Consortium announced a new pilot production facility on HTCE. The new state-of-the-art facility will open in 2025 and will boast four cleanrooms, a quality control laboratory and warehouse space.

19. STMicroelectronics (Sensors & Connectivity)

STMicroelectronics is a powerhouse in the global semiconductor industry and has a broad product portfolio that most people will never see. Its microchips are hidden inside our everyday products, like electric cars and smartphones, as well as inside facilities that run our digital world, like factory machines and data centers.

The company has a strong focus on innovation, developing more sustainable, smart power technologies and helping to enable edge AI. In addition to smart mobility products, the energy sector and cloud-connected solutions, STMicroelectronics is also growing its presence in the advanced healthcare market.

These are only a few of the hundreds of companies of the future at High Tech Campus Eindhoven. If you are a HTCE company with an exciting innovation, get in touch with Kelly Antonis to make sure you’re on the next list: kelly.antonis@hightechcampus.com.