Antennex wins LEVEL UP 2024 Award as highlight of an inspiring startup event
What started with an inspiring message from Prince Constantijn of the Netherlands ended in a celebration of the startup ecosystem, with Antennex taking the spotlight as award winner. LEVEL UP 2024 was bigger than ever in every way, with more visitors (over 1,000), more shared insights and, above all, a highly engaging programme for startups, investors and the wider ecosystem.
The prize for Antennex includes a trip to the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, followed by a visit to Silicon Valley. In the final round of pitches, Antennex outperformed fellow startups Dembrane and SARA. Notably, all three finalists have female founders. Jury chair Jeroen van Glabbeek commented: “Antennex has a strong product, the pitch was excellent and they handled all the jury’s challenging questions with clarity.” The jury also included Simone Brummelhuis (Borski Fund) and Kathleen Philips (imec).
Based on votes from 1,951 attendees, and presented by last year’s winner Roger Blokland (Relement), the audience award went to Simply, a startup automating recruitment processes. Blokland said: “To be fair, startups usually prefer focusing on growing their business rather than pitching on stage, but it was refreshing to see something different from the usual profile on the LEVEL UP stage.” The three finalists were selected from a pool of 40 nominees.
A successful event
LEVEL UP delivered on its promise as the event for the national and international startup community, where founders, investors and ecosystem players connect and support each other.
A quick feedback round at the end of the event showed strong satisfaction. Participants shared that they improved how they align their business models with the market, gained insight into team building, strengthened their pitches, received valuable feedback from fellow founders and expanded their networks with entrepreneurs, accelerators and investors. Some even found a co-founder for their venture.
Winner: Antennex
Founded in 2023, Antennex is a deep tech company transforming the testing process for wireless devices. Building on the insight that more than 30 percent of development and production time is lost to testing, the company has developed a multifunctional platform that significantly accelerates this process, reducing time to market.
What sets Antennex apart is its unique testing platform, which outperforms existing technologies in both speed and accuracy. It enables more effective testing of next-generation antennas and replaces unreliable workarounds, reducing compliance risks.
The technology is designed to be accessible for engineers, drastically shortening product development cycles—a major advantage in the highly competitive semiconductor industry. Antennex’s work also has life-saving implications, supporting technologies such as automotive radar systems for safer autonomous driving and wireless sensors that help prevent accidents.
Highlights of the three finalists
Antennex (Deep Tech)
Founded: 2023
Focus: Reducing testing time in wireless device development through a multifunctional testing platform
Growth ambition: Integration into production lines and selling over 200 test chambers annually
Recent milestones: Product certification, more than €2.5 million in funding, team expansion and additional patent applications
Technology: Faster and more accurate wireless testing than current solutions
Impact: Accelerating the development of life-saving wireless technologies
Dembrane (DemTech, social impact)
Founded: 2023
Focus: Improving stakeholder participation and knowledge sharing in e-democracy
Growth ambition: Becoming a leading global platform aligned with European values of dialogue and co-creation
Recent milestones: Team expansion, revenue growth, a €3.2 million EU grant and launch of its first standalone SaaS product
Technology: Human-to-human conversations supported by AI, focused on collaboration
Impact: Empowering communities to feel heard and included
SARA (MedTech)
Founded: 2019
Focus: Addressing capacity challenges in long-term healthcare, particularly behavioural issues
Growth ambition: Becoming market leader in the Netherlands and expanding across Europe
Recent milestones: Launch of a new scalable version and demonstrated positive impact on both clients and healthcare staff
Technology: Acts as an intervention tool rather than just a sensor, helping manage alerts and notifications effectively
Impact: Reduces behavioural issues by 40 percent and improves working conditions for healthcare professionals
This article was written in collaboration with and published on Innovation Origins, media partner of LEVEL UP.
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