Salvia BioElectronics wins LEVEL UP Awards 2025
In a crowded reception hall at the Evoluon, Salvia BioElectronics received the LEVEL UP Award on Monday afternoon. “This is fantastic. It makes me proud, and it is an honour. An honour for me personally, but especially for our team,” said Hubert Martens, CEO of Salvia. “I would especially like to thank all the patients from our clinical studies who had the courage to work with us. That takes a lot of guts.” The audience award went to Urimon.
Salvia BioElectronics receives, as a prize, an entrepreneurial trip to CES Las Vegas, the largest and most influential international tech event in the world. Moreover, Salvia will join a mission with the 4TU.Federation and subsequently visit Palo Alto and San Francisco. Urimon wins two tickets to the Web Summit in Lisbon. The LEVEL UP Awards spotlight the most innovative tech startups every year.
The biggest spotlight was on Salvia BioElectronics. The company is developing a bioelectronic implant that treats migraines and cluster headaches by delivering gentle electrical pulses to the relevant nerves. Earlier this year, the company raised €53 million in investment. “We are a growing company expanding worldwide,” said Martens. “This award helps to put us on the map as a company. That’s amazing.”
An inspiring line-up
The awards are one of the highlights of LEVEL UP. The event is the international meeting place for startups, investors and ecosystem partners, with a clear mission: helping startups accelerate.
Leading speakers such as Lex Hoefsloot (Lightyear), Eline van Beest (Hybradize Therapeutics) and Jelle Prins (Cradle) formed an inspiring line-up at the Evoluon in Eindhoven. The event attracted around 1,550 visitors from across Europe this year, making it larger than last year. LEVEL UP was organised for the fourth time by Braventure, The Gate and the Brabant Development Agency (BOM), together with partners including regional development agencies, imec.xpand and Rabobank.
Pre-event: F*ckup Night in the Ketelhuis
The evening before LEVEL UP, founders and students kicked off with a F*ckup Night at the Ketelhuis. In short talks, entrepreneurs shared their biggest mistakes and the lessons that ultimately led to breakthroughs. It was an open and insightful warm-up, reflecting the “learning by doing” character of LEVEL UP.
Startups are the drivers of innovation. The growth of LEVEL UP into one of the best attended start- and scale-up events underscores the importance of a meeting place and platform for these groundbreaking entrepreneurs
Brigit van Dijk - van de Reijt, CEO BOM
“Startups are the drivers of innovation. The growth of LEVEL UP into one of the most well-attended start- and scale-up events underscores the importance of a meeting place and platform for these groundbreaking entrepreneurs,” said Brigit van Dijk – van de Reijt, CEO of BOM. “It is more important than ever to support their growth with sufficient capital and the right resources.”
Salvia BioElectronics: ‘pacemaker’ against chronic migraine
For people with chronic migraine, there is hope. Salvia BioElectronics, based at the High Tech Campus in Eindhoven, is working on an implant that can reduce symptoms by 50 to 70 percent. “For patients, this is the difference between being able to live normally and having to shut out the world.”
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