When a jubilant Hubert Martens (Salvia BioElectronics) was announced the winner of the LEVEL UP Awards, the more than 1,550 participants could already look back on a full day of celebrating entrepreneurship. During the day, they discussed deeptech, deftech, medtech & life sciences, gaming, big data, quantum, AI, plant-based food, cybersecurity, and many related topics. And what's more: all these debates had impact and sustainability as the central theme. If LEVEL UP 2025 made one thing clear, it's that there's no innovative progress without positive societal consequences.
The LEVEL UP award winner was a good example of this. Salvia BioElectronics is pioneering neuromodulation therapy for people with chronic migraine. Its ultra-thin implant targets nerves involved in migraine attacks, aiming to provide meaningful, lasting relief. Based in Eindhoven and active internationally, Salvia is driven by one belief: people with migraine deserve their lives back.
Salvia receives the grand prize of a business trip to CES Las Vegas, including participation in a mission with 4TU.Impact and a subsequent visit to Palo Alto and San Francisco. Every year, the LEVEL UP Awards shine a spotlight on the most innovative tech startups. Second and third place in this contest were for EviSafe and GoDutch. The audience award went to Urimon. Click on this link to learn more about the ten finalists.
The awards are one of the highlights of LEVEL UP. The entire event serves as an international meeting place for startups, investors, and ecosystem partners, with a clear mission: to help accelerate startups. As in the first three editions, this fourth version of LEVEL UP focused on how to bridge the huge gap between a seemingly successful startup and a flourishing scaled-up company.
Eline van Beestâs talk showed that true innovation and leadership emerge when the masculine drive to push forward is balanced with the feminine qualities of care, collaboration, rigor, and truth-seeking. Lex Hoefslootâs talk was a candid reflection on the highs and lows of building Lightyear, with his core lesson that deep-tech founders must plan their billion-euro fundraising journey from day one and work backwards to get there. Jelle Prinsâs talk showed how Cradle uses AI to design proteins with the potential to cure diseases and tackle climate change, while urging the Netherlands to build the talent, infrastructure, and ambition needed to stay competitive in the global AI race.
LEVEL UP was organized for the fourth time this year by Braventure, The Gate, and the Brabant Development Agency (BOM), together with partners such as regional development agencies, IMEC Xpand, and Rabobank.
Pre-event: Fuckup Night at the Ketelhuis
LEVEL UP was not only about sharing success stories. The evening before the event, founders and students kicked off with a Fuckup 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 educational warm-up that perfectly matched the âlearning by doingâ character of LEVEL UP.
Photos by Bram Saeys