The Gerard & Anton Awards are for start-ups that demonstrate more than just a good idea, an impressive demo or a promising pitch deck. Since the first edition in 2014, the community has put entrepreneurs in the spotlight who tackle urgent problems and have the potential to make a global difference. This year (2026), we are celebrating the twelfth cohort of winners. Together, there are now 120 start-ups striving to realise their big dreams. And, judging by their success rate, they are doing remarkably well. More than 90 per cent of former winners are still active – an unprecedented figure in the start-up world. Together, they have raised more than €4 billion in investment.

This high success rate is closely linked to the fact that the jury, chaired by Alderman Stijn Steenbakkers, is itself an integral part of this region’s innovative ecosystem. It therefore sees beyond pitch decks and press releases: it knows the founders and their teams inside out.

Jury Report: Gerard & Anton Awards 2026

The 2026 cohort highlights Brainport’s current strengths. These start-ups are not merely making incremental improvements; they are tackling fundamental bottlenecks: AI’s energy consumption, heat generated by chips, congestion in data centres, Europe’s dependence on foreign solar technology, pollution, noise, and a lack of real-time insight into industrial processes. They are companies that connect

The 10 most promising start-ups in Brainport took home the coveted awards. Six of the 10 are based at the High Tech Campus. Furthermore, two of the winners are HighTechXL alumni, the Netherlands’ only deep tech venture-building programme.

Congratulations to the 10 winners:

ATA Mute B.V., Astrape Networks , Avendar, CoolSem Technologies, Euclyd, Helia Biomonitoring, Luper Technologies, Photon Bridge, Perovion Technologies, Touchwaves

Congratulations also to the Golden Lightbulb Award winner Syntric Medical and the student team Team EDEN

Read the full IO+ article here.

Source: Team IO+, High Tech Campus and Bert-Jan Woertman

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