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Meet the latest startups from KTH

Group image of all teams
The teams in Batch 15 of the KTH Innovation pre-incubator program met for the first time at Teknikringen 1. Picture: Patrik Lundmark
Published Apr 11, 2022

KTH's latest startups present solutions for everything from tracking algae blooms to how you can find your new non-alcoholic favorite drink. KTH Innovation welcomes nineteen new teams into the pre-incubator program, which has fostered successful startups like Airmee and Greenely.

It's Friday afternoon at Teknikringen 1, and a diverse group of people are milling around the premises. The teams in Batch 15 in KTH Innovation's pre-incubator program are meeting for the first time.

Over 250 alumni companies

When the application period closed in March, almost 70 applications had been submitted. After a tough selection process, nineteen teams remained. Their solutions range from autonomous under water robots and technology to convert waste heat into electricity, to search engines for podcast content and virtual bartenders. The teams, founded by students, researchers and employees at KTH, share a common goal: to have a product or service ready to launch on the market within a year.

Since the start in 2011, more than 250 teams have joined the program, which in addition to weekly meetings provides office space at KTH Innovation, and access to makerspace, recording studio and community activities. Selected teams also get the opportunity to pitch for an investment from KTH Holding AB. Among the program’s alumni are the last-mile delivery company Airmee, whose cars and bicycles are often seen on the streets of Stockholm, and the electricity company Greenely, whose service to reduce electricity consumption became extra popular last winter when prices began to rise.

Developing environmentally friendly alternatives to sanitary products

Three people sitting at a table wearing white hoodies.
Antonio Capezza, Björn Birdsong, Mercedes Bettelli & Richard Olsson have founded SaniSOLE where they develop environmentally friendly alternatives to disposable sanitary pads. The solution is a result of research at the department of Fibre and Polymer Technology (FPT) at KTH. Picture: Patrik Lundmark.

Researchers at KTH are behind eight of the teams. One of them is SaniSOLE. They develop environmentally friendly alternatives to sanitary products such as diapers and sanitary pads, made from agricultural biomass. Founders Antonio Capezza, Björn Birdsong, Mercedes Bettelli & Richard Olsson, base the solution on over five years of research at KTH. The aim is to provide alternatives to products that are on the market today, which are usually produced with fossile-based materials.

- The material is completely plastic-free and degradable down to the last molecule, says founder Antonio Capezza. There are bio-based alternatives on the market today, but none that are completely sustainable in all stages, from production, to use and waste management. With SaniSOLE, we want to develop the first products that take sustainability into account at all stages.

- As researchers, we don’t know all that much about how to take something from the lab to the market, Antonio continues. We want to learn about all the steps, from marketing strategy to financing, how we can validate the product and so on. I loved the energy of the room at the first meeting. The feeling was that if one of us succeeds, everyone succeeds.

Helping companies safely share their data

Tre av grundarna av Eithos
Eithos wants to help companies take the next step in statistical analysis. The idea is the result of a course in innovation and product development. The picture shows three of the founders: Mariam Qorbanzada, Diana Flach and Anton Edin. Petra Österberg is missing. Picture: Patrik Lundmark

Another team in the program is Eithos, the result of a product development course at KTH. They develop a platform for synthetic data that enables companies to share data safely and create value through insights and analyses of each other’s data sets. The idea is to allow customers to access other companies' datasets without anyone risking revealing any trade secrets. Petra Österberg, Mariam Qorbanzada, Diana Flach and Anton Edin, who all study the master’s program in Integrated Product Design, founded Eithos.

- After having studied at KTH for five years, you have many ideas, but turning those into something real is a different story, says Anton Edin. It was great to meet all the other teams. We feel motivated and can’t wait to get started.

Text: Lisa Bäckman

All teams in Batch 15

Apartly

A platform that opens up for fractional real estate investments, while at the same time making previously inaccessible apartments available for leasing.

Meet Apartly

Cavitreat

A chemical-free and economically efficient approach to cleaning water from bacteria and pharmaceutical residues, using a radically novel application of cavitating microbubbles.

Read more about Cavitreat

Datana

A software based approach to enhancing existing in-store surveillance systems, giving staff early warnings that allow them to intervene in order prevent theft.

This is Datana

DewDrop

Share and search the most interesting experiences and places to visit around the world. Explore an interactive map and connect with others, from your travels abroad to walks around your neighborhood.

About DewDrop

Drivler

Getting your license will never be the same. At the click of a button, Drivler picks up and and drops off students when and where they want, while providing traffic schools with a platform that will grow their business.

This is Drivler

Eithos

A platform for synthetic data that enables companies to share data safely and create value through insights and analyses of each others data-sets.

ElvfTech

This team has come up with a ground breaking technique to turn waste heat into electricity. It's twice as efficient as what's currently on the market, and the demand is enormous.

About ElvfTech

funki

Funki creates opportunities for everyone to play in a band, on their own terms. With instruments designed for people with intellectual disabilities, Funki offers a completely new way of communicating and interacting through music.

Meet funki

Knowcean

High resolution ocean data collection and forecasting. Knowcean gathers data on harmful algal blooms using underwater robots (AUVs) and satellites, and use data-driven models to forecast this phenomena.

Meet Knowcean

Mininvasive

A painless and blood-free diagnostic kit that allows for cheap and comfortable sampling that the patient can safely perform at home. This technology promises to lower the risk of infections while also mitigating the biohazard and simplifying the logistics involved in traditional blood-based tests.

Read more about Mininvasive

Nobit

A free-to-play digital card game that takes decentralized crypto-gaming to a whole new level by allowing players to customize any aspect of the game and earn NFT-based royalties for doing so. Nobit's mission is to revolutionize the world of card games by bringing together players and content creators within a single community.

This is Nobit

Pearch

Increasing the availability of podcast content by offering a search engine that can be used to find spoken words in podcasts, allowing both producers and listeners to quickly find podcast episodes of interest. 

Say hi to Pearch

ReWheel

Passionate cyclists, this team wants to create the go-to platform for second-hand bikes that local bike stores around the world can use to make their everyday tasks easier, while also reaching more customers.

Sammy

Schools need help with safeguarding and improving their work environment in a systematic way. That's why this team is building a platform automate scheduling of safety rounds, risk assessments and follow-ups.

This is Sammy

SaniSOLE

Using biopolymers that are extracted from agricultural biomass, this team wants to provide an environmentally friendly alternative to disposable sanitary pads, a product that is currently produced using fossil-based resources.

About SaniSOLE

Scaleup Robotics

The future of robotic manipulation is data driven, but creating large enough data sets to train algorithms is difficult and expensive. This team provides access to a unique environment of massively parallelized robots, allowing for significant cost and time savings when generating training data. Think of it as robotics-as-a-service. 

Check out Scaleup Robotics

Skrivo

This team is on a mission to help writers find their audiences. Building on the latest advances within machine learning, Skrivo analyses your existing and extended network to match you with new readers.

trainit

A cloud computing eco-system tailored for hungry Machine Learning practitioners, backed by a large network of individuals equipped with high computational resources.

Meet trainit

Virtual Bartender

Finding the perfect balance of flavours when mixing drinks is an art. That's why this team is passionate about developing an app that allows anyone to create the perfect cocktail, while at the same time educating people towards a more conscious consumption with both alcoholic and non-alcoholic alternatives.

Say hi to Virtual Bartender

About the KTH Innovation pre-incubator program

The KTH Innovation pre-incubator program is a 12-month program for promising startup projects from KTH. We welcome new teams into the program twice a year. Around 10% of all ideas that KTH Innovation supports go to the pre-incubator program.

In addition to business development support from KTH Innovation, the teams in the program get access to offices and meeting rooms in KTH Innovation's premises at Teknikringen 1. Every week, they meet over lunch and take part in a tailor-made workshop program.

They also get access to our makerspace and production studio. Together with the program's over 250 alumni projects, they form a supportive community, growing and developing together.

Participants in the program also get an opportunity to get an experienced mentor via KTH Innovation's mentor program, and to pitch for a SEK 250,000 in investment from KTH Holding AB.

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Belongs to: About KTH
Last changed: Apr 11, 2022