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Record-high interest in the pre-incubator program - meet the 20 new teams

Portait of  Maja Åstrand and Simon Lilja
One of the 20 teams in Batch 17 is Ifigenia founded by KTH students Maja Åstrand and Simon Lilja. They want to change the industry standard of forcing humans living alongside bed bugs as a part of the treatment process.
Published Apr 20, 2023

Twenty new, exciting startup projects have joined the KTH Innovation pre-incubator program. From communication solutions for individuals with cerebral palsy to smart speakers and investment platforms: meet Batch 17!

A record-breaking number of 82 teams applied to the pre-incubator program. While some teams apply to the program as the first step in KTH Innovation's process, others have a long history with us. David Unnersjö-Jess got in touch for the first time back in 2016. Seven years later, he and his team Magnephy have been admitted to the seventeenth batch of the pre-incubator program.

Earlier diagnosis of kidney disease

Potrait of Robin Ebbestad and David Unnersjö-Jess.
Robin Ebbestad and David Unnersjö-Jess are two of the founders of Magnephy.

Magnephy works with 3D imaging of kidneys and develops new protocols in so-called optical tissue pathology, an area where technological development has progressed but implementation has been relatively stagnant over the past 50 years. Magnephy's solution means that the customer, for example a pharmaceutical company, gets access to completely new types of biomarkers developed with the help of AI, making it possible to catch diseases much earlier than today and put exact numbers on disease processes. This is important as approximately ten percent of the population suffers from chronic kidney disease, which has so far been difficult to treat.

In addition to David, the team consists of Robin Ebbestad, Hans Blom abd Arash Fatehi. Robin, who divides his time between pursuing a doctorate and working as a doctor, is the newest addition:

— I have been interested in kidney medicine for many years, and when I joined David's research team, I immediately saw the enormous potential there would be in bringing these innovations to market. We are now in dialogue with our first potential customer and the timing is perfect for us to gear up the commercialization process.

David adds:

— I have received a lot of help from KTH Innovation over the years, with everything from patents to market research, but it has gone slowly as the focus was mainly on my research. Now we have a strong team in place and a clear demand from the market, so it will be very exciting to enter a more intensive process. I am also very much looking forward to exchanging experiences with all the other teams in the program!

The start of a one-year journey

Approximately 10% of the over 300 ideas that KTH Innovation supports at any given time enter the pre-incubator program. For twelve months, participants become part of a supportive community and meet over lunch once a week to take part in workshops in all different aspects of innovation development, from sales and marketing to managing contracts or how to secure funding. In addition, they get access to KTH Innovation's premises, with workplaces, meeting rooms, a recording studio and a large kitchen with free-flow coffee. In one year’s time, the teams in Batch 17 will show off their development at Demo Day. Remember where you saw them first!

What happens with the teams that don't get accepted into the program?

All teams that apply to the program will continue to get support from KTH Innovation, including access to a business coach. Hopefully, some of the teams will be ready for the pre-incubator program in half a year, when we accept 20 new teams into Batch 18. Do you have an idea that you want to develop? You never have to apply to get started! If you're a student, researcher or employee at KTH, follow this link !

Text: Hannes Eder Öhrström & Lisa Bäckman

Meet Batch 17

Atonemo

Give your speaker a new brain. Atonemo  is broadening the possibilities for speaker connectivity by building hardware that lets you pair any set of speakers, regardless of brand, age, or streaming mode. The company is also developing other audio-related products glued together by a mobile app and a new smart assistant.

BeatRoot

 develops tools+tech to blur the line between music listeners and creators. Listen to, create, collaborate, and share music freely and fairly with BeatRoot. 

diVRsion

Virtual Reality that alleviates fear of needles. diVRsion  develops interactive software in Virtual Reality whose narrative follows a vaccination procedure to alleviate fear of needles and has healthcare workflow integration.

Hälsopedagogerna

 aims to promote a healthier lifestyle using AI and machine learning. Via an algorithm, they want to create individual health plans and offer coaching support that is personalized and adapted to each individual to prevent ill health.

Ifigenia

Ifigenia  enables individuals and businesses alike to escape the industry standard of forcing humans living alongside bed bugs as a part of the treatment process.

Just Booch

Introducing Europe to the Hard Kombucha revolution. Just Booch  welcomes you to a refreshing and healthy buzz.  

Magnephy

Optical 3D kidney pathology. Magnephy  offers microscopy service & analysis for fast, automated, and quantitative 3D tissue pathology for pharmaceutics development and diagnostics.

MeetYu

Preserve your past, enrich your future – with MeetYu . Your memories are an important part of your life story, and MeetYu is here to help you capture and tell that story.

Rounded News

Become the best-informed person in the room. Rounded News  helps you to better understand the world around you by showing you news that you care about with the opinions that you missed. 

SAGA

SAGA  is a platform specifically developed to help companies ensure that all safety equipment is in usable condition when an accident occurs. 

SAM

 employs ancillary services to optimize assets.

Scholaro

Scholaro  provides a digital platform for scholarship coaching using machine learning, democratising higher education for everyone.

STAC

With a database platform where necessary information is centralized and the application process automated,  wants to create an easy exchange experience for universities and students all over the world. Using STAC, universities and students alike will have a more pleasant and stressless exchange experience.

StreamParking

Forget fixed pricing for parking!  offers you dynamic pricing that adapts to supply and demand. Save time and resources by parking with us.

Studycafe

Studycafe  is a learning platform where students can study alone, with friends or find new people to study with. Stuck on a task? Teachers are one click away! 

Wave

Wave  is an all-in-one communication solution for individuals with cerebral palsy that allows them to communicate on-the-go using hand gestures and augmented reality glasses. 

WindMotors

WindMotors'  idea is to implement vertical wind turbines between the two driving directions on the highway and possibly by train tracks.  

WODPacer

WODPacer  helps every fitness athlete achieve their full potential through personalized insights that otherwise would be only available to elite athletes. Using a single sensor and our machine learning technology, we track your movements and measure your live workout pace and intensity. You just hit start, and we will show you where to improve.

YourWayHome

YourWayHome  is a new way to make journeys at night for women and gender minorities more affordable, safe, and convenient.

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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Last changed: Apr 20, 2023