NWO has opened the autumn round of the Venture Challenge. This program is for entrepreneurial Life Sciences & Health and MedTech researchers. Over eight to ten weeks, they will be guided in developing their business plan and setting up their company. For this round, the Ministry of Economic Affairs (EZ) has increased the budget so that six additional teams can participate, specifically focusing on MedTech innovations. This means a total of twelve teams can participate this round. NWO is collaborating with the top sectors Life Sciences & Health (Health~Holland) and High Tech Systems and Materials (Holland High Tech) for this call.
Goal of the call
The cabinet wants to use mission-driven innovation policy to harness the innovative power of the top sectors to tackle major societal challenges. This also aims to strengthen the competitive power of the Netherlands. This can be done, among other things, by using scientific research to address societal issues. However, many scientific findings do not reach the market. This is because researchers often lack the knowledge and experience to make their product market-ready or to set up a commercial organization.
The Venture Challenge program offers a solution. In the coaching trajectory, researchers work together with professionals, such as business coaches and experts, on a well-thought-out business case. In this way, researchers are prepared for a successful start of their company.
Autumn Round 2025
The Venture Challenge autumn round focuses on teams of three or four people who have established a new start-up in the field of Life Sciences & Health or MedTech or plan to do so soon. The product, process, or service must fall under medical devices or other innovations within these broad domains.
A total of twelve teams can participate, divided over two coaching trajectories. The first coaching trajectory will take place in October and November 2025. The second trajectory will take place from November 2025 to February 2026.
Registration and deadlines
From May 6, 2025, teams can register for one of the twelve available spots. The deadline for submitting applications is July 1, 2025, before 14:00:00 CET. In September 2025, NWO will announce which start-ups have been selected for this autumn round of the Venture Challenge.
Health~Holland
Top sector Life Sciences & Health (Health~Holland) is the driving force behind innovation within the Life Sciences & Health (LSH) sector. Health~Holland aims to achieve both economic and societal impact. With a clear vision of an even healthier future, they strategically invest in a wide range of top disciplines, ranging from pharmaceuticals and medical technology to healthcare infrastructure, vaccination research, eHealth, and data analysis. The goal of Health~Holland is to stimulate groundbreaking scientific discoveries and technological innovations that not only transform healthcare and the LSH sector but also contribute to sustainable and structural economic growth.
Holland High Tech
Holland High Tech is the top sector High Tech Systems & Materials (HTSM). In this sector, businesses, knowledge institutions, and governments work on smart technologies to address major societal challenges: Dutch solutions for global issues. Holland High Tech initiates and stimulates innovations in the form of public-private partnerships in 15 technological roadmaps and thus contributes to the mission-driven innovation policy of the Netherlands. Together, they work towards a better future and accelerate the urgent transition to 2030 with the development of high-tech innovations for a wide range of applications.