Eight women founders bring EIC-backed healthtech and biotech innovations to Berlin Startup Spotlight

On 26 November 2024 eight women entrepreneurs who had participated in EIC programmes pitched their companies at a Startup Spotlight session in Berlin. The session took place within the Gender Gap in Investments event and was designed to showcase female leadership in deep tech healthcare and biotech. Founders travelled from the Czech Republic, Germany, Ireland, Israel/Czech Republic, Poland, Portugal, Sweden and Turkey to present solutions ranging from operating room automation to diagnostics and wound care.

Who pitched and what they presented

Winner and notable entries

The jury selected Akara Robotics as the winner. Akara has positioned its platform as an operating room data layer that passively captures surgical event data, coordinates staff and integrates with service robots to reduce turnaround and cleaning times. The company emphasizes privacy and claims clinical validation of a UV disinfection robot called Violet that speeds up decontamination. Akara's co-founder Niamh Donelly is a recognised figure in European innovation circles and a past recipient of prizes for women innovators.

Other pitching companies brought a mix of diagnostics, devices and software. BEIT highlighted quantum-inspired algorithms and wafer-scale compute approaches to accelerate molecular modelling and docking. cureVision promoted a digital, contactless wound-analysis system built on optical sensors and AI intended to speed assessments and documentation. expressTEC presented an RNA and AI diagnostics platform for targeted cancer therapy selection. Interlinked pitched an innovation for infusion and catheter devices while Porous emphasised ultrasound screening for osteoporosis. Umayana and Vigor Medical pitched wound-care and chest-drainage solutions respectively.

Context: programmes that supported the founders

What the event accomplished and what remains uncertain

The Startup Spotlight provided visibility for women founders in areas of healthcare and biotech that have been historically male dominated. Showcasing a geographically diverse set of founders signals progress in inclusion and in the EIC's efforts to improve female participation in deep tech. The event also functioned as a convening point for the Gender Gap in Investments project to collect qualitative input from the regional innovation ecosystem.

However visibility alone does not resolve the structural challenges that women founders face. Several practical gaps remain between early-stage credibility and commercial scale. Medtech and biotech innovations in particular depend on expensive clinical trials, regulatory approvals, hospital procurement cycles and long sales timelines. Pitch claims about speedups, diagnostic accuracy or clinical benefits will need transparent, peer-reviewed clinical evidence and real-world performance data before they transform care at scale. Investor follow-through and patient safety requirements will determine which companies progress.

Why this matters for EU innovation policy

Policy makers and funders use initiatives like the EIC Women Leadership Programme and WomenTechEU to correct market failures that skew capital away from certain founder groups. The Gender Gap in Investments study aims to move discussion beyond anecdotes to harmonised data on who receives funding, in what amounts and under what conditions. That data could help design targeted interventions such as blended financing, procurement set-asides, or follow-on funds that reduce risk for investors in female-led deep-tech companies.

Still, effective policy requires linking insights to measurable outcomes. Local events are a sensible way to build qualitative context but the ultimate test will be whether the study produces actionable metrics and whether agencies and investors adapt their practices accordingly. Without accountability mechanisms or clear timelines for policy change the exercise risks generating more reports than tangible capital flow changes.

Next steps and takeaways for stakeholders

For investors: examine clinical evidence and regulatory pathways closely when evaluating medical and biotech claims. Consider staged financing and milestone-based funding to reduce technical and regulatory risk. For policymakers: turn harmonised data collection into targeted instruments that address the particular funding barriers women face when scaling capital-intensive health technologies. For founders: continue to prioritise robust validation plans, clear regulatory roadmaps and procurement strategies that demonstrate commercial viability beyond early pilots.

The Startup Spotlight was a useful signal that more women are entering high-impact areas of health innovation in Europe. It also underlined that visibility, while necessary, is not sufficient. The harder work is ensuring capital, clinical validation and procurement channels align so these technologies can safely reach patients and health systems at scale.