Two Zuid-Holland startups are bringing breakthrough technology into clinical practice. Axite from Leiden and Hologenomix from Delft each receive a €350,000 investment from the proof-of-concept fund UNIIQ to further develop their innovations and bring them to market.
Axite (Leiden), a spin-out from Leiden University, enables continuous, objective brain activity monitoring at home. Using a compact EEG (Electroencephalography) headband and smartphone app, Axite’s NeuroJournal platform helps patients and clinicians track cognitive changes. While epilepsy is Axite’s first application, the technology enables regular, at-home brain monitoring for anyone with a brain condition and their care providers, as well as researchers studying the brain. Axite’s mission is to transform how patients, clinicians, and researchers understand the brain by delivering new layers of data that make personalized and effective brain healthcare achievable.
With a €350,000 investment from UNIIQ, Axite will build its team, advance NeuroJournal, and run a clinical study with leading epilepsy centers. The startup has developed 70% of its MVP, secured €250,000 in NWO funding, signed an IP license, and built a unique dataset of 175 participants.
“With this seed capital, we are building a strong team to further develop our innovative product, making objective brain monitoring accessible, and improving lives in the process.” – Charlotte Franenberg, CEO of Axite.
Beyond funding, Axite benefits from UNIIQ’s network, expertise, and support in building partnerships and navigating regulatory pathways.
Axite is the first UNIIQ investment from the Faculty of Social Sciences at Leiden University. Earlier this year, ChatLicense was the first spin-out from the Erasmus Social Sciences faculty who received UNIIQ funding. This highlights UNIIQ’s broad perspective on innovation.
Hologenomix (Delft) is making it possible to detect diseases using just a urine sample, instead of requiring patients to visit the hospital for blood or tissue tests. The company’s platform extracts cell-free DNA from large volumes of urine, enabling reliable diagnostics based solely on urine. This innovation means patients can simply provide a urine sample in a tube, making disease detection more accessible and less invasive.
With UNIIQ’s investment, Hologenomix will validate the clinical value of its technology through patient testing, aiming to prove it is at least as effective as blood-based diagnostics. The company will also take essential steps towards CE marking. Recent pilots have shown that Hologenomix can extract up to 1.5 times more cfDNA per mL from 20 times more urine – over 30 times more cfDNA than conventional methods.
“With this seed capital, we can further develop and clinically validate our extraction platform, bringing us closer to patients.”– Eric van der Toorn, co-founder & CEO of Hologenomix.
Hologenomix expects to benefit from UNIIQ’s network of clinical experts, insurers, and business advisors, as well as support for future investment rounds.
With this strategic investment, UNIIQ helps both startups bring their proof-of-concept to market, strengthening Zuid-Holland’s innovation ecosystem.
UNIIQ is a €50 million proof-of-concept fund that helps entrepreneurs in Zuid-Holland bring unique innovations to market. The fund provides academic spin-offs and innovative startups with the seed capital and strategic coaching needed to bridge the riskiest phase — from concept to promising company. Over 60% of UNIIQ-backed startups have already secured follow-on funding, collectively raising over €275 million. UNIIQ is made possible by Erasmus MC, TU Delft, Leiden University, Erasmus University, InnovationQuarter, the European Union, the Province of Zuid-Holland, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy, the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO), TNO, and the municipalities of Rotterdam, The Hague, and Leiden. InnovationQuarter acts as the fund manager of UNIIQ.
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