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Established 2015 (building on earlier university incubation). Venture builder and fund for tech startups from Chalmers University using an Encubation model; provides pre-seed funding, business coaches, and lab access. Notable spin-offs include Minesto and KomboSat. Scope: Regional (West Sweden).
Founded 2013. Talent incubator that forms teams and builds startups from idea stage in a 6-month program, with up to EUR 100K pre-seed from its fund. Expanded to multiple European cities; reports 78% survival across 40+ companies. Scope: International.
Deep-tech venture builder at High Tech Campus Eindhoven (est. 2015). Runs a 9-month venture-building program turning advanced tech from CERN, ESA, and others into startups; exits include Accerion. Support: co-founding teams, seed funding, R&D ecosystem access. Scope: International.
Founded 2016. Venture studio co-founding fintech and SaaS startups by providing strategy, design, product development, and funding in exchange for equity; built companies like Mondido. Scope: National.
Venture Catalysts is an innovative venture studio and venture builder program based in Porto, Portugal, specializing in spinning up companies from scientific research and technical projects. Founded around 2015 (with roots as a university initiative), Venture Catalysts takes a hands-on approach to pair scientists and engineers with business co-founders to create startups in fields like medtech, cleantech, and AI. The program identifies promising technologies (often from local universities like University of Porto or from labs across Portugal) and provides a structured process to form a company, develop an MVP, and obtain early funding. Each year, it selects a batch of projects and offers resources such as lab access, initial capital (seed grants or investment from partnered funds), and a network of corporate partners for pilots. A distinctive feature is how it integrates venture building with funding: Venture Catalysts can provide seed capital through grants or its partnered VC funds (often up to €200k), and also connects teams with larger investors for follow-ons. The studio’s track record includes helping create SWORD Health (digital physiotherapy startup that became a unicorn) and AddVolt (electric truck battery solution acquired by Daimler). These successes highlight the model’s efficacy – both companies started as technical projects in Portugal and through Venture Catalysts’ support, gained product-market fit and international traction. The venture studio is backed by both private and public stakeholders (it has worked with Portugal’s innovation agency and corporates like EDP in energy tech). Located in Porto’s up-and-coming innovation district, Venture Catalysts has contributed to making Porto a deep-tech startup hub beyond the usual Lisbon scene. The program puts heavy emphasis on team formation – often recruiting experienced entrepreneurs or MBAs to join scientific founders as CEOs or business leads, ensuring startups have both technical depth and commercial acumen. With a regional focus, it has kept many high-tech startups in Northern Portugal, strengthening the local ecosystem. In summary, Venture Catalysts serves as a venture co-founder for scientists – turning lab breakthroughs into viable companies by providing the missing pieces (business talent, early capital, industry links). Its portfolio’s achievements, like SWORD Health’s growth, demonstrate the powerful potential of the venture studio model in catalyzing innovation.