Apply to VentureChallenge and bring your research closer to market
Do you have a research-based idea with the potential to make a difference in society? Applications for VentureChallenge 2026 are now open.
Through VentureChallenge, UU Invest offers researchers at Uppsala University up to SEK 500,000 in project funding, as well as support in areas such as business development, financing, negotiations and team building. The call is aimed at projects within life sciences and health, AI and data, and fossil-free energy.
To be eligible to apply, you must be employed by Uppsala University and hold the rights to commercialise your invention. The idea must have commercial potential and be scalable.
The project funding is intended for concrete development activities that advance the project towards commercialisation. Applications are open until 1 September 2026.
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30 år av framgångsrika startups från universitetet. UU Invest är Uppsala universitets investeringsbolag med uppdrag att investera i forsk-
ningsbaserade bolag. Sedan starten 1995 har vi investerat i mer än 115 bolag – företag som idag återfinns inom olika branscher där de bidrar till samhällsnytta och tillväxt.
I år firar vi 30 år av aktivt ägande och konstaterar att många av våra portföljbolag utvecklats
till starka aktörer på nationella och internationella marknader.
Development is progressing rapidly at the new company Duck Technologies. If everything goes according to plan, the hope is that the company’s first product will be ready for the market within two years. What remains is to scale up and package a new opportunity to save energy by reducing heat intake through, among other things, windows in buildings and cars.
Mesenkia Therapeutics, backed by UU Invest, is developing a groundbreaking treatment for glioblastoma, the most aggressive brain cancer. The startup is preparing clinical trials to create a drug aimed at extending patients’ lives.
SoundSim360, developed by Professor Ken Mattsson and Dr. Gustav Eriksson, is an advanced sound simulation tool for precise sound level predictions that handles complex acoustics, including low-frequency sounds for wind turbines, arenas, and home theater systems.
UU Invest hosts your project so that you can establish necessary agreements with collaborative partners, hire key personnel to investigate or develop the concept, and also assist ‘hands on’ in negotiations and strategic work.
Ida-Maria Sintorn, along with her colleagues in the SimSearch project, is developing new technology for image processing of microscopic images. The focus is to make it easier, faster, and safer for researchers to extract relevant information from large amounts of data while retaining control over their own data.
Oscar Verho and his research network are focused on creating more efficient ways to produce fuels from water. The path involves advanced interdisciplinary development and a sustainable, efficient electrode with the potential to make green hydrogen production more cost-effective.
PapersHive is one of UU Invest’s 55 portfolio companies. With an AI-based search technology, the company collects information from all medical databases in one place. This saves both time and money for pharmaceutical companies, CROs and medical technology companies.
Applications for VentureChallenge 2023 are now closed. A new call for applications will open again in the first quarter of 2024.
Meet Gunilla Lundmark, CEO of UU Invest, and Malin Graffner Nordberg, Head of UU Innovation. With different roles and expertise, they work towards the same overall goal – to contribute to Uppsala University’s efforts to take research forward and utilise knowledge in society.
Ulf Landegren och hans forskningsgrupp ligger bakom banbrytande forskning som lett till nya innovationer som framgångsrikt förvaltats och utvecklats i en rad olika bolag. Rarity Bioscience med vd Linus Bosaeus är ett av de senaste i raden.