UniLab Elevate Demo Day – Launching the Next Generation of University Tech Startups!

On December 4, 2024, the UniLab Elevate pre-acceleration program concluded with its Demo Day at the Innovation Center of Riga Stradins University. Participants from Latvia's scientific universities presented their emerging startups. During the event, teams competed for financial support to develop their solutions and for the chance to continue in the next stage of the pre-accelerator program.

This August, the UniLab Elevate program welcomed 10 startup teams developing innovative solutions in areas such as healthcare, sustainable mobility, infrastructure monitoring, electronic warfare, and more. Over the course of three months, the teams received pre-acceleration support, including business strategy development, market demand validation, and preparation for securing initial funding. Throughout the program, 16 experienced business development advisors provided guidance, leveraging their entrepreneurial and investor expertise to help the teams build solid foundations for future growth.

On Demo Day, the teams competed for financial support to further advance their business projects. The jury, consisting of representatives from Riga Technical University (RTU), the University of Latvia (LU), Riga Stradins University (RSU), Latvia University of Life Sciences and Technologies (LBTU), as well as investors from Accelerace and Buildit, evaluated the ideas based on business potential, market validation, and the capabilities of the founding teams.

The top six teams – Laflow, Adventum Tech, Vibro Brace, Wellif.ai, Sensifies, and Tactical Apps – were awarded a total of EUR 20,000 in financial support. This funding will help the teams bring their solutions to market and prepare for further stages of business development.

"UniLab Elevate demonstrates that the ecosystem of Latvian universities is a launchpad for tech startup founders, where talents emerge to create high-value-added companies driving Latvia’s economic growth," said UniLab Director Andris Baumanis. "We are proud of these emerging startup founders who have proven their potential to become future business leaders."

UniLab is an accelerator founded by Latvia’s scientific universities, offering high-growth-potential university ecosystem startups personalized mentoring, pre-acceleration programs, and financial support. With the backing of RTU, LU, RSU, LBTU, as well as Riga City Council and the Ministry of Economics, UniLab fosters the development of tech-intensive business ideas. To date, it has helped 53 startups develop innovative business ideas. UniLab’s programs combine academic and industry expertise, strengthening Latvia’s innovation ecosystem, encouraging startup creation, and enhancing the country's competitiveness.