20+
Incubators supported
Enable more than 20 European incubators to commercialise spinouts with cross-border capital by the end of year one.
About Project Lipsius
European innovation should not be limited by local capital.
Europe's university incubators produce thousands of ambitious spinouts and startups every year. Yet many promising ventures still struggle to reach the investors best placed to fund them.
Project Lipsius centralises university deal flow and connects incubators directly with pre-seed and seed investors across Europe. A deep-tech spinout emerging from a Polish or Portuguese incubator should be able to reach term sheets from London, Frankfurt or Amsterdam without either side first having to build the network from scratch.
Our objectives
Build the connective tissue for European university venture funding.
200+
Spinouts given access
Open pan-European pre-seed and seed funding opportunities to at least 200 university-linked ventures in year one.
Faster
Path to a first round
Shorten the journey from spinout formation to a first institutional round, especially in regions underserved by local venture capital.
Scope of the network
Focused enough to be useful. Broad enough to be European.
Geography
EU27, the United Kingdom and associated European countries
Stage
Pre-seed and seed, with ticket sizes from €50,000 to €1.5 million
Eligibility
Spinouts and student startups formally linked to a university incubator, TTO or accelerator
Sectors
Sector-agnostic, with an initial emphasis on deep tech, life sciences and climate or industrial technology
How it works
From incubator nomination to investment close.
01
Incubators nominate investment-ready ventures
Participating incubators select pre-seed and seed-stage spinouts that have already reduced technical risk, often through public R&D grants and university support.
02
Spinouts build one standardised investor pack
Each venture registers on the platform and uploads a consistent package: pitch deck, short video, team profile, funding ask and any non-financial needs such as market access or research partnerships.
03
Founders pitch to investors across Europe
Selected ventures present a focused ten-minute pitch during sector-themed online sessions, followed by direct questions from vetted pan-European investors.
04
Introductions are supported through to close
Project Lipsius helps maintain momentum after the pitch, supporting relevant introductions, follow-up discussions and syndication opportunities until a deal closes.
What incubators gain
International reach without building a new team.
- +A curated cross-border investor network without the need to add business-development or investor-relations headcount.
- +Structured international pitch opportunities for strong ventures that do not fit the local capital market.
- +Routes to co-investment and syndication with partners operating in other European markets.
- +Aggregate deal-flow benchmarks that help incubators compare outcomes with European peers.
What we ask in return
A focused commitment to ventures that are ready.
- →Nominate two to five spinouts per year that are ready for pre-seed or seed conversations.
- →Support nominated founders in preparing the standardised pitch pack.
- →Appoint one named contact, typically a TTO lead or investment manager.
- →Provide feedback on platform iterations during the founding-cohort phase.
Who we are
A European team built around universities, capital and execution.
The Lipsius Project is being incorporated as an independent European entity registered in Belgium. We are currently in the pilot phase, targeting a beta launch in September 2026 and a full launch in January 2027.
Together, the team brings experience spanning investment banking, financial analysis, venture capital, European universities, research commercialisation and the spinout ecosystem.
Cd
Charles de Groot
Founder & University Outreach
RC
Rose Cooper
Strategy & Investment Networks
HQ
Hendrik Quintelier
IT & Platform Development · Lead for Belgium
JA
Jacques Al Kayal
European Tax Expert
PN
Pedro Nunes
VC Lead UK & Portugal · Western Europe
MN
Mateusz Niewiarowski
VC Lead · Eastern Europe
TG
Tobin Ginschel
VC Lead · Luxembourg
Founding cohort
Help shape the first European incubator network on the platform.
We are recruiting ten university incubators for the September 2026 launch cohort, before expanding to thirty by January 2027. Founding partners help shape the incubator-facing features and receive first access to investor sessions.
10
University incubators in the September 2026 founding cohort
30
Target incubator network by the January 2027 full launch
Participation terms
Aligned around successful outcomes.
Free to join
Participation is free for incubators and founders.
Success-based model
A 5–6% success fee is charged to the spinout only on capital successfully raised through the platform.
Controlled investor access
Pitch materials are shared only with vetted investors under NDA.
Incubator relationship protected
Incubators retain the primary relationship with their spinouts throughout the process.
Non-exclusive
Spinouts and incubators remain free to pursue every other route to capital in parallel.
Expected results and impact
More ventures funded. More capital crossing borders.
By the end of year one
- +20 incubators onboarded
- +200–400 spinouts pitched
- +50+ spinouts funded, representing a target funding rate of 12.5–25%
- +More than €2.5 million raised through the platform
For each participating incubator
- →Six to eight sector-themed pitching sessions per year
- →Curated introductions to vetted investors for every nominated spinout
- →Direct exposure to non-local capital that ventures would be unlikely to reach independently
- →Annual deal-flow benchmarking against European peers
Join the founding network
Bring your strongest university ventures to a European investor audience.
We are speaking with university incubators, TTOs, accelerators and investors interested in joining the September 2026 pilot cohort.