Meet 2026’s award-winning women building deeptech startups

2026-07-07 · Source: Sifted · Field: Technology & Digital — Entrepreneurship & Start-ups, Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning, Robotics & Autonomous Systems · Depth: Fundamental Awareness, medium

Summary

The 2026 European Prize for Women Innovators, awarded last month in Brussels, recognized three founders for their deeptech startups. Katerina Spranger, CEO of Oxford Heartbeat, won the Women Innovators award for her AI software that enhances precision in neurovascular and cardiovascular surgeries, having supported over 1,000 procedures across 14 European countries since 2015 and securing €2.5m in EIC grant funding. Marta Oliveira, COO of ATMOS Space Cargo, received the Rising Innovators award for her German company, founded in 2021, which develops reusable space capsules for returning cargo from low-earth orbit, with its Phoenix 1 capsule achieving its first flight in 2025 and securing €13.1m from the EIC. Ella Cullen, CMO of Minespider, won the EIT Women Leadership award for her Berlin-based blockchain startup that traces 3TGs (tin, tantalum, tungsten, gold) in supply chains to combat unethical practices, supported by a €2.8m Horizon 2020 grant and a €500k EIT RawMaterials investment.

Key takeaway

For investors and entrepreneurs evaluating deeptech ventures, recognize that substantial European public funding is often a critical enabler for scaling innovative solutions, particularly for women-led startups. You should prioritize ventures demonstrating strong grant acquisition capabilities, as this funding bridges the gap from prototype to enterprise platform and supports crucial early-stage development, such as initial space flights or extensive supply chain mapping. Consider the long-term impact of such support on market entry and sustained growth.

Key insights

European public funding is critical for deeptech startups, especially those led by women, to scale innovative solutions.

Principles

• Public grants are vital for deeptech startup survival.
• Visibility of female founders inspires future innovators.
• Deeptech addresses complex global challenges.

In practice

• Develop AI for surgical precision in neurovascular care.
• Build reusable space capsules for orbital cargo return.
• Implement blockchain for ethical supply chain tracing of 3TGs.

Topics

• Deeptech Startups
• Women Innovators
• European Funding
• AI in Surgery
• Space Logistics
• Blockchain Traceability
• Ethical Supply Chains

Best for: Entrepreneur, Investor, Director of AI/ML

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Editorial summary, takeaway, and curation by AIssential. Original article published by Sifted.