Among the participants of Estonia’s first health technology accelerator, Health Founders Estonia (HFE), a remarkable number of teams come from Tartu – 8 out of the 34 selected are Tartu-based, with solutions ranging from cancer prevention to improving caregiving processes.
According to HFE Program Manager Siim Saare, interest in the accelerator was high. “The evaluation committee selected 34 teams to join the program, where they will further develop and commercialize their solutions over the next year. Promising companies were chosen almost equally from both life sciences and digital health,” he noted.
Andrus Kurvits, CEO of Tartu Science Park and HFE Life Sciences Program Lead, added that universities continue to produce strong, export-ready ideas: “The selected solutions are diverse and ambitious – teams are working on early cancer detection, vaccination, and even treatments for malaria.”
The programs are divided into three tracks, supporting teams based on their development stage. DEFINE helps idea-stage startups reach a validated value proposition and initial investor readiness. DEVELOP focuses on achieving market readiness through product development, clinical and commercial validation, and regulatory certification. GROW is designed for growth-stage startups, offering support for implementing export strategies, finding market-based networks, and attracting investors.
Tartu teams in the DEFINE program:
- Supercharger Labs – developing functional ingredients for natural sunscreens to help prevent skin cancer.
- NeuralBiome – creating an AI-based stool test and care platform for early cancer detection and personalized patient support.
- SPADAwaves – working on a low-cost innovative device for malaria treatment.
- CareHand – developing a robotic solution for lateral patient transfers, improving safety and reducing caregivers’ physical strain.
- AnESTesia – a team from Tartu University Hospital building a platform for nurses to access all necessary information in one clean and convenient view.
- AURAGUARD – building an AI-based home monitoring and communication device for the elderly and people with chronic diseases.
DEVELOP program selected Vectiopep, which enables vaccine delivery for cancer patients.
GROW program included Better Medicine, which uses artificial intelligence to make cancer diagnostics and radiology workflows more efficient and improve patient outcomes.
Over the next four years, the HFE program will be supported by Startup Estonia and the Estonian Business and Innovation Agency, with the goal of growing knowledge-based health tech startups in Estonia and helping them reach international markets.
Discover all the teams on the Health Founders Estonia website.
