At the beginning of July, Zagreb became the center of European deep tech innovations. Around 500 key stakeholders in the innovation ecosystem, from investors and technology leaders to scientists and policymakers at the European and Croatian levels, gathered at Liftoff on 2 and 3 July, the final conference of the Nuqleus programme. The event was supported by the Ministry of Science, Education and Youth and the DIGIT project.
During two days filled with dynamic panels, intensive networking and presentations by deep tech startups, the foundation was laid for future collaboration between leading European and American venture capital funds (VC) and domestic technological visionaries and innovators.
“The Croatian deep tech ecosystem has flourished over the past 3 years. Finally, all top scientists who are thinking about commercializing their discoveries have adequate support to take the plunge and take the first entrepreneurial steps. Nuqleus provides them with education, mentoring, access to top experts, MZOM provides them with crucial capital for the early development of business and products through tenders such as “Start-up/spinoff companies of young researchers”, specialized venture capital funds such as Vesna Capital invest in high-risk projects like theirs. With Liftoff, we want to immediately prepare the ecosystem for the next step – the growth and expansion of deep tech companies, and this requires much more capital than what is currently available on the local market. Liftoff managed to attract some of the largest and most important global and European VC funds and provided an opportunity for deep tech startups to secure the next round of financing in “their own backyard”, in Zagreb. With this, Zagreb becomes a leader and an attractive destination not only for Croatian startups, but also for startups from the entire CEE region,” said Matija Srbić, coordinator of the Nuqleus program at ICENT, about the importance of the Liftoff event for stimulating the startup ecosystem in Croatia and the wider region.
Day One: Investors, 1-on-1 Meetings with Startups and Community Building
Liftoff began with an exclusive meeting of more than 30 investors from 20 countries with representatives of key institutions such as HAMAG-BICRO, HBOR and the European Investment Bank. At the Vuglec Breg location, strategies for strengthening investment in regional deep tech were discussed, along with the exchange of experiences and examples of good practice.
A special emphasis was placed on the organized 1-on-1 meetings between 80 startups from CEE region and the world’s leading VC funds such as Flagship Pioneering (Boston), Sofinnova Partners (Paris), Vsquared Ventures (Munich), SOSV (New York) and the domestic Vesna Deeptech Fund. These direct meetings enabled startups to present their technologies and secure potential investments, and for the first time in Zagreb.
Day Two: Future Fusion Conference – A Hub of Knowledge and Inspiration
The Liftoff event continued the next day with the Future Fusion conference. An impressive list of speakers further highlighted the strategic message of the event. The conference was opened with introductory remarks by Matija Srbić, coordinator of the Nuqleus program at ICENT, Vedran Bilas, Dean of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing University of Zagreb, and Hrvoje Meštrić, Director of the Directorate for Science and Technology, Ministry of Science, Education and Youth in Croatia.
The conference continued with a rich program with an introductory lecture by Robin Wauters, the founder of Profoundo, on the digital sovereignty of Europe and the role of deep tech in its realization. This was followed by panel discussions on the topics of deep tech, building a stimulating deep tech ecosystem, preparing a company for an IPO, scaling a startup, advice on how to be a successful startup founder, and the experiences of leading domestic technology companies gained on their development journey. Key stakeholders of the European and global innovation scene appeared on stage, such as Michiel Scheffer, President of the European Innovation Council (EIC), Nicole Irvin, Managing Director at Goldman Sachs, Lana Dinić, Executive Director at Flagship Pioneering, Ari Huczkowski, Deputy Head of Helsinki Incubators at the University of Helsinki, Anna Stodolkiewicz, Head of Unit at the European Investment Bank and many others.
The domestic innovative scene was represented by leaders from Infobip, Aircash, KONČAR, Hrvatski Telekom and DOK-ING. In addition to the European Innovation Council (EIC) and the European Investment Bank (EIB), among the institutions present were HAMAG-BICRO, HBOR, the Ministry of Science, Education and Youth (MZOM), the Ministry of Finance, Zaz Ventures, UNICO and the World Bank.
Innovation Exhibition: The Top of Croatian Science and Industry in One Place
The exhibition space showcased the most advanced projects of the Croatian academic community and industry, from institutions such as FER, IRB, PBF, FKIT, PMF, FESB and Institute of Physics, to established technology companies such as Rimac Automobili, DOK-ING, Gideon and ORQA. The presented innovations clearly demonstrated the high technological readiness of the domestic scene.
Nuqleus Demo Day: Innovations from the Laboratory to the Market
The award for the best startup from Nuqleus Startup Builder was won by Luxyon, a startup that develops lightweight and flexible solar cells that overcome the limitations of today’s rigid and heavy solar technology, in an environmentally friendly way. The founders of Luxyon are Stjepan Dolić and Jakov Kukin, who, by winning first place, received a direct pass to the third phase of Nuqleus Startup Builder program, writing a project application for a selected EU tender from Koštan Consultancy & Innovation, and Infobip credits worth 5,000.00 euros.
Deep Tech is no Longer the Future - It is Already Happening, Here and Now
“The world is changing rapidly with the development of new technologies – particularly in deep tech, which is poised to transform nearly every aspect of our lives. Tools like ChatGPT and DeepSeek are already becoming household names, and this is just the beginning. Deep tech will inevitably reshape industries from healthcare and energy to manufacturing and beyond. To remain competitive and relevant, we must invest boldly in human capital and the ideas it generates – not just for the sake of deep tech itself, but for all the sectors it’s set to revolutionize. What I saw at Liftoff reaffirmed my belief in Croatia’s potential in this space. There is clearly no shortage of innovative ideas or technical expertise. What’s needed now is continued support – through increased capital inflow from both local and international investors, mentorship, and strategic infrastructure – to help these ventures evolve into globally competitive businesses.”, pointed out Lana Dinić, Executive Director at Flagship Pioneering, and added impressions from the event:
“The Liftoff event was outstanding – the speakers were impressive, the ideas innovative, and the entrepreneurs invigorating. The organizers did a fantastic job; everything ran smoothly, and it was a real pleasure to engage with so many deep tech startups from the region. I was especially impressed by how far many of the teams had progressed, and how well the panels were curated to offer actionable advice for founders. Events like this are invaluable for early-stage entrepreneurs, offering not only exposure but also real opportunities to connect with mentors and peers.”
The event ended on a relaxed note – with a special “Big Bang Party” that brought together participants for a networking evening with music, cocktails and a great atmosphere.
Liftoff showed the most important thing, that Croatia does not have to follow innovation trends, but can also create them itself. With human capital, knowledge and courage, Croatia has all the prerequisites to become a center of technological changes that will shape the future of Europe and beyond.
We would like to thank all partners, sponsors and collaborators who made Liftoff 2025 possible: the Ministry of Science, Education and Youth, the DIGIT project, event partners, all institutions, speakers, investors and startups that participated. Their support was not only crucial for the success of this year’s event, it is the foundation for the future development, growth and internationalization of the deep tech ecosystem that is being built right here, in Croatia.
