Inhale+

🚀 This Wednesday we received both official grant notifications—now it’s 100% confirmed: €2.8M in non-dilutive funding is secured! 👀 We’re incredibly proud and grateful to announce that we have successfully secured separate grants from EXIST - Existenzgründungen aus der Wissenschaft (€1.5M, starting December 2024) and from the Institute for Biomedical Translation (IBT Lower Saxony) (€1.3M, starting April 2025). Each grant supports a distinct phase of our journey, ensuring no overlap in funding. EXIST: With support from EXIST, we’ll refine our current prototype at Fraunhofer ITEM and work closely with nursing staff and neonatologists to enhance usability. During this period, we’ll also address critical regulatory steps—preparing comprehensive documentation and processes for the required CE clinical study, which is essential for market entry. IBT: Through the IBT Lower Saxony grant, our clinical partners at Hannover Medical School and University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein (UKSH) will conduct a clinical proof-of-concept study. This will validate our efficiency advantage in real-world conditions. This funding isn’t just financial support—it’s a strong vote of confidence in our vision to improve neonatal care. Stay tuned as we move forward, building evidence, refining our technology and striving to make a lasting difference for preterm infants worldwide!

🚀 We’re thrilled to announce our kick-off of Cohort 0 in the innovative accelerator program by START Global, the University of St.Gallen, and Switzerland Innovation Park Ost! 👶✨ We are truly honored to be selected as one of five startups (KUORI, Rimon Technologies, VIRA DRONES, GAUDÍO) participating in this pilot cohort. By combining our expertise in inhalation technology and neonatal care with the invaluable insights we expect to gain from the upcoming workshops, coaching sessions, support and networking opportunities, we are confident that this accelerator program will significantly advance our mission to save the lives of preterm infants. Until mid-November 24, we’ll be in St. Gallen weekly for this program. If you’re in the area and would like to connect, feel free to reach out to Felix Carl Wiegandt. Many thanks to Dr. Florian Hohmann for the valuable finance workshop, followed by insightful conversations during the kickoff aperitif with Roland Schönholzer, Sebastian Novotny, Roland Ledergerber, Hans Ebinger, and everyone else—thank you all for the great exchange! A heartfelt thank you to the dedicated team making this journey possible: Jürg Stuker, Max Bieri, Selina Studer, Simone Muscaritolo, Dr. Bernd F. Schneider, Andreas Goeldi, Marcel Niklas Rückwald, Diego Probst, Niklas Kerscher and everyone involved. We look forward to the transformative experiences ahead and the chance to network with exceptional founders and experts. #Startup #HealthCare #MedTech #NeonatalCare #AcceleratorProgram

I’m excited to attend Bits & Pretzels! 🥨 From September 29th to October 1st, I’ll be in Munich for one of the most exciting startup events of the year! Stop by the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft booth E23 on September 30th from 1-7 PM, where I’ll be showcasing Inhale+ and discussing how we aim to drive a paradigm shift in inhalation therapy for premature infants. I’m excited to reconnect with familiar faces, including those from Digital Hub Initiative, Niedersachsen.next Startup, Fraunhofer Venture, Fraunhofer AHEAD and it's startups. I’m also eager to meet innovators, healthcare professionals, policymakers, investors, and anyone passionate about bringing impactful solutions to life. Let’s exchange ideas—DM me if you’re attending! #Startup #HealthCare #MedTech #NeonatalCare #Innovation #Bits24

🚀 Off to Berlin! 🚀 I’m excited to represent Inhale+ at the first-ever #StartUpGermanySummit by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action tomorrow! 💡🌍 In a time when premature infants face critical health challenges, our mission to revolutionize neonatal care has never been more urgent. Our cutting-edge inhalation therapy is designed to give these vulnerable patients a fighting chance from the very start. Looking forward to connecting with fellow innovators who share this passion for impactful solutions. Let’s meet if you’re attending! #StartUpGermany #HealthCare #MedTech #Innovation #NeonatalCare

🚀 Mark your calendars for our upcoming events! 🚀 We're excited to announce a series of key events where we'll be showcasing our innovative technology and connecting with industry leaders. If you're attending any of these events and would like to schedule a dedicated time slot with us, please don't hesitate to reach out to Felix directly via message. Let's make the most of these opportunities to collaborate and share insights! Here’s where you can find us: 📅 13.08 - Pitching at the Pitch Event "Höhle der Karpfen" in Hannover, hosted by hannoverimpuls GmbH. 📅 17.09 - Participation at the Startup Germany Summit in Berlin, organized by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action. 📅 25.09 - Pitching at the Pitch Night Fraunhofer AHEAD in Leipzig. 📅 29.09-01.10 - Attending the Bits & Pretzels Founder Festival in Munich, where we’ll be exhibiting our technology at the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft booth. 📅 19.-21.11 - Representing Lower Saxony as part of the delegation at the Slush Founder Conference in Helsinki. Special thanks to Investitions- und Förderbank Niedersachsen – NBank and hannoverimpuls GmbH for selecting us for this honor. Please note that some events are still in the planning stages and have not yet been finalized. We’ll announce additional details as soon as they are confirmed. Don't miss the chance to meet us in person! If you're planning to be there and want to discuss potential partnerships, innovations, or just exchange ideas, reach out to Felix for a one-on-one meeting. See you at the events! 🌟 #MedTech #Innovation #Networking #NeonatalCare"

An unforgettable day: Today, Robert Habeck, the Vice Chancellor and Federal Minister of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action in Germany, visited the Life Science Factory in Göttingen to discuss, among other topics, the challenges of founding new startups and the political frameworks that support them. It was a great honor for us to be chosen as an early-phase startup by the Life Science Factory and EXIST - Existenzgründungen aus der Wissenschaft to participate in this roundtable discussion. The talks were highly productive: We shared insights into the critical importance of funding programs such as the 'EXIST Transfer of Research', especially for startups in the medical technology sector that face high costs and long development processes before entering the market. This phase, often referred to as the 'Valley of Death', is characterized by high expenses with no revenue until market entry, and has earned its name for a reason: many startups and companies struggle to finance significant outlays, like clinical trials, which are essential for regulatory approval. The EXIST funding program helps to advance the project process to the point where future investors can be attracted and facilitates bridging financing until market entry. It was crucial to discuss and debate these topics to ensure that support for startups continues. Many thanks to Irina Reimer, Tatjana Kasper, Max Zinowsky, and the entire Life Science Factory team for their excellent organization, to our great table moderator Petra König, and to all participants, such as Elisabeth Zeisberg, Martin Kollmar, Jan Pietras, Stefan Drews, Sven Wagner, Claudio Garcia, Marco Winzer, and Laila Al-Halabi-Frenzel. Copyright: Marco Buehl #InhalePlus #StartupFromFraunhofer #RobertHabeck #NeonatalCare"

What a finale for our AHEAD Phase 1! AHEAD is an internal Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft accelerator program where teams receive €50,000 in Phase 1 and an additional €100,000 in Phase 2 to advance their vision. #AHEAD Phase 1 came to an end for us, and what a satisfying conclusion we had: For the second consecutive time, we've won the AHEAD Pitch Night Award. We're immensely proud of this achievement as it affirms we're on the right path. The event facilitated an excellent exchange with potential investors, interested parties and, of course, the other teams. It was wonderful to see the other teams' final pitches, to witness their tremendous developments from the beginning to the end of Phase 1 and to meet the new Phase 1 teams with their novel ideas. Yesterday, Gerhard Pohlmann and Felix Carl Wiegandt pitched to the jury for AHEAD Phase 2 and we have fantastic news to share: We've progressed to the next Phase! This means an additional €100,000 is secured for our mission to deliver an efficient and preventative therapy for preterm infants. A huge thank you to Dr. Florian Hohmann for the excellent two-day finance workshop, to our coach Anna Reisnecker, to our Fraunhofer Venture support by Friederike Krämer-Plath (MBA) and Roland Teves, to Fraunhofer ITEM as well as to the entire Fraunhofer AHEAD team for once again, their great organization and support. With this in mind, we wish everyone a Happy Easter 🐰 . #InhalePlus #Networking #Innovation #NeonatalCare""

We have already had some wonderful days around the Start Summit in St. Gallen. Yesterday evening, we had a fantastic networking event hosted by Digital Hub Initiative. The conversations were enriching, complemented by delicious cocktails. A big thanks to Digital Hub Initiative, Meike Neitz, and Birgit H. for providing us the platform to connect with other like-minded people such as Lorenz Illing, Patrick Gromm, Denis-Robin Cvetkovic, Hermann Moser, Heidar Neynawa and many more. Today, we had the first day at the Start Summit. It was a fulfilling day packed with valuable workshops e.g. from Christoph Klink as well as Tomas Petrek, enlightening keynotes, and the opportunity to present our technology at the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft booth, where we had in many insightful conversation. Tomorrow will be another great day at the #StartSummit! You can find us at the Fraunhofer booth, right next to the "Builder Stage," from 10 AM to 12 PM. If you're attending, make sure to stop by. We're looking forward to meeting you! 🙏 The other Fraunhofer teams, such as Amelie Reigl and Dieter Groneberg from Tigershark Science, Nico Boelke from Baxo, Henrik Telle and Philippe Telle from CAURUS Technologies, Thomas Maeder from Deep Breath and Wim Schiller from Evergrow Elements, will also be represented tomorrow. So it's definitely worth stopping by. Thanks to Fraunhofer ITEM, Fraunhofer AHEAD and the entire team for the chance to present our technology. Together, let's make a difference in the lives of preterm infants! #START24 #InhalePlus #Networking #Innovation #NeonatalCare"

Yesterday, Felix Carl Wiegandt had the honor of presenting Inhale+ at the DHCH Meetup in Hannover's historic old town hall. This pitch marked the final event of the Future Health Lab Startup Program by Digital Health City Hannover and hannoverimpuls GmbH, which aims to foster innovation in healthcare. The atmosphere was incredible, making for an evening filled with engaging discussions and networking opportunities. After our presentation, we engaged in lively exchanges with a diverse audience, including curious attendees, representatives from BioRegioN, Digitalagentur Niedersachsen and Techniker Krankenkasse, as well as fellow startups such as Arwed Masch and Benjamin Holmer from MinkTec GmbH, and Dr. med. Tim Hönecke and Sophie Voß from Mohability. It was a night of shared insights and mutual learning, highlighting the collaborative spirit of our community. Next month, we're looking forward to presenting Inhale+ at the #STARTSummit in St. Gallen by START Global on March 21/22 and participating in a 2day finance workshop led by Dr. Florian Hohmann in Munich as part of the Fraunhofer AHEAD Program. Join our journey and follow us for more updates. #InhalePlus #Startup #Innovation #NeonatalCare

Yesterday, we attended the 5th Life Science Start-Up Day in Göttingen, organized by Life Science Factory, startup.niedersachsen, Sartorius, Ottobock, and BioRegioN. It was a day rich with learning and networking, highlighted by a very inspiring keynote speech by Daniel Engelbrecht and the visit of the Minister of Economic Affairs, Olaf Lies We had the opportunity to engage in meaningful conversations with Dr. Alina Eilers from Phaeosynt, Lesley Plön from hannoverimpuls GmbH / Digital Health City Hannover, Viktor Maurer from InCapSolution, Dr. Lisa Osbelt, Daniel Schuppmann, Sten Küster and Dr. Theodor Uden, among others, each bringing unique insights and perspectives. The pitch sessions were a showcase of innovation, featuring Austin Craig from Fluorizon, and in particular, Philippe Vollmer Barbosa, who, like us, comes from Fraunhofer ITEM and delivered an outstanding pitch for iGuard. The event was a perfect blend of knowledge sharing and networking. We’re already looking forward to next year! #InhalePlus #Startup #Innovation #NeonatalCare