Second edition of AI Pitch Competition: ‘More than a contest’
The AI Pitch Competition, now in its second year, assists startups in achieving their goals. We spoke with last edition winners.
Published on July 22, 2025
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There's no way around it: AI is everywhere. But how can we make a social impact with this new technology? That is the main goal of the AI Pitch Competition. The contest, organized for the second time this year by the province of North Brabant, Erasmus Enterprise, Braventure, and IO+, helps young companies get started. The winner will receive a cash prize of €50,000. The companies that finish in second and third place will receive €35,000 and €25,000, respectively. The public also has a vote; the Audience Award winner receives €10,000.
“AI is so much more than convenient automation or smart e-commerce. We can use it to improve people's lives and make our future healthier, safer, and more inclusive,” says Evelien Nieuwenburg, co-founder of Dembrane, runner-up in the 2024 AI Pitch Competition. Dembrane is developing a tool to convert hours of conversations between multiple people – for example, in a panel – into valuable insights that people can immediately consult.
Touchpulse – last year's winner – also uses AI to improve people's lives. The company is developing a navigation app for people with visual impairments. “We do something different from commonly used applications such as Google Maps. Our app, Navis, contains additional layers of information, such as the location of trees, benches, and crosswalks, and provides personalized instructions. In this way, we want to give people with visual impairments back some of their freedom,” says Sjoerd van de Goor, CTO and co-founder of Touchpulse.
Help each other move forward
Both companies look back fondly on their participation in the AI Pitch Competition. They pitched in the final alongside nine other finalists. "It didn't feel like a competition; we worked together as participants. We helped each other with knowledge and contacts," Van de Goor recalls. The growth and development of the startups is an important starting point for the AI Pitch Competition. For instance, there is a Meet & Greet during the major startup event LEVEL UP in Eindhoven, and participants receive a pitch workshop.
Nieuwenburg also received a lot of support from the other participants during the competition. “Many organizations are initially skeptical about new technology. That makes it an even greater challenge to demonstrate its potential ultimately.” She drew new energy and courage from the conversations with other participants and companies and organizations involved in the AI Pitch Competition. “I realized that I'm not alone. Many more young people see opportunities to use AI to make the world a better place.”
Dembrane works a lot with public organizations and municipalities, for instance, on citizen consultations. Their tool, ECHO, records, transcribes, structures, and analyzes conversations with stakeholders. This not only provides a bite-sized summary, but also adds the necessary nuances, allowing emotion and sentiment to remain visible. Nieuwenburg: “Since our tool can analyze all dialogues simultaneously, people see almost immediately that they are being heard and that their conversations directly contribute to the outcomes. We feed the information back quickly, so people also see immediate results from their contributions.”
Seeing opportunities
With their product, Dembrane aims to encourage people to engage in conversation, highlight similarities and differences, and thereby foster insight into the current state of society. Think of the significant challenges surrounding health and energy.
“It's important to find out what people think about something, but it's even more interesting to know why they think that way. And where you find the nuances, you need to find suitable solutions,” says Nieuweburg. She mentions a project with shopkeepers in the city center of Den Bosch as an example. “Several shopkeepers seemed very negative about a car-free city center. It turned out that they were concerned about the accessibility of their shops, especially during the transformation. They argued for a well-phased implementation plan so that the shops would remain accessible to both the public and suppliers.”
Improvement and further development
Touchpulse won €50,000 in the AI Pitch Competition. They used the money to further develop their product. “We conducted a lot of tests with users. We also improved the app and the server,” says Van de Goor. The team will continue to improve the app in the coming period. “For example, we are looking at navigation based on wind direction. Many people have troubles with this, especially if you cannot see the compass. We are now investigating whether we can indicate the direction by using the phone's camera and vibrations.”
The startup also wants to add public transport timetables. “This will give users all the information they need in one app, so they don't have to switch between apps.” To make all this possible, Touchpulse is currently seeking investment. “The first contacts were made through the AI Pitch Competition network, which is great,” says Van de Goor.
Confidence to grow
Dembrane finished second and won €35,000. The prize gave the company the confidence to continue growing. “We moved into our first office – we had the money to furnish it. We also expanded the team.” According to Nieuwenburg, the competition also helped put Dembrane more in the spotlight. “People recognize our name, which is great to see.” Now, like Touchpulse, the company is in the process of raising investment.
Nieuwenburg concludes: “The AI Pitch Competition is more than just a competition. You win something every time, whether it's money or support. That's what makes the program so good; it's a real encouragement for anyone with an innovative and inclusive AI vision.”
Do you have an AI startup and want to participate in the AI Pitch Competition? You can! Registration is open until August 29. Join us!
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