Credit: Luxinnovation
On Wednesday 10 June 2026, fifteen startups completed the sixteenth edition of Luxembourg's Fit 4 Start acceleration programme and graduated during a showcase event held at Luxexpo The Box as part of Nexus Luxembourg 2026.
Luxembourg's Minister of the Economy, SME, Energy and Tourism, Lex Delles, attended the ceremony, during which the call for applications for the seventeenth edition of the programme was also officially launched.
According to Luxembourg's Ministry of the Economy and Luxinnovation, the startups were selected from a record 495 applications received from nearly 65 countries during the recruitment process in autumn 2025. Twenty companies were initially admitted to the programme, with fifteen successfully completing the six-month acceleration scheme.
The graduating startups were:
Digital: Djooky (Ukraine), CRAB Traceability Systems, LeaseryT, MoveMe, Offinite, PanIAM, RoasterCup and Scrioo (Luxembourg), and Tenta Vision (Germany).
Health Technologies: AutiHD, CalorAI, Hale X and Lihoury Technology (all Luxembourg).
Space: BabAI Orbital (Estonia) and Tumi Robotics Space (Luxembourg).
According to the organisers, each startup received specialised support over a six-month period and was eligible for €50,000 in funding from the Ministry of the Economy, subject to incorporation in Luxembourg. Companies that subsequently raise investment and employ at least two staff members may receive up to an additional €100,000 in state aid.
Minister Delles highlighted the role of the programme within the country's startup ecosystem: "The Fit 4 Start programme is one of the main components of the action plan for the development of startups, scaleups and the entire ecosystem. It reinforces the crucial role of these startups as a key driver of innovation for our economy and a key element in the country's efforts to strengthen its international competitiveness.”
Mario Grotz, CEO of Luxinnovation, emphasised the diversity of the latest cohort. "This 16th cohort stands out not only for the high quality of its projects but also for its impressive diversity, covering sectors ranging from health and digital technology to space technologies. These startups demonstrate remarkable maturity and potential to respond to complex challenges with innovative solutions. We are convinced that they will contribute significantly to the dynamism and competitiveness of our ecosystem."
According to Luxinnovation, more than 3,500 applications from around the world have been submitted to Fit 4 Start since its launch in 2015. The programme is managed by Luxinnovation in cooperation with Technoport, the Luxembourg Space Agency, the Luxembourg City Incubator, the Luxembourg House of Financial Technology, the Luxembourg House of Cybersecurity and LuxProvide.
"In a decade, Fit 4 Start has established itself as far more than a simple acceleration programme," said Felix Even, Junior Advisor - Start-Up Relations at Luxinnovation. "The ever-increasing number of candidates from all over the world attests to this. It evolves, year after year, to meet the needs of increasingly mature and specialised projects."
During the event, Minister Delles also officially launched the call for applications for the seventeenth edition of Fit 4 Start. The organisers noted that the next cohort will introduce a new defence technology vertical alongside the existing digital, health technologies and space categories.
"The integration of a vertical dedicated to defence is a decision that is part of Luxembourg's Defence Industry Strategy and the announcement of the Defence Campus. Luxembourg wants to create an innovation ecosystem to meet current sovereignty challenges," said Minister Delles. "By encouraging the development of advanced technologies in the field of defence, we are strengthening the resilience of Luxembourg and Europe. In addition, we are opening up a new field of economic growth with high added value. Fit 4 Start will provide the ideal framework to accelerate the development of promising startups in the 'defence tech' sector, thus promoting the emergence of dual-use solutions that will be crucial for our future."
A total of 24 startups will be selected for Fit 4 Start #17 across four categories: digital (ten places), health technologies (five places), space (five places) and defence (four places). The selected companies will be unveiled at Luxembourg Ventures Days in October 2026.
