In early 2025, our journey at Carapace Biopolymers took an exciting new direction when we were selected as one of the top 10 academic startups in the Netherlands for the prestigious Academic Startup Competition. This recognition affirmed our mission to make agriculture more sustainable and opened the door to international exposure, mentorship, and strategic development.

As part of the program, we were invited to join the U.S. Preparation Trip in London, where we engaged in intensive sessions focused on entering and scaling in the North American market. The London phase was designed to sharpen our pitch, challenge our assumptions, and align our growth strategy with U.S. investor expectations. It was an inspiring few days, where we learned not just from experts and mentors, but also from the diverse and forward-thinking group of Dutch academic startups each bringing their own innovations.

Following London, we joined the ASC delegation on a multi-city trip across the United States, with stops in Salt Lake City, San Diego, and San Francisco. Alongside fellow deep tech startups, we engaged with investors, academic institutions, and innovation hubs, where we gained critical feedback, market insights, and new partnerships that will help us bring our seed coating technology to a global audience.

 These interactions gave us critical feedback on our business model, validation for our technology, and opportunities to build strong partnerships all of which will help accelerate our global expansion.

The ASC experience has been a major step forward for Carapace. We are incredibly grateful to the organizers, mentors, and fellow startups who made this journey so impactful. And we are just getting started.