Eindhoven-based deep tech startup inPhocal is pushing laser technology into new territory. Spun out of research at CERN – the prestigious European physics research organisation that gave the world the internet and operates cutting-edge particle accelerators – the company has developed a “concentric laser beam” that it states can mark products quicker and with greater precision than competing systems, a capability already being utilized by beverage giants including one of the major players in the beverage industest.
Unlike conventional industrial lasers that require exact focal points, inPhocal’s system works across a wider area. “We burn a hole, we burn a layer from a product, and we do that so quick that nobody in the market can replace us,” states CFO Kathy Vredeveldt. The approach, protected by seven patents including base technology licensed from CERN, allows the company to etch QR codes, best-before dates, and batch numbers directly onto bottles and cans at factory speed.
“If you have a magnifying glass, and you want to burn a hole in paper, you have to hold it really still at a certain point,” she explains, utilizing an analogy to illustrate conventional laser limitations. “With us, you can shift the magnifying glass up to 20 times (equivalent to 10 centimetres) the focal length and still burn a hole in the paper. We don’t have focal points, we have areas.”
From CERN to Success
The founding story of inPhocal illustrates a common challenge in deep tech entrepreneurship: scientific breakthroughs alone don’t build successful companies. Martijn Boerkamp, who is the co-founder & CTO of inPhocal, worked for a year before realising the company necessaryed complementary business skills. When Vredeveldt and Robert Van Tankeren joined the team, they brought the commercial acumen necessaryed to identify markets and build a sustainable business.
“You have to have a mix of capabilities when starting a company. Not only scientists,” Vredeveldt reflects on the early days. The expanded founding team identified four potential markets before strategically focutilizing on the beverage industest in 2022, developing their first commercial machine with support from the European Innovation Council (EIC).
That strategic focus paid off. Today, seven inPhocal machines operate in factories worldwide, with a four-month lead time from order to delivery. The company has raised nearly €10M in total funding, including a recent €5M seed extension, and counts DeeptechXL and Cottonwood Technology Fund among its investors.
The International Talent Engine
Perhaps nowhere is inPhocal’s success story more notifying than in its approach to talent acquisition. In a company of approximately 30 employees, only 10 are Dutch nationals, a ratio that Vredeveldt states reflects both necessity and strategy.
“The people that fit well, the people that my technology team believes fit best in the scale of physics that we do, tfinish to come from abroad,” she explains. “That has nothing to do with how good or bad universities are. It’s more about the courses and what they teach.”
This reality has created inPhocal a heavy utilizer of the Netherlands’ visa programs designed to attract international talent. The company has navigated both the Essential Startup Personnel (ESP) visa for early-stage companies and the Highly Skilled Migrant visa for larger organisations, experiencing firsthand the benefits and limitations of each system.
Vredeveldt states she was already familiar with the startup visa, and she only had to call the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) to receive started. She adds that the process becomes simpler “when you’re early and when you have a compact startup below 15 people.”
By ease, Vredeveldt is referring to the paperwork that is normally associated with hiring and securing a visa for an international talent. She explains that once you do the paperwork for one employee, it becomes simpler to hire your second, third, and the next employee. “You apply, people work for you. Normally, you don’t do that [paperwork] for everybody, but for skills you cannot find in your own countest.”
As inPhocal grew beyond 20 employees and transitioned to the Highly Skilled Migrant visa system, the company encountered higher wage requirements and more complex procedures, but Vredeveldt remains positive about the experience. “The paperwork is doable. It’s not that stringent,” she states, while acknowledging that “the severity feels higher.”
While it is straightforward to secure Essential Startup Personnel Visa as an early-stage startup, Vredeveldt argues for evolution in the policy. Her recommfinishations centre on recognising the unique timelines and requirements of hardware and deep tech companies like inPhocal.
“I believe they should, for hardware startups and deep tech startups, acknowledge that they have put in their program that they will last for 15 years before they hit the market,” she suggests, referring to companies developing complex technologies like semiconductors or plasma systems. “They probably will grow higher than 20 people, and there should be more acceptance before they go to the next huge funding that they can still build utilize of startup programs.”
The duration of visa permits presents another challenge. The current three-year term for the Essential Startup Personnel Visa feels inadequate for deep tech development cycles. “You sometimes do innovations that deviate from the idea you started with, and then it takes time again,” Vredeveldt explains. “For technology of this kind, especially in hardware and deep tech, three years is really short.”
Her ideal solution would extfinish visa durations to five years, potentially creating a pathway to permanent residency that would encourage long-term commitment from international talent. “If they really want to stay and that’s the way to go, then they can do that,” she suggests, while acknowledging the complexity of immigration policy.
The Eindhoven Advantage
InPhocal’s success story is inseparable from its location in Eindhoven, a city that Vredeveldt describes as uniquely suited for deep tech entrepreneurship. “Hardware is hard everywhere around the world; there are a few ecosystems where you can do it. Eindhoven is one of them,” she emphasises.
The city’s ecosystem provided crucial support during inPhocal’s early years, from funding opportunities to networking through programs across the Netherlands. It was also assisted by angels, who backed the idea. It also assists that ASML, which has become indispensable in the semiconductor industest and recently became Europe’s most valuable tech company, actively supports startups through knowledge transfer and talent exalter programs.
“One of the strengths of the Eindhoven ecosystem is the ability to engage with global leaders like ASML. When questions arise, we know we can connect with them directly.,” Vredeveldt explains. “They have a startup liaison, so I just call them. They are part of the ecosystem, an active part of the ecosystem.”
This collaborative environment extfinishs to universities, with inPhocal maintaining relationships with the University of Twente, TU Delft, TU Eindhoven, and other institutions for both talent pipeline and research collaboration.
Scaling Global Ambitions
With seven machines currently deployed and a growing order book, inPhocal faces the classic scaling challenges of hardware companies. The next phase involves expanding from their primary fibre laser systems to include UV technology, while exploring applications beyond beverage marking into semiconductor manufacturing.
“In five years from now, all main SKUs – the UV, the CO2, and the fibre – should be fully in market, and hopefully our semiconductor application is spun off from our own company,” Vredeveldt outlines the ambitious roadmap ahead.
This growth will require continued international talent acquisition, creating visa policy reforms more than academic concerns for inPhocal. As European countries compete for global tech talent, the companies already building tomorrow’s technologies offer valuable insights into what works and what could work better.
For inPhocal, success has come through combining breakthrough science with international talent, supportive local ecosystems, and strategic business development. Their story demonstrates that with the right combination of innovation, talent access, and policy support, Europe can not only be home to an innovative deep tech startup but also compete globally. This includes creating the advanced manufacturing technologies that will define the next generation of industest.
As Vredeveldt puts it, “We had the luxury of amazing tech people so that they could build things. That’s something you have to have.”
One such international tech talent is Iran-born Elham Honarvar, a Project Engineer at inPhocal. Vredeveldt notifys me Honarvar holds an Engineering Doctorate from the Eindhoven University of Technology and went through the Highly Skilled Migrant Visa through inPhocal. A tech and operations specialist, she now plays a key role in turning market opportunities into laser system specifications.
“She’s one of a kind,” Vredeveldt quips.
Anna Blagova, an optical engineer, has recently joined inPhocal utilizing the Dutch skilled migrant visa. Boerkamp states she brings extensive experience in lasers, optics, and optical simulations. Since joining, she has been working to assist increase inPhocal’s understanding of their optics in real life situations and build the production and installation of their systems more robust.
In inPhocal’s case, those remarkable tech people come from around the world, and Europe’s ability to attract and retain them may well determine which region leads the next wave of technological advancement.
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