Constructor Start selects 16 finalists from 2,100+ applications for Sept. 21 Demo Day in Bremen

# What happened

# Why this matters Constructor Capital commits $100,000 directly to each winning team. This year the fund will back three winners, a confirmed $300,000 in direct checks. Finalists can also tap the program's investor network for follow‑on funding, bringing potential total support to as much as $1 million per company.

The program emphasizes deep tech over sector trends. Its selection criteria focus on mission and vision, product offering, price modeling, and scalability. Constructor Start frames the cohort as the most selective and most deep‑tech concentrated in its two‑year history.

# Who is in the cohort The 16 finalists cover industrial technology, space, biotech, advanced computing, quantum technology and applied AI. Examples called out in the release:

• Memstera: building ultrafast photonic memory intended to remove classical memory speed bottlenecks for AI accelerators.
• Qendra: an ETH Zürich spin‑off and recent Constructor Start Demo Day winner (February 2026) that closed a pre‑seed round as a Constructor Capital portfolio company in under a year.
• Ludenso: an earlier Demo Day winner (2024) that has since reached breakeven.
• CAUSENEX: predictive maintenance for industrial assets using plug‑and‑play sensors and proprietary causal AI (a Constructor University spin‑out).
• Cytokyn M: working on an IL‑1 receptor antagonist candidate for Long COVID and inflammaging‑related chronic inflammation (also a Constructor University spin‑out).

# How the program works Constructor Start helps founders sharpen technology, team and commercial cases. Constructor Capital evaluates companies independently for investment. The $100,000 checks go to teams that score highest on the program's judging criteria during Demo Day.

# What the investors say Dmitry Kurin, CEO of Constructor Start, framed selection as evidence of where founders are building now, saying the program looks for companies that will matter before the market broadly recognizes them.

Marie Lepske, General Partner at Constructor Capital, pointed to recent scientific validation in quantum and commercial milestones across the sector as rationale for backing early‑stage deep tech.

# Practical takeaway for founders

# Where to find more Applications and program details are available on the Constructor Start website. Demo Day on Sept. 21 will be the point when the three direct investments are announced and when finalists make their public pitches.