Tec Labs took part in the public presentation of the ULisboa Startup Impact Report 2025, which took place on 29 January 2026 at Pavilhão de Portugal, an event that brought together representatives from academia, public institutions, innovation policy, and the startup ecosystem to discuss the impact of research-driven entrepreneurship emerging from the University of Lisbon (ULisboa).
Developed in partnership with Dealroom.co, the ULisboa Startup Impact Report 2025 offers a comprehensive, data-driven analysis of the entrepreneurial activity connected to ULisboa, highlighting how scientific research is being translated into economic and social value. Tec Labs actively collaborated in the development of the report, reinforcing its role within the ULisboa innovation ecosystem, with Maria Inês Neto, Coordinator of Ciências’ Innovation Office, as one of the contributors.
The public session opened with remarks by Cecília Rodrigues, Vice-Rector of ULisboa for Research and Innovation, followed by a technical presentation of the study by Aliaksei Vincho, Innovation Analyst at Dealroom.co, who presented the report’s main findings and key metrics.
During the presentation, several indicators illustrated the scale and relevance of ULisboa’s entrepreneurial impact. The report identifies more than 170 spinouts originating from ULisboa, accounting for 75% of all spinouts in the city of Lisbon, supported by global investors and translating research into economic and social value. It also highlights over 1,000 startups founded by ULisboa alumni, with one in every four new startups in Lisbon created by former students of ULisboa. In addition, four out of six Portuguese unicorns are linked to ULisboa, and ULisboa-connected startups have raised more than €850 million in venture capital since 2024, with a presence in over 40 countries and one third of total investment raised outside Portugal.
In terms of innovation areas, the report identifies Health, Enterprise Software, Deep Tech, Climate Tech, and Crypto/DeFi as the leading sectors. Health stands out in the number of startups, reflecting national excellence in STEM and life sciences, while enterprise software and marketing lead in total value. Emerging areas such as deep tech, space tech, climate tech, and crypto/DeFi further position Portugal and ULisboa within major global technological trends.
These results were further discussed in a panel moderated by Miguel Magalhães (The Next Big Idea), with the participation of José Antão (Coordinator for Public Innovation Policies at ANI), Alexandre Santos (President of Startup Portugal), Aliaksei Vincho (Dealroom.co), and Vasco Portugal (CEO and Co-founder of Sensei). The discussion focused on the current Portuguese startup landscape, the strong results achieved in recent years, and the shared ambition to further scale these numbers. Particular emphasis was placed on the importance of technology transfer and the role of university technology transfer offices, with ANI expressing its intention to work more closely with these structures. The relevance of ULisboa’s different schools in enabling students and researchers to create spinouts was also highlighted.
The session concluded with closing remarks by Bernardo Correia, Secretary of State for Digitalisation, and Luís Ferreira, Rector of ULisboa. In his intervention, Bernardo Correia highlighted the importance of creating the right conditions for innovation, stressing the need to reduce bureaucracy through simplification and digitalisation. He underlined the Government’s commitment to fully digitalising public services, aiming to provide more efficient services and to remove regulatory barriers so that startups and innovation can scale in Portugal and across Europe. The Rector emphasized that research is essential for fostering innovation, unlike artificial intelligence, which can only reproduce existing ideas or narratives.
By contributing to the ULisboa Startup Impact Report 2025 and taking part in its public presentation, Tec Labs reaffirms its commitment to strengthening science-based entrepreneurship, supporting the growth of startups emerging from research, and reinforcing the connection between ULisboa, industry, and international innovation ecosystems.
