Catalyze

What Catalyze does

Catalyze is a privately held Netherlands-based innovation consultancy serving researchers, startups, companies, universities, and medical institutions in life sciences and health, green and sustainable innovation, and industrial and digital technologies. Its core work includes funding strategy, grant application preparation and review, business and market consulting, project and financial management, and science communication for programs such as EIC, Horizon Europe, ERC, and Eurostars.

The business is primarily professional-services based. Fees are quote-based and project-specific, with engagements structured as multi-year contracts and travel, VAT, and third-party costs billed separately. Catalyze acquires work through direct and inside sales, website inquiries, referrals, and its position as an official European Innovation Council partner. Operational scale claims include more than €2 billion in funding secured for clients, a €300 million-plus managed EU project portfolio, and a partner network exceeding 2,500 organizations; these are client outcomes, not Catalyze revenue.

In March 2026, Catalyze and Brainial launched Grantific, an expert-backed AI grant-writing platform. The product adds funding matching, structured data processing, generative proposal drafting, and collaborative grant workflows to the consultancy's services, combining Catalyze's grant-domain expertise with Brainial's AI-native automation technology.

Name

Catalyze

Legal name

Catalyze B.V.

Website

https://catalyze-group.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Catalyze is a Netherlands-based innovation consultancy serving life-sciences, healthcare, sustainability, and industrial innovators with funding strategy, grant applications, project management, financial, and investment support through direct consulting engagements and ecosystem referrals.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Innovation Consulting Services

NAICS

Other Management Consulting Services (541618)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Sustainability & ESG Consulting (BPAHACAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Infrastructure & Project Finance Advisory (BPAHADAO)

Keywords

• Innovation consulting
• Grant funding advisory
• EU funding applications
• Life sciences consulting
• Sustainability consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Nieuw-amsterdam

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Consultancy Services: Catalyze provides innovation consulting services including strategic funding advice, funding applications, business consulting, project management, and financial services. Revenue is generated through consulting fees for services rendered on client engagements.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Catalyze is an innovation consultancy that helps researchers, entrepreneurs, and companies secure non-dilutive European innovation funding (EIC, Horizon Europe, ERC, Eurostars, WBSO) and provides strategic funding advice, funding application support, project management, business consulting, and financial services. The firm has raised over €2 billion in funding for clients across life sciences, sustainability, and digital/industrial technologies, and manages a €300M+ EU project portfolio. In March 2026, Catalyze co-founded Grantific with Brainial, an AI-powered expert-backed grant writing platform.

Product overview

Catalyze operates as an innovation consultancy offering a comprehensive suite of services rather than a single unified software product. The core offering includes strategic funding advice, funding applications, project management, and business consulting across Life Sciences, Sustainability, and Digital & Industrial Technologies. The company has recently launched Grantific (March 2026), a strategic venture co-founded with Brainial, which is an AI-powered expert-backed platform for grant writing and funding discovery. This platform represents a technology product that extends Catalyze's traditional consultancy services with AI-powered automation, while the broader portfolio continues to include consulting engagements, EU project management, and investment support services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Grantific: AI-powered expert-backed grant writing platform launched in partnership with Brainial, providing collaborative platform for grant discovery and writing throughout the grant process.

Products and services

• Fund Services (Strategic Funding Advisory & Applications) End-to-end funding advisory and application support covering EU programs (EIC, Horizon Europe, ERC, Eurostars) and Dutch instruments (WBSO), including strategic funding advice, application drafting, reviews/resubmissions, loan/venture debt applications, and tax incentive support. Targeted at researchers, startups, and companies in life sciences, sustainability, and digital/industrial technologies.
• Strategy & Business Consulting Business consulting services covering coaching, market research, business plan development, feasibility studies, outsourcing support, and workshops/training. Aimed at innovators and companies aligning strategy with innovation goals to ensure sustainable growth and competitive advantage.
• Project Management & Communications Project management services for EU-funded innovation projects, including project delivery oversight, financial & portfolio management, and science communication/dissemination. Catalyze manages a €300M+ EU project portfolio and supports clients in maximizing societal impact of awarded projects.
• Investment Advisory Services Advisory services for innovators seeking and attracting equity investment, including impact investing strategy and a dedicated investor readiness programme. Targeted at growth-stage companies looking to tailor and execute investment strategies.
• Financial Services (CFO-as-a-Service) Outsourced financial leadership and operational finance services, including CFO-as-a-Service, management reporting, and operational finance support for innovation-driven companies that need senior financial expertise without a full-time hire.
• Grantific (AI-Powered Grant Writing Platform) An AI-powered, expert-backed platform for grant discovery, funding matching, collaborative proposal development, and structured grant workflows. Combines generative AI for proposal drafting with knowledge retrieval against funding scheme criteria. Users can also access Catalyze's consultancy support from within the platform. Targeted at researchers, startups, and companies applying for competitive innovation grants.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over €2 billion in funding raised for clients worldwide
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability4 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• EcoModular / Ascotway LimitedminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 22 June 2026Engaged by EcoModular to prepare application for European Innovation Council's STEP Scale-Up Program with September 9, 2026 deadline. EcoModular is an AI-native robotics platform seeking direct listing on Nasdaq.
• BrainialcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 31 March 2026Co-founded Grantific, an expert-backed AI-powered grant writing platform. Catalyze contributes 20+ years of grant-domain expertise while Brainial provides AI-native automation technology. The platform combines Catalyze's deep understanding of evaluation criteria and funding schemes with Brainial's scalable, verifiable AI technology.
• HortiScience Innovation Center (HIC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 November 2025Founding partner of HIC Venture Studio in Bleiswijk, Netherlands - the world's first venture studio dedicated to greenhouse horticulture. Initiative involves €1.15M investment to create three new startups annually over three years in areas of energy, circularity, autonomous growing, automation, and future-proof working.
• EP&CcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 November 2025Founding partner of HIC Venture Studio alongside Catalyze Group, supporting sustainable agricultural innovation in greenhouse horticulture sector.
• Sanquin Health SolutionscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 December 2021Strategic partnership to support development of Health & Innovation District (HID) and innovation power of Sanquin. Catalyze develops multi-program funding strategy including short-term and long-term plans for R&D programs and new business initiatives. Partnership provides Sanquin access to Catalyze's funding expertise while giving Catalyze access to Sanquin's innovation network.
• European Innovation Council (EIC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOfficial EIC Partner providing coaching, mentoring, partnering and Business Acceleration Services to EIC-supported projects. All EIC funded projects get access to Catalyze's services as part of the EIC ecosystem.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Hezelburcht: Dutch consultancy specializing in grant advisory and innovation funding across life sciences, energy, and high-tech sectors. Closely comparable to Catalyze in service portfolio, target client (Dutch/EU researchers and innovators), and grant programmes covered (EIC, Horizon Europe, Eurostars, WBSO).
• PNO Consultants: European innovation and grant consulting firm with offices across the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, France, Spain, and the UK. Directly comparable to Catalyze in its focus on EU funding advisory, EIC and Horizon Europe support, and multi-vertical innovation consulting.
• Ayming: European consultancy focused on R&D tax credits, innovation funding, and grant advisory across multiple countries. Comparable to Catalyze in its dual focus on non-dilutive funding (grants/tax incentives) and innovation strategy consulting for corporate and academic clients.
• ttopstart: Netherlands-based life sciences innovation consultancy supporting researchers and biotech companies in securing European grants (EIC, Horizon Europe, Eurostars) and developing funding strategies. Closely comparable to Catalyze in life sciences vertical focus and EU grant specialization.
• ZENIT: German innovation consultancy providing EU funding advisory, technology commercialization, and innovation management for SMEs and research institutions. Comparable to Catalyze in its focus on EU grant programmes, public-sector research clients, and innovation funding strategy.

Emerging players

• Brainial: Dutch AI-native platform for tender and proposal automation with a proven track record across 70,000+ complex tenders since 2019. Direct technology co-founder of Catalyze's Grantific platform, making it both a partner and a competitive reference point in AI-powered grant writing.

Broad incumbents

• PwC: Global Big 4 professional services firm with a dedicated EU funding and innovation advisory practice. Comparable as an incumbent competitor with cross-border delivery capacity and significantly larger brand reach for clients seeking EU grant support alongside audit, tax, and broader consulting work.
• Deloitte: Global Big 4 professional services firm offering EU funding advisory, R&D incentives, and innovation consulting. Comparable to Catalyze as a broader incumbent with overlapping capabilities and significantly greater scale in cross-border delivery and cross-sell.
• KPMG: Global Big 4 firm with European grant advisory and R&D tax credit practices across multiple jurisdictions. Comparable to Catalyze as an incumbent with broader service portfolio and ability to bundle EU funding work with audit, tax, and consulting engagements.
• Accenture: Global management consulting and technology services firm with EU programmes and innovation funding advisory practices. Comparable to Catalyze as a broad incumbent offering innovation consulting as part of a much larger portfolio including technology implementation and digital transformation.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInnl.linkedin.com/company/catalyze-group
• Xx.com/Catalyze_biomed

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Catalyze