How Axon Labs won €800K through Horizon Europe on first application
Interview with the co-founder of a university spinout about consortium strategy, real timeline, and mistakes avoided.
Interview: Axon Labs and their first Horizon submission
Axon Labs is a UTM spinout that won €800K through Horizon Europe Cluster Health on their first application — a statistical rarity (success rate is ~8%). I spoke with Andrei Botezatu, co-founder and CTO.
Consortium strategy
"We started with a strong academic partner in the Netherlands (TU Delft), then attracted an SME in Belgium with patient experience. Three EU countries, three different entity types — exactly what the Commission asks for."
Real timeline
From decision to apply to submission: 4 intensive months. Proposal writing: 6 weeks just on Impact Section.
Mistakes avoided
"Biggest mistake I see in other applicants: they write for themselves, not for the evaluator."