Awarded Proof of Concept grants in the 2025 calls

The purpose of the Proof of Concept grant (PoC) is to bridge the gap from academic research to innovations. The grant gives researchers the opportunity to develop their early-stage discoveries towards validated methods, products or processes and provides the opportunity to carry out activities that validate and accelerate the development of the project and prepare for innovation and commercialization.

Calls in Life Science, in AI, Quantum technologies or ICT and in Materials Science are announced annually.

The KAW Proof of Concept grant is linked to the Wallenberg Launchpad (WALP) mechanism. The first phase of WALP consists of individual coaching sessions for identified candidates, preparing them for the WALP pitch and (potential) grant recommendation. The second phase provides continued support and follow-up meetings from the WALP team during the PoC project.

The grant is paid directly to the researcher's university and the use of the grant must comply with the university's regulations and the specific terms and conditions of the grant as stated by Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation.  Eligible to apply are those who have or have had grants from the Wallenberg Foundations and employed at a Swedish university.

A researcher can have maximum two PoC grants parallel at the same time. The same PoC application can be submitted to only one PoC grant call during a given calendar year.

Awarded Proof-of-Concept grants in the 2025 call in life science

Gonçalo Castelo-Branco, Karolinska Institutet
Cost-effective, Sensitive DNA Methylation Profiling for Single-Cell and Spatial Epigenomics

Ana Teixeira, Karolinska Institutet
Large-scale, high resolution, single-cell mapping of membrane protein nanodomains

Ian Hoffecker, KTH Royal Institute of Technology
Meshy Bio: Next gen molecular mapping with spatial networks

Kristina Lundberg, Lund University
Advancing Immuno-Oncological Therapy: Validation of a novel Treg-target for improved efficacy

Vincent Pelechano, Karolinska Institutet
Revolutionizing Antimicrobial Sensitivity Testing with Molecular Phenotypic Readouts

Georgios Sotiriou, Stockholm University
Nanoengineered photoactivated drug-free antimicrobial wound dressings

Henrik Zetterberg, University of Gothenburg
FIND-AD (Finger-prick INnovative Diagnosis for Alzheimer’s Disease)

Klas Modin, Chalmers University of Technology
Ultrasound-based augmented reality for minimally invasive surgery

Mats Nilsson, Stockholm University
inCAFs as a spatial marker of invasiveness in Early-Stage Lung Adenocarcinoma

Jochen Schwenk, KTH Royal Institute of Technology
Lossless microsampler - Enabling unprecedented longitudinal analyses

Qiang Pan-Hammarström, Karolinska Institutet
Development of secretory IgA antibodies for antiviral therapy

Awarded Proof-of-Concept grants in the 2025 call in AI and quantum technology

Erik Lind, Lunds universitet
Hybrid Quantum Amplifiers

Peter Andrekson, Chalmers tekniska högskola
Compact, ultrawide bandwidth optical amplifiers and tunable lasers based on chip-scale nonlinear photonics

Lennart Svensson, Chalmers tekniska högskola
AI-Native Sensor Simulation for Robotics

Ozan Öktem, KTH
AI guided stroke identification (AI Stroke ID)

Igor Abrikosov, Linköpings universitet
Novel Solid State Qubits for Quantum Communications

Andreas Nylander, Chalmers tekniska högskola
Frequency-Tuned Qubits: A Scalable Route Toward Industrial Quantum Processors

Simone Gasparinetti, Chalmers tekniska högskola
Travelling Wave Parametric Amplifiers based on Non-linear Kinetic Inductance to be operated at 4K

Earlier years