Punto Health wins €100K for families facing dementia
As dementia care remains fragmented and reactive worldwide, Spanish startup Punto Health demonstrates how AI can transform crisis management into proactive family support. The company won the second edition of the NN Social Innovation Startup Award at The Next Web Conference in Amsterdam, receiving €100,000 plus a year-long mentorship program from NN Group and Rubio Impact Ventures.
Transforming dementia care
Punto Health emerged when dementia hit Anna Muñoz Farré’s grandfather, showing the gaps within the healthcare system. With 78 million people facing diagnosis by 2030, she and Jack Eckersley transform dementia care by empowering patients, families and healthcare providers with AI-driven personalized support throughout Spain.
“One in two people will be affected by dementia during their lifetime, and women are disproportionately impacted, both as patients and as carers,” says Anna Muñoz Farré, co-founder and CEO of Punto Health. “This €100,000 grant from NN Group, combined with Rubio’s network and expertise in scaling impact startups, gives us everything we need to transform dementia care and help families better manage the rising burden globally.”
Personal stories driving change
The most powerful innovations come from founders who experienced the problems they are solving, as this year’s finalists demonstrate. During the second edition of the NN Social Innovation Startup Award, six startups had the opportunity to pitch their solutions to solving social challenges that positively impact well-being. Startup Punto Health won the award, receiving a grant of receiving €100,000 plus a year-long mentorship program from NN Group and Rubio.
Runner-up is the Belgium startup The Hacking Games that received €50,000 for their mission to turn cybercriminals into cyber defenders. Fergus Hay and his co-founders actively seek out digital talent in gaming communities and online forums, redirecting their skills toward protecting our world across the Netherlands and Belgium.
The other four finalists also received supporting grants:
iYoni App was born when Katarzyna Goch and Professor Krzysztof Jan Łukaszuk witnessed couples struggle with fertility in silence. With 186 million affected by infertility yet 70% going undiagnosed, they created AI that detects conditions years earlier across 176 countries.
Juvoly was founded by software developer Thomas Kluiters and practicing GP Maarten Timmers. The platform transcribes doctor-patient consultations in real-time and transforms them into structured summaries for electronic health records. As administrative burden adds to the workload of healthcare professionals, the company proves their solution addresses a real problem in Dutch healthcare.
Morphoses Skills is an innovative EdTech platform dedicated to developing soft skills in children ages 6 to 17. Through live, activity-based classes, the team offers a gamified learning experience that empowers children to build soft skills. Founders Anna Natsvlishvili and Alexandros Pithamitsis teach emotional intelligence through game-like experiences across Greece and Romania.
naext tackles how for millions with sensory disabilities, public transport feels like an impossible maze. Victor van Dinten and Lukas van Delft are changing that with AI navigation offering voice guidance, tactile paths, and low-stimulus routes across the Netherlands.
Become the norm, not the exception
“We designed this award to champion early-stage social enterprises that provide innovative solutions for improving financial, physical and mental well-being. Developing products and services that create solutions for people at scale, is still a challenge for many social entrepreneurs to make the impact that they envision. The diversity of solutions this year shows that technology can truly be a force for good,” says Lonneke Roza, Head of Community Investment at NN Group. “From AI transforming dementia care to platforms redirecting digital talent toward cybersecurity—these are the innovations that make a difference for people who need it most.”
Ilonka Jankovich, Venture Partner at Rubio Impact Ventures, adds: “Some of the most impactful startups are built by people with deep personal insight into the problems they’re solving. But turning that into a scalable business—especially in sectors like mental health, healthcare access, or financial resilience—is incredibly hard without the right kind of support. This award was created to fill that gap. Not just with funding, but with the guidance from NN Group and Rubio and the support of the community of innovators we’ve created with this competition. Each and every one is committed to changing the system, so that tech-driven solutions for well-being become the norm, not the exception.”
