Tech Entrepreneur Residency

Host: X-Laboratory Rotterdam

Start of Residency: January 2026

Location: Rotterdam, Netherlands (at X-Innovation Lab)

Application Deadline: 30 November, 2025

Duration: 6 - 12 months

Overview

X-Laboratory Rotterdam invites exceptional founders and world-class technical talent to join a first-of-its-kind Technology Entrepreneurs Residency .

This residency is a deep-tech forge for individuals who can transform a hard technical problem into a validated product concept. You'll work from within our world-class robotics laboratory and research facilities, alongside our engineers and scientists developing state-of-the-art control and perception systems for the offshore renewables and energy sectors and beyond.

You will gain full access to our technical infrastructure, industrial partnerships, and expert mentorship - and you will be empowered to productise your own idea with the rigor, discipline, and pace of a top industrial X-Laboratory robotics program.

What You Will Do

• Define and own a product vision in robotics, mechatronics, or sensor systems, ideally with measurable climate or large-scale industrial or social impact.
• Design, build, and validate prototypes using X-Lab's perception, motion control, and embedded systems infrastructure.
• Execute structured experiments with proper verification, validation, and performance metrics.
• Collaborate with X-Laboratory experts across engineering disciplines to refine your technology and business model.
• Present your progress and findings at an X-Laboratory public event in 2026.
• Accelerate toward market validation or venture formation if your concept proves viable.

Who You Are

You are a system-level builder with the discipline of an engineer and the drive of an entrepreneur.

You are:

• An engineer or technical founder committed to developing a tangible product or prototype that solves a real, valuable problem.
• Passionate about climate-positive technologies , such as offshore renewables, maritime automation, or subsea robotics, though we also welcome other breakthrough ideas with clear market need and technical viability.
• Capable of end-to-end engineering: from concept and system design through validation and iteration.
• Comfortable working in a collaborative, high-performance industrial setting.
• Eager to learn, adapt, and pivot quickly based on real-world feedback.
• Fluent in Python and/or C++, with strong fundamentals in control, perception, or systems engineering.
• We are seeking the highest-calibre candidates only , individuals with the intellectual depth, creative drive, and execution discipline to build technologies that last.

Residency Support

This is a non-salaried residency designed for founders and technical leaders who seek access, focus, and credibility - not employment.

To enable full dedication to your venture, X-Laboratory provides:

• Paid housing in Rotterdam for the duration of the residency
• Full access to X-Lab's robotics and mechatronics infrastructure, tools, and expert mentorship
• X-Lab Prototype support grant (€5,000-€10,000) for materials, field testing, or validation work
• Eligibility for follow-on angel investment (€50,000-€100,000+) for validated concepts
• Visibility and access through X-Lab's network of industry, academia, and institutional partners

This support structure removes operational friction, allowing you to focus entirely on building, testing, and proving your product concept in one of Europe's most advanced industrial ecosystems. We want to help you to succeed!

Residency Structure & Expectations

• Duration: 3-6 months (full-time preferred)
• Milestones: proposal technical plan mid-venture review field demo partner or customer pilot
• Deliverables: prototypes, test results, documentation, and final demonstration
• IP: handled case-by-case to align incentives and enable commercialisation
• Outcomes: standalone venture, integration into X-Lab product lines, or strategic partnership

About X-Laboratory

Founded in 2017, X-Laboratory develops highly advanced robotics and motion compensation solutions that accelerate the installation of offshore wind farms and other mission-critical systems at sea. From our X-Innovation Lab in Rotterdam, we unite deep engineering excellence with entrepreneurial energy to create technologies that directly advance the energy transition.

To work at X-Lab is to operate at the frontier of applied robotics - a setting where failures are learning steps, collaboration is culture, and excellence is non-negotiable.

How to Apply

Send the following materials to founders at deltaxlab dot com with the subject line:

"Tech Entrepreneur Residency - Your Name "

Include:

• CV (with links to portfolio, GitHub, or publications if applicable)
• Pitch deck (confidential) - problem, market, technology core, and plan to validation
• Motivation - why this problem, why you, and why via X-Laboratory
• Supporting evidence of technical or entrepreneurial excellence (e.g., past projects, papers, patents, competition wins)
• (Optional) Academic transcript or recommendation letters
• Shortlisted applicants will be invited to a technical deep-dive and systems design review with the X-Laboratory team as part of the selection process

Join us

If you're ready to engineer the future of robotics for a planet that needs it, and to do so in a laboratory that builds with the intensity of a launch program - apply now .