W Accelerate with Merck KGaA and M Ventures
Deadline: 2nd September 2026
Accelerate event: 5th October 2026
Location: London (Venue TBC)
Pitch directly to Merck KGaA and M Ventures to unlock partnership, investment, and strategic growth opportunities.
The Opportunity
W Accelerate with Merck KGaA and M Ventures is designed to identify the most promising companies and innovations in this space and connect them with the people who can help accelerate their growth.
Selected companies will have the opportunity to pitch directly to decision-makers from Merck KGaA and M Ventures, creating a direct path to partnership, investment, and strategic collaboration.
Who We're Looking For
Out of scope: Direct-to-consumer solutions, over-the-counter products.
Testimonials
The opportunity to pitch directly to senior leadership at Merck and M Ventures sparked conversations that became the foundation of relationships leading to our eventual strategic collaboration with Merck. I've yet to see another event run with this level of excellence.
WHW 2026 had all the right people in the room. Women's health has advanced from being a hope & a dream, to being real regulations, real companies, and real investment. WHW 2026 will accelerate this even further.
W Accelerate Lanes
- Your solution addresses one or more of our focus areas in reproductive and maternal health
- Your company is at seed stage or above
- Your solution has global applicability
- You have moved beyond early concept stage, proof of concept data or early clinical evidence preferred
- You know what you want from being in the room with Merck KGaA, whether that is a strategic partnership, clinical access, or commercial validation
- You are emerging from stealth and ready to share your work with the right strategic partner for the first time
- Your solution addresses one or more of our focus areas in reproductive and maternal health
- You are actively fundraising and at seed stage or above
- Your solution has global applicability
- You have demonstrated in vivo proof of concept with a proprietary molecule, or have a clear and defensible IP strategy in place
- Your current fundraising round is designed to deliver first clinical data
- You have a defined regulatory pathway
- You meet all of the Investment Lane criteria
- You are seeking a specific strategic partnership with Merck KGaA
- You can clearly articulate both what you are fundraising for and what type of partnership you are looking for with Merck KGaA
Why Apply?
Key Dates
Programme Structure
Selected companies will receive dedicated support from W Group ahead of pitch day, including an onboarding call to brief you on the day's format and expectations, and a private 1:1 pitch preparation session to ensure your presentation lands with maximum impact in the room.
Who You'll Meet
Frequently Asked Questions
Have other questions? Get in touch with kirstie@wplatform.co
Merck, a leading science and technology company, operates across life science, healthcare and electronics. More than 62,000 employees work to make a positive difference to millions of people’s lives every day by creating more joyful and sustainable ways to live. From providing products and services that accelerate drug development and manufacturing as well as discovering unique ways to treat the most challenging diseases to enabling the intelligence of devices – the company is everywhere. In 2025, Merck generated sales of € 21.1 billion in 65 countries.
Scientific exploration and responsible entrepreneurship have been key to Merck’s technological and scientific advances. This is how Merck has thrived since its founding in 1668. The founding family remains the majority owner of the publicly listed company. Merck holds the global rights to the Merck name and brand. The only exceptions are the United States and Canada, where the business sectors of Merck operate as MilliporeSigma in life science, EMD Serono in healthcare, and EMD Electronics in electronics.
M Ventures is the strategic, corporate venture capital fund of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany. We invest in Biotechnology and Technology, covering the areas of Healthcare drug development, Life Science tools, Electronics and Frontier Technology & Sustainability.
M Ventures invests into visionary companies that find new ways to: treat the most challenging diseases, empower scientists with cutting-edge research and development tools, develop new solutions that change the way in which information is accessed, stored, processed, and displayed and address some of the most complex challenges in sustainability and technology convergence.
Discover the next generation of reproductive and maternal health innovation: Identify the most promising companies and technologies including early-stage solutions worth tracking as they develop over time.
Build meaningful partnerships: Explore partnership opportunities across the full spectrum, from regulatory feedback agreements and co-development through to investment consideration from M Ventures, shaped by what each company brings to the table.
Open a direct channel with founders: Create new genuine, ongoing relationships within the startup ecosystem in reproductive and maternal health, moving beyond one-off interactions to long-term dialogue with the innovators shaping the field.
Your solution must address at least one focus area, you must be at seed stage or above, and your solution must be addressable globally rather than to a single local market.
Direct-to-consumer solutions and over-the-counter products.
The focus areas define the scope for this edition. If your solution doesn't address at least one of them, it's outside scope for this call but we'd encourage you to stay in touch for future editions.
Applications close 2nd September. Your application will be assessed by the Merck and M Ventures team. Successful companies will be notified on 11th September and invited to Pitch Day on 5th October.
A private 30-minute pitch session with Merck KGaA and M Ventures leadership, small-group sessions with regulation and investment specialists, an "Ask Merck Anything" roundtable with Merck executives, and a VIP networking reception. Selected companies also receive a pre-event onboarding call and a private 1:1 pitch preparation session.
London (venue to be confirmed).
Yes! We welcome applications from international startups. Please note, if successful, you will need to attend the in-person Accelerate event on 5th October in London.