MarbleMat Wins Pitch Battle at Ynovate Fest 2026
The startup MarbleMat achieved a major success at the prestigious Pitch Battle competition held during Ynovate Fest 2026, where teams from across the Czech Republic present their projects to a jury composed of investors and innovation experts. MarbleMat won first place together with financial support of CZK 200,000 intended for participation in international networking events and trade fairs.
The company was founded by Ing. Ondřej Rychecký, Ph.D., a graduate and former doctoral student of the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague (UCT Prague). He began developing the MarbleMat technology during his Ph.D. studies, building on research carried out at UCT Prague. Today, the company continues to maintain close ties with the university and actively collaborates with students and researchers across multiple departments.
Ondřej Rychecký has been supervising bachelor’s and master’s theses for many years and involves students mainly from the study programmes Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering and Nanotechnology and Microtechnology in Chemical Engineering in real industrial and research projects. Students thus gain hands-on experience in the development of innovative food supplement formulations, pharmaceutical applications, and advanced production technologies. MarbleMat also cooperates with several other departments at UCT Prague and actively supports interdisciplinary collaboration.
MarbleMat originated from research focused on the so-called “Marbles” technology — small oil-based pellets containing active compounds that enable improved bioavailability and controlled release of active ingredients in the body. The technology was originally developed in cooperation with Zentiva and is now protected by patents.
The company produces biodegradable food-grade pellets with diameters ranging from one to three millimetres. Manufacturing precision is essential for the process. As Ondřej Rychecký explains: “If we do not dose the droplets in exactly the right size, we cannot use the resulting Marbles and have to dispose of them.” To address this challenge, MarbleMat developed a highly precise dosing system capable of controlling particle size with deviations below three percent. The company has also collaborated with Bürkert, which supplied specialised valves and process monitoring systems for production control.
In addition to technological development, MarbleMat is gradually expanding commercially as well. Artur Shamyan, a student of the Innovation Project Management master’s programme at UCT Prague and a member of the MarbleMat team, described the Ynovate Fest victory as an important milestone in strengthening the company’s visibility among both industrial partners and investors.
The startup recently presented its technology at Europe’s largest food supplements trade fair in Barcelona and plans further expansion into international markets. MarbleMat aims to become a strong technological partner for advanced food supplement manufacturers and, in the long term, to enter the pharmaceutical industry, where its technology could help address the problem of poor bioavailability of active compounds.
The success of MarbleMat demonstrates how high-quality research developed at UCT Prague can successfully transfer into practice and lead to the creation of technology companies with international potential.
