Tomáš studied theoretical and industrial electrical engineering combined with artificial intelligence and pedagogy. He has worked in a number of positions in industrial production, research and development. He currently works as a solution architect for IoT systems at the international IT company FPT Slovakia s.r.o. Besides projects aimed at innovation in industry, he is closely involved in research into the control of smart buildings. Outside business he regularly takes part in various projects as a mentor, consultant or evaluator.

Andrej Rybovič currently works as CFO at the Resitech startup. He previously worked as a consultant at the Science and Technology Park Žilina, where he supported new entrepreneurs and startups. His job was to prepare and run incubation and acceleration programs for innovative companies together with SBA and STP Žilina. Andrej has wide experience of the international startup environment. As a business partner of the MindBox VR startup he completed the three-month Startup Yard acceleration program in Prague and the six-day Tech Rally 2017 acceleration program in Berlin. He took part in study and professional visits to renowned incubators and accelerators in Europe (Yes Delft, Stardust-DTU) and Israel (The Time). He worked as an external consultant for the German consultancy Founderscope, where he used the Gamified Startup methodology to support innovation in companies and startups.

Andrej is an active member of the startup community. He co-organized Startup Weekend Žilina (2013–2017), runs workshops for students of the Entrepreneur as a Profession course and evaluates startups in the CEE Startup Voucher competition. Since 2016 he has worked with the Slovak Business Agency (SBA) as an expert consultant, mentor and lecturer. He has mentored companies and startups such as Flexido, Dáždnikovo, Ide o tvoje zdravie, Kompostujme, Progresívna prevencia (Symptomedica), S-Case and others.

The story of the NORDICS startup shows that an idea which begins in Košice can grow into a project with global ambitions. From Incubator TUKE the team made it into the TOP 50 startups of the prestigious Slush 100 competition, won the Startup Awards Slovakia and gathered further experience in Silicon Valley itself.

NORDICS was founded with the idea of changing the way companies search for, compare and choose suppliers of IT services. Step by step it built a technology platform using artificial intelligence and data that helps companies simplify the choice of suppliers and make better decisions when buying external IT services.

At the beginning of its journey NORDICS was part of Incubator TUKE at USP TECHNICOM. Connecting startups with the expertise, contacts and opportunities of the university is one of the aims of the incubator: to create a space in which a promising idea can gradually turn into a viable business.

From Košice into the TOP 50 at Slush

One of the first notable international successes of the team was taking part in Slush 100 in Helsinki. Among more than a thousand startups that entered, NORDICS made it into the TOP 50. Slush is one of the major European startup and technology events and every year it brings together startups, investors and technology companies from all over the world.

For NORDICS it was a chance to present its solution to an international audience and at the same time a confirmation that a product created in Košice can hold its own in global startup competition.

Winner of Startup Awards Slovakia 2024

Another important success came in 2024, when NORDICS won the DIGITAL category of the Startup Awards Slovakia 2024.

The award also opened further doors for the team. One of the main opportunities that came with it was a trip to Silicon Valley, one of the most important technology and startup ecosystems in the world.

During an intensive week in California the team, together with other Slovak startups, met experts in technology, artificial intelligence, investment and business. The program included workshops on the expansion and growth of startups, a visit to the University of California, Berkeley and to the Google headquarters, and many chances to network.

For NORDICS the trip also meant a new view of the further growth of the company. After coming back, the founder Lukáš Řezanina described the shift from thinking of NORDICS as a European startup to the ambition of building a global company.

The next chapter: Definic

The story did not end with the Startup Awards or the trip to Silicon Valley.

In 2026 NORDICS entered the next stage of its growth under the new name Definic. The rebranding came together with a significant investment. The startup closed a seed round of 2.9 million USD, led by J&T Ventures with the participation of Seed Starter ČS and Slovak Investment Holding.

The new capital is to support further product development and expansion into international markets, including the DACH region, the United Kingdom and the United States.

A project that developed its startup story at TUKE as well is step by step becoming a technology company with global ambitions.

NORDICS, today Definic, is an example that the road from Košice can lead among the most interesting European startups, to Silicon Valley and to the global market. These are exactly the stories we want to help grow at Startup center TUKE.

It started with unreliable data from a physics experiment. Solving it brought together physics, applied mathematics and a business idea, and OWASmooth was born. Today the deep-tech startup from Košice collects awards at home and abroad and is taking its next steps at Incubator TUKE.

The story of OWASmooth began in 2024. Miroslav Hennel was struggling with unreliable data in a physics experiment and with the amount of time he spent processing it by hand. Barbora Hennelová saw in that problem a place to use her scientific research in data aggregation.

Mathematical equations gradually turned into an algorithm, and the algorithm into a solution that can raise the quality of sensor data and reduce noise while keeping the important trends. That is how OWASmooth came about, short for Optimisation With Advanced Smoothing.

The technology is meant above all for industrial applications, where good sensor data influences predictions, process optimisation and decision making. Its advantages are low computing demands and the ability to process data in real time.

From Startup center TUKE to the first big successes

OWASmooth also developed its startup path through the competition of innovative ideas run by Startup center TUKE at USP TECHNICOM.

The successes did not keep them waiting long. OWASmooth became the overall winner of the Slovak University Startup Cup 2024, where it also won the Science & Medical Technologies category and received the special Asseco CE prize. It then won the Startup Accelerator organized by the Innovation Centre of the Košice Region.

Another important award came in 2025, when the Slovakia Innovation and Startup Awards named OWASmooth the Best Early Stage Startup.

From Košice into the international startup scene

The ambitions of the team do not end in Slovakia. OWASmooth was selected for the Sherpa acceleration program of the Czech Founders VC. Out of more than 100 startups it was one of four projects that received an acceleration investment, and the project was valued at one million euros at the very start of its journey.

Further international success came at the CEE Startup Voucher Grand Final 2025. Out of some 100 startups from 21 countries OWASmooth made it into the top ten finalists and finished second. It was the only Slovak startup among the awarded ten.

The team is also gaining experience at major international technology events, from the EU-Startups Summit in Malta through TechEx Global to London Tech Week.

And the story continues at TUKE

OWASmooth is now growing further at Incubator TUKE at USP TECHNICOM, where it also has its seat. In 2026 it returned to Startup Spotlight in a new role, as a successful startup from an earlier round whose story motivated the new teams of the ignio program.

From a problem in a physics experiment through a mathematical algorithm to an award-winning deep-tech startup. OWASmooth shows that a research result does not have to stay in the laboratory, it can turn into a technology with real use and international potential.

OWASmooth startup profile

Every successful startup begins with an idea. Dozens of them come up at TUKE every year, and the job of USP TECHNICOM is to help the most promising ones take the next step, turning the first thought into a viable business project.

About 20 new ideas enter the startup activities of USP TECHNICOM every year, and the 10 to 12 teams with the highest potential get more intensive support on the way from an idea to a startup. Through Startup center TUKE and the ignio acceleration program the teams can develop their business model, work with experienced mentors, consult technological and business questions and prepare their project for the next stages of growth.

An important part of the program is not the idea alone, but above all testing it step by step and the ability of the team to keep moving it forward. During the program startups work on their product or service, get to know what customers need, develop their business model and learn to present their project to potential partners, investors and the professional public.

Startup Spotlight 2026

Startup Spotlight 2026 is a good example. In June 2026 it closed the 20th round of the ignio acceleration program. Eight startup teams presented their progress, results and plans for further growth to an expert jury at USP TECHNICOM. The event also included the stories of OWASmooth and NightSun, graduates of earlier rounds of the program, which showed the way on from the first idea towards a real business.

Behind the individual teams there is a wider ecosystem of mentors, experts, partners and workplaces of TUKE. Connecting them is what lets startups gain not only business know-how, but also, according to their needs, access to expert knowledge, technologies, research capacities and contacts.

USP TECHNICOM creates an environment in which new ideas do not stay just ideas. They get space, expert support and the contacts they need to turn step by step into real startup projects.