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.
