According to a report by the World Economic Forum, European companies still lag behind their American counterparts, when it comes to scaling up. Therefore, in order to help take European scaleups to greater heights, EIT Digital is ready with the 8th edition of its flagship competition for European digital deep tech companies – EIT Digital Challenge 2021.
EIT Digital Challenge’s 20 finalists
In a recent development, EIT Digital has announced this year’s 20 finalists of the EIT Digital Challenge – its eighth consecutive year event. These finalists were chosen from 409 applicants and are based out of 10 different European countries. On average, they reached a revenue of €1M in 2020, raised €4M funding, and employ 27 people.
Notably, 45 per cent of the finalists feature women as founders or C-level executives.
This year’s finalists cover a wide variety of topics within the EIT Digital focus areas — Digital Tech, Digital Wellbeing, Digital Cities, Digital Industry, and Digital Finance. And they all have a common goal — “to grow fast and contribute to building a strong digital Europe, one that’s inclusive, fair, and sustainable.”
What can the winners expect?
The winners will be chosen in a final event held online on 21st September 2021, wherein these finalists will pitch in front of a jury of experts and compete for prizes totalling €250K.
In addition to the prize, the three awarded companies will also receive a full year support from the EIT Digital Accelerator, worth €50K. These winners will be supported in scaling up their business in Europe and securing international customers in target markets as well as in raising growth funding.
Moreover, the first prize winner will receive a cash prize of €100K.
Unique opportunity for the stakeholders of digital innovation ecosystem
In a statement, EIT Digital also mentions that the exclusive final event of EIT Digital Challenge is a unique opportunity to connect to the most prominent European tech scaleups, innovation stakeholders, investors, industry representatives.
During the event, participants will be able to arrange business meetings with the finalists and other scaleups from the EIT Digital ecosystem via an online matchmaking platform. This would be a mutually beneficial situation for both the stakeholders of the digital innovation ecosystem (corporates, investors, media) as well as the competing scaleups.
It is also worth noting that the final event is by invitation only and interested parties can join the event by applying here.
EIT Digital
EIT Digital is a pan-European organisation aimed at promoting innovation, education, and entrepreneurship in digital technology. It aims at global impact through European innovation boosted by entrepreneurial talent and digital technology. It helps businesses and entrepreneurs to be at the frontier of digital innovation by providing them with technology, talent, and growth support.
Since its launch in 2014, the EIT Digital Challenge has attracted more than 2,500 entries from all over Europe. Prominent award winners include KONUX, Medicus.AI, or SidekickHealth, digital technology scaleups that have become internationally successful companies.
Brief about EIT Digital Accelerator
The EIT Digital Accelerator provides tailor-made growth support by helping them raise capital, find customers, and scale up internationally. This is done through a distributed team of business developers and fundraising experts operating from 10 European countries.
Since 2012, the EIT Digital Accelerator has supported startups and scaleups from 18 countries that have raised over €1B in investment. The Accelerator has also been recognised as the world’s top public Business Accelerator by UBI Global, and as one of the top three accelerator brands in Europe, according to Startup Heatmap Europe.
The 20 finalists
Here are the 20 selected finalists of the EIT Digital Challenge 2021.
2021.AI
Founder(s): Mikael Munck
Founded in: 2016
The Denmark-based 2021.AI’s proprietary platform Grace AI serves the enterprise’s growing need for applied AI. Its Grace Enterprise AI platform helps data scientists solve complex business problems with automated machine learning. It provides organisations with comprehensive data and AI Governance capability for transparent and trustworthy model development.
Axial 3D
Founder(s): Daniel Crawford
Founded in: 2015
This UK-based Axial 3D provides 3D printing anatomical models for the healthcare industry. They create precise, patient-specific 3D printed models generated directly from patient CT and MRI scan data. 3D printed models facilitate a better understanding of abnormalities, encourage novel surgical techniques, and improve the surgical outcome for patients.
Bdeo Technologies
Founder(s): Julio Pernia, Manuel Moreno
Founded in: 2017
The Spanish company Bdeo Technologies provides a visual intelligence solution designed to change the way customers connect with insurance companies. Its platform offers starting from underwriting and all the way through the time the claim is processed. In addition it also recognises risks, damage, and provides assessments in real-time to allow insurance companies to detect fraud or pay customers in the event a claim is approved.
BrainCreators
Founder(s): Gerbert Kaandorp, Jasper Wognum, Peter Eijk
Founded in: 2016
Netherlands-based BrainCreators comprises a team of experts in Artificial Intelligence with expertise in both enterprise software engineering and machine learning. The company delivers digital inspectors that automate repetitive tasks so you can scale your business more effectively and cost-efficiently. It engages with partners in infrastructure, construction, and manufacturing to transfer their expertise to its platform, developing scalable AI-as-a-Service solutions.
Cardo AI
Founder(s): Altin Kadareja, Daniele Forza
Founded in: 2018
Italy-based Cardo AI helps institutional investors manage their private credit investments through AI-powered technology. It has developed a cross-border investment platform that delivers standardised and normalised data, single deal transparency, smart allocation system, portfolio creation functionality, reporting and monitoring.
Chargetrip
Founder(s): Andreas Sansano, Gideon van Dijk, Mark Hulsbergen, Pieter Waller
Founded in: 2017
Chargetrip is a Netherlands-based smart EV Routing API-based SaaS platform that makes it easy to drive and charge any electric vehicle for individuals and fleets.
Cibiltech
Founder(s): Stephane Tholander
Founded in: 2019
French startup Cibiltech develops digital solutions for predictive medicine aiming to prevent organ failures. The company’s algorithm helps nephrologists (doctors who specialise in treating diseases of the kidney) to better assess individual graft loss trajectory for each patient and to adjust treatment accordingly. This results in longer survival of the graft, an extended patient lifespan, and better clinical resources management.
Compredict
Founder(s): Rafael Fietzek, Stephane Foulard
Founded in: 2016
Germany-based Compredict is an AI-based software that predicts failures, enables lightweight design, and accelerates the development process for automotive components. The company’s software is able to precisely predict failures of mechanical components like shafts, gear wheels, chassis parts, or bearings and of electronic components of vehicles from 2-18 wheels.
Connecting Food
Founder(s): Maxine Roper, Stefano Volpi
Founded in: 2016
Connecting Food is a French startup that offers a digital platform based on blockchain technology, capable of tracing products batch by batch, as they pass through the production lines, and auditing them in real-time.
Cubbit
Founder(s): Alessandro Cillario, Lorenzo Posani, Marco Moschettini, Stefano Onofri
Founded in: 2016
Italy-based Cubbit transforms underutilised resources at the edge of the Internet into next-generation B2B cloud services: zero-knowledge encryption, 2x more cost-efficient, and 10x greener. The company has achieved international recognition and got financed by the European Commission.
CYSEC
Founder(s): Patrick Trinker, Yacine Felk
Founded in: 2018
Switzerland-based CYSEC is a startup working on next-generation Confidential Computing solutions enabling secure collaboration in the cloud and in the edge for valuable data. The company’s ARCA solution is an OS for secure container environments that solves the challenge of securing data-in use, with full-stack protection of your sensitive data.
Flowlity
Founder(s): Jean-Baptiste Clouard, Karim Benchaaboun
Founded in: 2019
France-based Flowlity uses AI to help organisations and their ecosystem reduce Supply Chain uncertainties, waste and enable growth.
Insert Coin
Founder(s): Carl Bjerkne
Founded in: 2017
Insert Coin is a Swedish company that offers a cloud-based API for gamifying any digital product and increase user retention, engagement, motivation, and loyalty of users.
Nais
Founder(s): Iwona Grochowska, Krzysztof Mikulski, Tomasz Józefacki
Founded in: 2015
Poland-based Nais offers a better workplace powered by smart appreciation and collected data insights.
Nect
Founder(s): Benny Bennet Jurgens, Carlo Ulbrich
Founded in: 2017
Germany’s Nect offers identity verification and biometrics solutions using Robo-Ident, an AI-powered, patent-pending technology.
Neurocast
Founder(s): Erwin Redeman
Founded in: 2017
Netherlands-based Neurocast is a digital platform that specialises in patient monitoring, digital interactions and research needs of daily life.
Park Here
Founder(s): Clemens Techmer, Felix Harteneck, Jakob Sturm
Founded in: 2015
Germany-based Park Here is a high-tech company, which provides holistic parking solutions and mobility concepts. Its platform operates parking spaces efficiently and connects them with mobility services to enable and accelerate seamless mobility in cities.
Psious
Founder(s): Xavier Palomer
Founded in: 2013
Psious is a Spanish company that develops a virtual reality platform designed to bring value to mental health treatment. The platform uses hyper-realistic virtual environments to treat anxiety disorders by means of virtual exposure therapy, enabling professionals to improve mental health therapies.
SmartMile
Founder(s): Aku Happo, Frank van Os, Steffen Luippold
Founded in: 2016
Netherlands-based SmartMile is building a global network of parcel machines to optimize the last mile, and make delivery sustainable. It enables consumers to receive and return all their online purchases from any webstore, and couriers at one convenient location and never miss a delivery – helps in reducing traffic and carbon emission in the cities.
Vuframe
Founder(s): Andreas Zeitler
Founded in: 2015
German startup Vuframe is a no-code 3D platform to bring smart, digital product visualisations to employees and customers on any device.
