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European Innovation Council

Media review

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Intro

Happy 2024!

We wish you happiness, health, security, and excellent media coverage for 2024! The new year starts well, not that journalists and online writers stop typing out sometimes, but that EISMEA Communication team has now access to a very powerful media monitoring service that covers more than 93 000 sources all around the World. We are already using more than 70 different keywords and names of persons for media research in all EU languages. We will also improve our list of contacts of journalists. If you think you can help us to be more precise and efficient in information surveillance for the EIC and EISMEA, never hesitate to contact us!

Commission takes new steps to support Ukrainian research & innovation

Neth-ER | 03/01/2024 | The Netherlands - The European Commission is launching three new initiatives for strengthened EU cooperation with Ukrainian researchers and innovators. Firstly, she is setting up an office for Horizon Europe, she is opening a new EIC campaign for the financing of deep tech companies and there is a new EIT Community Hub in Ukraine.

How the Ukrainian startup behind astrology app Nebula is thriving despite the war

TNW | 05/01/2024 | Ukraine - This is the story of OBRIO, a Ukrainian startup behind the successful astrology app Nebula. Speaking to TNW from his apartment in Kyiv just before the turn of the year, founder and CEO Alex Fedorov says that running a company during wartime is not exactly something you learn in business school.

Sílvia Garcia, administrator of the National Innovation Agency: “We are on the right track when it comes to creating a ‘Portugal startup nursery’”

Jornal de Leiria | 25/12/2023 | Portugal - Sílvia Garcia, responsible for ANI explains the main support tools for startups and guarantees that ANI is making efforts to simplify access to funds and follow-up once the support process is complete.

Meet the New Research & Innovation Strategy

Philenews | 02/01/2024 | Cyprus - With timetables, an action plan, putting under its umbrella as many sectors as possible and with the involvement of bodies from the public and private sectors, the New Research & Innovation Strategy moved forward. The new Research and Innovation Strategy 2024-2026 , announced very recently, is based on studies and strategies prepared for the Republic of Cyprus.

ARIA: a new era of British innovation

The St Andrews Economist | 29/12/2023 | UK - As a medium-sized economy, the UK can’t be globally dominant in every industry. There is a debate however as to whether the UK should try to compete in sectors like semiconductors where the US and China are currently much stronger, to avoid being dependent on the critical industries of other countries. As for now though, ARIA will work in the sectors like AI, digital, biomedical sciences, and petrochemicals where the UK has existing and natural advantages. This will complement the European Innovation Council (EIC) which operates under the EU’s Horizon Europe programme, which the UK recently rejoined.

“If we regulate cryptoactives, are we legitimizing this market?” asks Pedro Miguel Silva

Executive Digest | 02/01/2024 | Europe - In this context, the European Central Bank (ECB) plays a fundamental role in defining regulatory policies that can balance innovation and the protection of public interests. But what are the challenges of regulation? What opportunities do cryptoassets bring to the market? What are the main difficulties faced by central banks in regulating digital assets? Are we legitimizing this market?

The incredible wonders of liquid computing: the next revolutionary change

TecnoApple | Italy | 31/12/2023 - The world of information technology is experiencing an epochal transformation thanks to the work of a team of scientists from the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT). These experts have created an innovative liquid computer, using a ferrofluid composed of water and magnetite nanoparticles. This incredible advance is part of the European COgiTOR project which aim...

The secrets of the Sun and new treatments: science demands attention

Il Secolo XIX | 31/12/2023 | Italy - 2024 will be important for the activities of the 'Revolutionary high-resolution human 3D brain organoid platform integrating AI-based analytics (3D-BrAIn)' project, funded by the 'European Innovation Council' to generate miniature three-dimensional brains in the laboratory.

TRL+ has created its first spin off, Sensing Tools

Qué Madrid | 22/12/2023 | Spain - Based on various European and international research projects, Sensing Tools has been created and oriented to the market, particularly from the SMARTLAGOON H2020 project, focused on monitoring the Mar Menor lagoon. Following its development, this technology has been recognized by the European Innovation Council (EIC) as a “Key Innovator”.

Vortex-io creates hydrology microstations inspired by space

Les Echos | France | 03/01/2024 -To better prevent overflows due to climate change, Vortex-io has designed microstations for measuring river flow and warning of floods. Vortex-io won a grant of 2.5 million euros from the European Innovation Council last April to set up the Whyld river forecasting service in France and Croatia, at a cost of 3.6 million. Paid article – Contact EISMEA-MEDIA-MONITORING@ec.europa.eu to receive the original.

“We’ve made more money than we ever dreamed of. More than we need”: RELEX Solutions’s Johanna Småros

Sifted | Finland | 19/12/2023 - Småros talks sustainability, founding a charitable foundation and AI. Her company RELEX makes supply-chain and retail-planning software — which might sound boring, but it's extremely important when you consider how much inventory, especially food, is wasted due to poor planning.

Quantum computing startup PASQAL’s CCO leaves to start his own company

Sifted | France | 04/01/2024 - Benno Broer, the chief commercial officer (CCO) of French quantum computing darling PASQAL, left the company earlier this week to start a new business, Sifted has learned. After two years at PASQAL, Broer is launching Science Rockstars, a company operating in stealth in the fields of high-performance computing, scientific software and AI

New billionaires, historic companies and the energy of tomorrow: the most beautiful stories of Italian companies told by Forbes in 2023

Forbes | 27/12/2023 | Italy - The first CO2 battery - Energy Dome is the Italian industrial-scale energy storage company that designed a CO2 battery. It was born in February 2020, a few weeks before the lockdowns. It resisted Covid and started the first CO2 Battery plant in Sardinia. Among the investors who supported it are 360 Capital and Barclays. At the end of 2022 it received 17.5 million euros from EIC Accelerator, the funding program of the European Innovation Council.

From research to entrepreneurship

Wageningen University and Research | 12/12/2023 | The Netherlands - Every year, about 10 Wageningen scientists launch a start-up or a spin-off. Wageningen University and Research (WUR) aims to double that number. Plant-e, founded in 2009, got a prestigious EIC Accelerator Grant at the end of 2021. The company grew to a staff of 15 and is in the midst of a serious investment round now.

Trendspotting: Automotive IC Startup Funding In 2023 - SemiEngineering

Auto Appraisers | 04/01/2024 | Italy - VSORA raised $4.2M in financing in January 2023 led by Otium Capital, joined by existing and angel investors, and a $13.2M in grant and equity funding from the European Innovation Council Accelerator in November 2023. VSORA develops silicon IP and chips for ADAS and autonomous driving at L2+ through L5.

Two Spanish projects, on the list of promising startups in 2024

02/01/2024 | Spain - In the list of the most promising artificial intelligence startups that CB Insights has compiled after a global analysis, the Spanish companies Argilla and Multiverse Computing are part of the group made up of a total of 98 companies. Argilla is an open-source data curation platform that allows users to easily develop, evaluate and improve natural language (NPL) models thanks to a friendly interface where data can be interpreted and annotated, in addition to conducting experiments. So far, the company has received 27 million dollars , and as investors it has the EIC Accelerator.

WIDMO Spectral Technologies obtained nearly €5.5 million in funding from the EU EIC Accelerator program - summary 2023

MAMSTARTUP | 04/01/2024 | Poland - The end of the year brought us a distinction in the form of the Economic Award of the President of the Republic of Poland in the STARTUP_PL category – says Mirosław Trześniowski, CEO of WIDMO Spectral Technologies, in the summary of 2023. In the middle of the year, we were granted nearly €5.5 million in funding from the prestigious EU EIC Accelerator program for the development of the WIDMO Cities solution.

Could we make milk from CO2?

Spring Wise | 02/01/2024 | Europe - Backed by €5.5 million worth of funding from the European Innovation Council, the ‘HYDROCOW’ project aims to create a microbe that, using water and electricity, can convert carbon dioxide and hydrogen into beta-lactoglobulin – a whey protein that is a main component of dairy milk.

Real Heart has received 750,000 euros from the European Innovation Council

Nyheter | Sweden | 29/12/2023 - The medical technology company Real Heart has now received the second part of the grant awarded to the company by the European Innovation Council in December 2021.

Peptinov, winner of the EIC Accelerator

L'actu des Business Angels | 18/12/2023 | France - The Peptinov start-up, supported by Les Business Angels des Grandes Ecoles, is one of the 47 winners of the EIC Accelerator. Following its selection in this very competitive process, Peptinov will receive a €2.5 million grant and a €5.5 million equity contribution to finance the phase 2 clinical development of its anti-IL-6 immunotherapy. targeting osteoarthritis.

A big month for energy, but fintech and healthtech lose their shine: December’s seed wrapup

Sifted | 05/01/2024 | Europe - As expected, the holiday season meant a slowdown in funding. There were 273 pre-seed and seed deals announced in December, compared with the 292 we saw in November, according to data from Dealroom. Those 273 rounds drummed up €403m in total, down from €504m in November. And funding fell short of last December’s total — €576m — by 30%, while the number of deals fell sharply from 499 in December 2022.

Startup accelerators maintain strategic role in challenging funding environment

Business Review | Europe | 05/01/2024 - With more than 400 startup accelerator programmes operating across Europe, entrepreneurs have the opportunity to explore the potential of such initiatives that can guide founders in their efforts to raise funding or pivot with their idea or product. Accelerators are also gaining ground in Romania and while they’ve mainly been focused on the tech sector, some niches such as healthcare and food are also amassing more startups.

8.3 billion euros raised in 2023, an expected drop which signals the end of easy money

Maddyness | 04/01/2024 | France - The cycle of investment contraction, which has now lasted for almost two years, has caused a drastic drop in funds raised by French startups with a maximum of 10 years on the clock. Over the last 12 months, French Tech has raised just over 8 billion euros, a drop of more than 36% compared to last year.

Iceland-based DTE raises EUR 16 million in financing

VCBay | 23/12/2023 | Iceland - Iceland-based leading innovator in process and quality control for the metals production and manufacturing industry, DTE raised EUR 16 million. The company announced the fundraise on December 23, 2023. Eyrir Vöxtur, alongside existing backers, the European Innovation Council (EIC) Fund, provided the investment.

Antabio raises 25 million to fight nosocomial diseases

Les Echos | 14/12/2023 | France - To fight more effectively against nosocomial infections, the biopharmaceutical company Antabio has just completed a Series B fundraising of 25 million euros. Paid article – Contact EISMEA-MEDIA-MONITORING@ec.europa.eu to receive the original.

Estonian GeneCode earns global acclaim for novel anti-Parkinson drug

inestinestonia.com | January 2024 | Estonia - stonian HealthTech startup GeneCode has been named among Europe's top-10 Discovery and Development solution providers for its groundbreaking drug to slow Parkinson's disease. This recognition follows another significant win for GeneCode. In summer 2023, the company was awarded a €16 million grant and equity investment option from the European Innovation Council’s (EIC) Accelerator.

EIC FUND and UNICORN

Il Corriere Nazionale | 26/12/2023 | Italy - The EIC Accelerator 2024 call, provides non-repayable financing of up to 2.5 million euros for the development of innovation, investments of up to 15 million euros for scale up, natural evolution of the startup that establishes itself in the market and intends to make a big leap in size, therefore investments for other significant costs. If the technologies are of "strategic interest at a European level", the company can request even higher EIC investments.

Chiara Petri joins the EIC Board

Start Up and Ivationne | 02/01/2024 | Italy - The CEO of the scale-up WSense, specialised in wireless underwater monitoring and communication systems, joins Francesco Profumo, the only Italian among the 20 members of the Board appointed by the European Commission.

Francesco Profumo, president of the scientific steering committee

Il Quotidiano | 26/12/2023 | Italy - Francesco Profumo, former Minister of Research and current President of Compagnia di San Paolo and ACRI, is the new President of the Strategic and Scientific Steering Committee of Entopan Smart Networks & Strategies. He is also a member of the new Board of the European Innovation Council (EIC).

Aix-Marseille-Provence metropolis: Moroccans back in force during the last delegation led by Anima

Aujourd'hui le Maroc | 18/12/2023 | France - The challenges of industrial cooperation around the Mediterranean basin are clear. Enabling this region to gain competitiveness in this sector in the face of Asian competition and achieving its ambitions for redevelopment of the industrial sector is the main objective. And this last operation of the year, labeled as the European Capital of Innovation iCapital - prize awarded to the Aix-Marseille-Provence metropolis by the European Innovation Council - confirms this common desire.

The tech and startup events Sifted will be attending in 2024

Sifted | 04/01/2024 | Europe - There is no shortage of events and conferences for a European startup enthusiast in 2024 — here's which the Sifted team will attend -> including of course EIC events.

This is a newsletter from the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA) published twice a month.

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