Five European Deep Tech Ventures to Watch out for in 2018: The EIT Digital Challenge Winners

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Sensors that enable drivers to find free parking spots faster and thus make cities cleaner. A low-cost assessment tool for detection of dyslexia at an early age to provide timely support. These are only two of five deep tech scaleups that EIT Digital has awarded in the EIT Digital Challenge 2017 to support their international growth in 2018 and beyond. The annual contest sought for the best scaleups - fast growing startups ready to scale their operations - in five key areas: Digital Industry, Digital Wellbeing, Digital Cities, Digital Finance and Digital Infrastructure. The winners received a prize package worth €100,000 consisting of one year support in the EIT Digital Accelerator programme worth €50,000 and €50,000 in cash.

The 5 deep tech scaleups to watch out for in 2018:

• Cleverciti provides a sensor technology that points drivers via app to free parking spots in cities, thus reducing search traffic and air pollution and improving the quality of life in cities.

    (EIT Digital Challenge winner category Digital Cities)

• trinckle 3D eases the entire design process of 3D printed products and lower the entry barrier to 3D printing significantly with their cloud based platform.

    (EIT Digital Challenge winner category Digital Industry)

• Lexplore has developed a technology using artificial intelligence and machine learning to identify dyslexia in a child as early as in elementary school.

    (EIT Digital Challenge winner category Digital Wellbeing)

• OptioPay revolutionises the way people receive money with a platform that enables businesses to offer beneficial payout options such as higher-value gift vouchers to their clients.

    (EIT Digital Challenge winner category Digital Finance)

• ApiOmat enables companies to integrate their enterprise IT systems with mobile devices and wearables, allowing them to rapidly create apps that innovate their business.

    (EIT Digital Challenge winner category Digital Infrastructure)

EIT Digital's pan-European contest aims to identify the most promising scaleups in the field of deep technologies (deep tech), complex and disruptive solutions that are built around unique and differentiated scientific or technological advances. In total 136 scaleups from 20 EU countries applied. "We've set this year's eligibility criteria very high", says Dominik Krabbe, Lead of the EIT Digital Challenge. "The quality of the finalists and their technology solutions were impressive. We have seen excellent companies with a great potential to scale up internationally. We will be working closely together with them to accelerate their growth in 2018 and create the next European success stories."

The five awarded teams will enter the EIT Digital Accelerator programme that comprises a team of around 40 experienced business developers and finance experts operating from 13 cities across Europe, along with a hub in Silicon Valley. Since 2012, the EIT Digital Accelerator has supported more than 260 startups to access new markets, and helped them raise more than €90 million in investment to date. Accelerator alumni companies have gone on to raise over €300 million in total investment.

About the EIT Digital Challenge 

The EIT Digital Challenge is EIT Digital's contest to identify the most innovative and fast growing digital technology startups (scaleups) with the aim of helping them to grow their business internationally. The competition features five categories: Digital Industry, Digital Cities, Digital Wellbeing, Digital Infrastructure and Digital Finance. Since the first competition held in 2014, more than 1,500 teams from 27 European countries applied for the EIT Digital Challenge.

About EIT Digital 

EIT Digital is a leading European open innovation organisation. Our mission is to foster digital technology innovation and entrepreneurial talent for economic growth and quality of life in Europe. We bring together entrepreneurs from a partnership of over 130 top European corporations, SMEs, startups, universities and research institutes.

EIT Digital invests in strategic areas to accelerate the market uptake of research-based digital technologies and to bring entrepreneurial talent and leadership to Europe. Our innovation and education activities are organised in and around our co-location centres, where students, researchers, engineers, business developers and entrepreneurs come together to drive the digitalisation of society.

EIT Digital is a Knowledge and Innovation Community of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT). Since 2010, EIT Digital is consistently mobilising talents, ideas, technologies, investments and business across Europe and beyond to stimulate disruptive digital innovation. The headquarter is in Brussels with co-location centres in Berlin, Budapest, London, Helsinki, Madrid, Paris, Stockholm, Trento, as well as a hub in Silicon Valley.

For more information visit: http://www.eitdigital.eu/

Follow EIT Digital on Twitter: @EIT_Digital  

Media contact

Luisa Sieveking

T: +49-30-3464686-04
E: luisa.sieveking@eitdigital.eu