Every year millions of tons of plastic waste end up on our streets, in our rivers and covering our forests. A large part of this waste comes from packaging. The plastic bags we use, for only a few minutes, can last as long as 15 to 1,000 years in the environment and, according to a recent study, people could be ingesting or inhaling approximately 5 grams of plastic every week. The Finnish start-up Paptic Ltd, founded in 2015, addresses this environmental challenge with a sustainable alternative to plastic films. Paptic material has all the advantages of plastic - it's versatile, reusable, light-weight, soft, but it's made of renewable raw materials and it’s recyclable.

On 29 and 30 June 33 EIC-beneficiaries went on a digital tour of the Netherlands during the EIC Corporate Day with Dutch giants. During the event, the SMEs matched up and explored business opportunities and collaborations with four of the Netherlands’ largest corporates: Eneco, KPN, Rabobank and Unilever.

A crisis often comes unexpected! During the past months, every business had to adapt to the new reality imposed by the COVID-19 outbreak. Companies are from a sudden facing adaptations to new work environments and habits. Teams need to be reskilled and leaders are struggling to ensure business continuity or – even beyond - encounter a drastic business change! This is why we decided to launch a dedicated online EIC Summer School. In partnership with the DO School, we offer you training opportunities to help you to better prepare and lead your company in times of crisis. Topics are manifold:, from improving your social media presence to preparing a roadmap for your personal crisis response.

It’s been three years since the EIC Business Acceleration Services dove into Corporate Days, gathering innovative European SMEs and large corporates to take full advantage of partnering opportunities. Starting off in Sweden, together with ABB, in 2017, the EIC Corporate Days brought SMEs and corporates from across Europe. Read our highlights from Corporate Days to get a grasp of what the programme offers.

Raising capital and attracting investors are some of the key concerns of many of our EIC beneficiaries. On one side, they must consider how to approach investors, and on the other how to be best prepared to meet them. With the EIC Community Talk: Ask me anything about Investors on 26 June 2020, 30 EIC-beneficiaries had the chance to receive insights from peers and have an in-depth discussion regarding investment rounds.

In addition to facilitating Series A funding for selected companies through accelerator events, InvestHorizon offers an individual programme customised to the investment-readiness needs and challenges of each company. The programme aims to support 500 European Deeptech entrepreneurs in raising EUR 500 million over two and a half years. Would you like to increase the investment and valuation amount of your Deeptech solution? Then, this is the right opportunity for you. The next deadline for applications is 30 July.

In 2020, with the COVID-19 pandemic, organisations shifted to remote working arrangements that have made cybersecurity risks a bigger threat. Many start-ups are facing new challenges to ensure social distancing directives while continuing to serve their customers. To help SMEs answer to the evolving cyber problems, the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA) is developing a booklet with best practices. Wondering how secure your organisation is? Don’t miss this opportunity and work together with ENISA to respond to your challenges.

The EIC Fund, which will provide equity from €0.5m to €15m to breakthrough innovation companies selected for EIC Accelerator blended finance support (grant and equity), has become an official entity. This is the first time the European Commission will make such direct equity investments in companies, with ownership stakes expected to be in general from 10% to 25% in start-up companies. The European Investment Bank, as advisors of the EIC Fund on behalf of the European Commission, will manage the ownership stakes of the European Commission.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is often praised for its ability to make objective and rational decisions, unlike humans, who deal with reality in a subjective manner. The researchers from the Future and Emerging Technologies (FET) project TIMESTORM trained robots to learn some of these subjective abilities of humans, focusing on time-perception.

Are you eager to learn more on how to attract investors and all investment opportunities the European Innovation Council Business Acceleration Services present you? Is your company almost ready to raise capital through a funding round, but you still think you could better prepare yourself? Then the EIC Business Acceleration Services invite you to apply to this online session on 26 June 2020 at 9h30 CEST, in which former participants of EIC ePitching sessions to Investors, who have secured a funding round, share their experience and answer any question you may have on this process.

The Irish company, developing cutting-edge technology to help cure cancers, has secured a significant new Series C round of approximately €18 million, bringing the total equity funding to around €37 million. The capital was led by existing shareholders, including Seamus Mulligan, an experienced biopharmaceutical executive.

On 9 June 2020 the European Innovation Council hosted an EIC Community Training on HR for start-ups in the process of scaling. In this session 21 EIC-funded SMEs had to chance to learn and interact with Jose Martinez, EIC business coach specialised in leadership and HR, and EIC community member Diana Špakauskaitė, HR-manager at Ruptela.

On 16 June 2020, 1 pm (CET) the European Innovation Council (EIC) will host an ‘ePitching with Investors’ on SaaS and ICT-solutions. Six EIC-funded SMEs are gearing up to pitch their innovations to investors from Amadeus Ventures, BTOV, DN Capital, Experior Venture Fund, IdInvest, Omnes Capital, Kurma Partners and Speedinvest.

Dr. Regina Luttge is an expert in medical and biological microsystems having bio-inspired functionalities. She coordinates CONNECT, a Future and Emerging Technologies (FET) project, which aims at providing better treatment for neurodegenerative disorders, such as Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease.

On 3 and 4 June 2020 the European Innovation Council celebrated the launched of a brand-new initiative specifically focused on the EU Green Deal. The EIC Planet.tech brings together EIC-backed start-ups/scale-ups with four large corporates, namely AB inBev, DEME, Nestle and P&G, with the objective to develop a number of impactful Proof of Concepts (PoC).

NOVIRUSES2BRAIN is an ongoing research project, funded by the Future and Emerging Technologies (FET) program. Its ambition is to develop a unique drug able to eradicate multiple viral species simultaneously.

The EIC is pleased to invite all eligible start-ups to participate in our monthly EIC ePitching with Investors. This edition will focus on Internet of Things (IoT) & Smart Cities and will take place on 2 July 2020, 1 pm CET, mark your calendars! A limited number of EIC-backed up SMEs will have the chance to show their innovative solutions via an online tool to a jury of investors –consisting out of representatives from Breega Capital, Indico Capital Partners, SAP, United Ventures, SET Ventures, Tengelmann Ventures, Primoglio SGR.

The European Innovation Council (EIC), in collaboration with BBVA and Ferrovial, organised an online Corporate Day on 26 and 27 May 2020, bringing together 19 EIC-backed SMEs with over 50 corporates representatives. The online Corporate Day was the second event of its kind to be organised this month and gave SMEs and corporate representatives the opportunity to find synergies and explore business opportunities and further collaborations.

Are you looking to scale up your company in the near future? Do you believe people are your most important asset, but find it difficult to overcome the challenges of a growing team? If you answered yes to these questions, the European Innovation Council (EIC) Business Acceleration Services invite you to apply for this online Community Training, on 9 June 2020 (14h30 CEST), in which participants will receive insights that will help them manage Human Resources (HR) when scaling up.

Greening agriculture is one of the main challenges in the fight against climate change. In line with the European Green Deal, the European Commission adopted a comprehensive new Biodiversity Strategy to bring nature back into our lives and a Farm to Fork Strategy for a healthy and environmentally friendly food system. Many pesticides and antibiotics are being banned to ensure healthier food, boost organic farming and privilege the use of eco-friendly solutions. Founded in 2018, the EIC-funded innovation developed by Agrosustain is a good example working on this domain. The Swiss start-up is trying to reduce food waste and promote sustainable agriculture with natural solutions for pest management.

Which app would make your life easier? Perhaps you’re looking for ways to learn a new language faster or have those guitar lessons that you always wanted to try. Many mobile apps are providing us with disruptive and useful solutions to execute tasks easily with just a touch on the smartphone screen. From health check-up to learning platforms, here are 7 EIC-developed apps that you shouldn’t miss.

The European Innovation Council organised its first online Corporate Day on 12 May 2020 together with Enel, the global energy company. Originally planned as a physical event to be held in March, it was fully digitalised for the convenience of the SMEs and corporate representatives. 33 EIC-backed SMEs had the chance to pitch their innovations in the field of renewable energy, smart cities and grid solutions, among others. Over 40 Enel representatives were present to listen to the pitches and scout interesting projects.

Starting this May, the European Innovation Council will send fresh monthly updates about the latest news, business opportunities, project stories and events relevant to EIC Pathfinder, EIC Accelerator, and EIC Horizon Prizes. Sign up now and don’t miss the opportunity to receive these latest hand-picked articles, news and more directly in your inbox.

The EIC is pleased to invite all eligible startups to participate in our monthly EIC ePitching with Investors. This edition will focus on Software-as-a-service (SaaS) and ICT-related innovations and will take place on 16 June 2020, 1 pm CET, mark your calendars! A limited number of EIC-backed up SMEs will have the chance to show their innovative solutions via an online tool to a jury of investors –consisting out of representatives from Amadeus Ventures, BTOV, DN Capital, Kurma Partners, Omnes Capital and Speedinvest.

Can a blockchain innovation build paperless offices across businesses and organisations? The British-Polish fintech Billon Group says yes. The company provides a Blockchain Platform powered by distributed ledger technology (DLT), based on a new type of architecture storing full documents entirely in the blockchain.

The European Innovation Council Business Acceleration Services brings together four Dutch Corporate giants (Eneco, KPN, Rabobank and Unilever) and invites you to pitch your company and discover business opportunities with them in a dedicated online EIC Corporate Day next 29 and 30 June 2020.

Janny van den Eijnden-van Raaij, the managing director of hDMT (Institute for Human Organ and Disease Model Technologies) tells us more about how Organ-on-Chip technology can mimic human physiology and the project ORCHID (ORgan-on-Chip In Development)funded by the Future and Emerging Technologies (FET) program.

The European Innovation Council brought together over 50 public and private procurers, five European corporates and more than 20 EIC-backed SMEs during the first EIC ePitching with Procurers, a dedicated session on COVID19-solutions. The procurers, public as well as private-sector, and the SMEs had the opportunity to pitch their needs and respective solutions followed by a vote on who pitched the most innovative solutions. Eyecontrol and RESPINOR went home with the prize in their respective pitching-sessions.

SYNCH, an ongoing EU-funded project, is creating a hybrid system where a neural network in the brain of a living animal and a silicon neural network of spiking neurons on a chip are interconnected by neuromorphic synapses.

On 28 April, the European Innovation Council hosted their very first EIC Community Talk. In this ‘Ask me anything’ session, 16 EIC-funded SMEs had the chance to interact and receive advice on EIC Corporate Days from two former participants.

When it comes to scaling up a business, in today’s challenging market it can be difficult to attract investors. There are a plethora of startups competing and trying to secure the exact same time with the same investors. To make it more difficult, many SMEs pitch to many investors without receiving any concrete feedback. So, in a sea of many, what should companies be doing to stand out in the crowd? The EIC Business coach Martin Theyer defined the top three ingredients to present your company to the other side of the investment table.

On 29 April 2020 1.00-2.30 pm (CET) the European Innovation Council (EIC) and the European Business Angel Network (EBAN) will jointly host an ePitching session with Investors on eHealth. Five EIC-funded SMEs will pitch their innovations to representatives from Business Region Göteborg, Lincs, Peppermint Ventures, Rockies Impact Fund Sciety, Entrepreneurship Advisor Maria Hala and Seed Investor Stephan Roecker.

The COVID-19 outbreak and its fast spread has catalysed the development of novel treatments, drugs and vaccines. Biotech start-ups and researchers have been exploring ways to handle diseases that can be produced by this family of viruses. Discover the EIC beneficiaries that are developing new treatments, drug platforms and products on this domain, from research and testing, to commercial release.

European start-ups and researchers are working closely with hospitals and government entities to accelerate innovation and technology as the virus continues to spread in different countries. Here are 5 EIC projects exploring already the fight against the contagion phenomena with data, AI and high-tech.

The European Innovation Council Business Acceleration Services and DEME invite you to participate in our brand-new Planet.tech challenge. DEME is committed to being a sustainable, safe and global dredging, environmental and marine engineering solutions provider that benefits people and the planet. This is a great opportunity to enhance your cooperation with DEME and co-create innovative solutions to a number of pre-determined challenges related to the European Green Deal.

On 15 April 2020 seven EIC-backed innovators had the chance to show their COVID-19 solutions during a dedicated EIC ePitching session with Investors. This session was hosted after the overwhelming attention and innovative solutions that were being proposed in the EIC Community.

The new Coronavirus outbreak made clear that there is not enough stockpiled medical equipment like masks, gowns and gloves to fulfil the need of the world's health care systems, as hospitals deal with the pandemic. Several EIC projects have useful solutions to improve protective measures and hospital’s devices. Here are 5 EIC companies with innovative medical equipment that can help the fight against COVID-19.

The European Innovation Council Business Acceleration Services and P&G invite you to participate in our brand-new Planet.tech challenge. In an effort to address the world’s most pressing environmental challenges, P&G is focused on green goals in specific areas. With Planet.tech, you can now team up with the consumer products giant and co-create innovative solutions to a number of pre-determined challenges related to the European Green Deal.

Have you recently received funding under the European Innovation Council and you would like to know more on how to apply to EIC Corporate Days? Or perhaps you have attended EIC Corporate Days before, but did not gain any traction? The European Innovation Council (EIC) Business Acceleration Services invite you to apply for this online Community session. In this EIC Community Talk, former participants of EIC Corporate Days that previously had follow-ups or business deals will share their experience and answer any questions you may have on how to get through the selection procedure and ultimately do business with corporates.

The European Innovation Council Business Acceleration Services and AB InBev invite you to participate in our brand-new Planet.tech challenge. Concerned about reducing its impact on the environment, the world’s leading brewer is picking up the pace of its sustainable development. This is a great opportunity to enhance your cooperation with AB InBev and co-create innovative solutions to a number of pre-determined challenges related to the European Green Deal.

On 8 April 2020 EIC-backed SMEs had the chance to show their Agritech solutions during a dedicated EIC ePitching session with investors.

On 15 April 2020 12.00-2.00 pm (CET) seven EIC-funded SMEs will pitch their COVID-related innovations to investors from Capricorn Ventures, Clinical Research Ventures, Diffusion Capital Partners, the European Investment Bank, Idacapital, Illumina Ventures, Panakes Partners and Monte Carlo Capital.

We are all now spending more time online with tools that make remote work possible. Physical events are shifting to virtual events and the European Innovation Council is also adapting to more online formats. Tomorrow on 7 April 2020, from 14h00 to 17h30, an exclusive group of EIC-funded beneficiaries will gather in an online training event with a business coach to explore the full process of fundraising, present their case studies and get immediate peer to peer feedback. Discover below some of the companies who will attend the event.

The whole world is currently dealing with a novel coronavirus pandemic and we all want to try to understand what the future may hold. Using computer-based models would allow us to keep up with the spread and evolution of the pandemic.

Last week the European Innovation Council Business Acceleration Services launched its Planet.tech challenge, a new initiative under its Corporate Partnership Programme. In the upcoming days, we will highlight the different challenges and introduce you to the corporates involved. First up is Nestlé. The Swiss multinational food and drink company is going green, clean and committed to ensure a healthier future. This week Nestlé added new challenges to Planet.Tech. Do you want to know more? It’s time to feed your curiosity.

The European Commission is launching an initiative to collect ideas about deployable Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Robotics solutions as well as information on other initiatives that could help face the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.

Are you a Deep tech startup with seed funding, willing to accelerate the company and have access to free coaching from experts and peers? InvestHorizon is looking to identify ambitious entrepreneurs and help them through coaching, mentoring and pitching events to scale their business and raise funding. The next deadline for applications is 20 May 2020.

Maurizio Aiello is an innovator, the CEO of the biotechnology company, React4life that helps scientists in the field of cancer research. He has been involved in several EU-funded projects: B2B, a Future and Emerging Technologies (FET) project and MOOD, which benefited from the European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator. In this interview, Maurizio talks about his career path, the challenges that start-up companies are facing with and his personal experience about how bold ideas can be turn into reality by the help of the European Commission in order to improve therapeutic methods and the life expectancy of oncologic patients.

The Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) is launching a fast-track call for proposals on the development of therapeutics and diagnostics to tackle current and future Coronavirus outbreaks. The call has a budget of EUR 45 million from the EU’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme. The funding can support projects of organisations such as universities and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).