On 20-21 May 2025, the European Innovation Council (EIC) and Thales Alenia Space co-hosted a Corporate Day in Turin, Italy. This activity marked the culmination of the EIC Corporate Partnership Programme with Thales Alenia Space, after sourcing the most relevant start-ups from the EIC portfolio and working with them to tailor their solutions and pitches to Thales Alenia Space's needs. Over the course of two days, representatives from Thales Alenia Space and nine EIC-backed start-ups explored innovative solutions aligned with Thales Alenia Space's strategic goals as a leading space manufacturer of high-tech solutions for telecommunications, navigation, Earth observation, environmental management, exploration, science and orbital infrastructures.
By combining the strengths of Thales Alenia Space with the disruptive potential of EIC-backed startups, the Corporate Day highlighted the opportunities for innovation, agility, and collaboration that open innovation models can deliver:
Welcoming the EIC’s outstanding cohort of deep tech companies to our Torino site has created real momentum. These startups bring cutting-edge technologies and a bold entrepreneurial spirit that aligns with our ambitions in space innovation. This is already the second Corporate Day that we organise with the EIC. We see strong potential for impactful partnerships and are eager to explore further synergies with the EIC, in addition to EIC Pathfinder and EIC Business Acceleration Services, in which we already benefit from the EIC's strong qualitative support.
Delphine Knab, Senior Vice President Strategy, Innovation, Mergers & Acquisitions and New Business Initiatives of Thales Alenia Space
Thales Alenia Space is a great example of European cooperation in bringing the best of our deep tech innovators to market. The EIC and Thales Alenia Space have been working together for the past four years, and we will continue to deepen our strategic collaboration.
Michiel Scheffer, President of the Board at the European Innovation Council
Driving industry transformation through collaboration
In the framework of the EIC Corporate Partnership Programme, Thales Alenia Space was able to meet some of the most promising and relevant EIC Beneficiaries in Europe across multiple industries, including quantum computing, photonics, AI, green technology, and advanced software solutions:
- Alcyon Photonics SL (Spain) develops innovative meta surface-based solutions for photonic integrated circuits and optical communications in aerospace applications.
- Axelera AI Bv (Netherlands) delivers AI acceleration solutions with hardware and software optimised for computer vision applications in space technology.
- Cubbit Srl (Italy) delivers distributed cloud storage technology services that split and encrypt data across multiple locations, reducing storage costs by 50% while enhancing security.
- Multiverse Computing SL (Spain) delivers high-performance quantum and quantum-inspired AI solutions, including AI model compression technology.
- Nexwafe Gmbh (Germany) offers innovative photovoltaic solutions for sustainable power generation in space applications.
- Sedicii Innovations Limited (Ireland) provides secure identity verification technology and zero-knowledge proof solutions.
- Sia Naco Technologies (Latvia) develops advanced material coatings and surface treatments for extreme environments.
- Sipearl (France) creates European sovereign high-performance computing processors for critical infrastructure.
- Tera Srl (Italy) specialises in thermal management solutions and advanced materials for space applications.
“European space SMEs are changing value proposition of the European space industry and bringing economic and strategic autonomy benefits to the EU economy. We are witnessing EU Newspace SMEs working on active debris removal, in-orbit satellite servicing, AI wireless power transmission and in-space propulsion technologies. They are facing several challenges in developing the capabilities to fly their space hardware. EIC high-risk support and Thales Alenia Space support to the Newspace eco-system are extremely valuable in helping them with flight qualification, reaching new markets and scaling up.” Stela Tkatchova, Ph.D., Programme Manager for Space Systems at the EIC.
Held in Turin, Italy, the Corporate Day kicked off with reverse pitches from Thales Alenia Space, offering start-ups a comprehensive introduction to the company's vision, expertise, and innovation focus. This was followed by high-energy pitch sessions where start-ups delivered five-minute presentations of their solutions, followed by three-minute Q&A sessions. The day culminated in pre-arranged one-on-one business meetings, fostering conversations between start-ups and Thales Alenia Space representatives to explore potential collaboration and investment opportunities.
For participating start-ups, the Corporate Day represented a rare opportunity to engage directly with key decision-makers from a global space technology leader:
"As a founder, I’m excited to be part of this unique opportunity”, said Alessandro Cillaro, CEO of Cubbit. "Through this business acceleration service, like this EIC Corporate Day, we can showcase the value that we are bringing to our customers and that we can get to new ones. The direct access to Thales Alenia Space decision-makers creates exceptional opportunities for startups to demonstrate how we can contribute to advancing space technology and addressing the industry's most pressing challenges."
About the EIC Corporate Partnership Programme
The EIC Corporate Partnership Programme, an initiative of the EIC Business Acceleration Services, allows EIC-backed companies to boost their network and do business with relevant decision-makers from the largest companies in Europe. Since 2017, the EIC Corporate Partnership Programme has organised 72 initiatives with +120 corporate partners including ABB, Airbus, BMW CaixaBank, CommerzBank, Enel, Ferrovial, L'Oreal, Medtronic, Neste, Roche, Saint-Gobain, Shell, Siemens Energy, Solvay or Telefonica. Over 1 200 EIC-funded startups and scaleups and +2 500 corporate high-level representatives have been able to participate in these initiatives, reporting a significant business impact, follow-ups, and business deals.
The EIC is looking for large corporations with open innovation spirit, interested in integrating innovations coming from start-ups, scale-ups and research projects directly into their business offering, procurement and R&D activities as well as investing in highly innovative/deep tech companies.
Open application for corporations
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DISCLAIMER: This information is provided in the interest of knowledge sharing and should not be interpreted as the official view of the European Commission, or any other organisation.