On 11 March 2025, the European Innovation Council (EIC) collaborated with EuroQuity, Bpifrance’s matchmaking platform, to host another successful Investor Day in Paris. This day brought together over 150 attendees, including investors, corporates, and business partners, to explore the potential of innovative deep tech solutions. The gathering featured 25 EIC Accelerator companies dedicated to groundbreaking deep tech solutions in the EIC Fund portfolio, and included a panel of more than 35 jury members from leading venture capital funds.
Throughout the day, the selected EIC innovators showcased solutions addressing some of the most critical challenges in the field, such as advancements in AI, semiconductors, photonics, quantum computing, connectivity, manufacturing and Industry 4.0.
The selection of the companies was led by a jury-panel of investors from specialized, high-profile European funds such as ACT Venture Partners, Air Liquide Ventures (ALIAD), Armilar, Bednarz Ventures, Cycle Group, EIT RawMaterials, Elevator Ventures, Fly Ventures, Grow Venture Partners, Imec.xpand, Kimpa, Liftt, Manta Ray Ventures, Matterwave Ventures, MIG Capital, NGP Capital, Omnes, Orange Ventures, OTB Ventures, Quantonation, Red River West, Santander CIB, Sharpstone, Sprind, Supernova Ventures, Suricate Ventures, Tikehau ACE Capital, Vsquared Ventures, World Fund.
Insights from deep tech innovators
Swave Photonics is a fabless semiconductor company that designs and markets holographic chips Theodore Marescaux, Founder and Chief Product Officer at Swave Photonics and the winner of the ‘Quantum, photonics and semiconductors’ session, emphasised the exceptional quality and relevance of the Investor Day:
The event was a high-quality gathering, bringing together highly relevant investors for later-stage companies. As Swave is looking ahead to Series B, the connections and insights gained through EIC and EuroQuity – Bpifrance are truly valuable for our growth trajectory.
Theodore highlighted that these interactions are fostering investment opportunities, providing strategic advice, and offering networking benefits that are essential for Swave’s advancement in the deep tech sector.
From left to right: Gilles Le Cocguen, Director - Head of EuroQuity; Theodore Marescaux, Founder and Chief Product Officer at Swave Photonics; Alexander Sobolenko, CEO and co-founder of Releaf paper; Cristina Boto Juarez, Project adviser for the EIC Accelerator; Samira Nik, Programme Manager for Quantum Tech and Electronics for the EIC; Paul Benoit, CEO of Qarnot.
Releaf Paper, a French producer of next-generation paper made from fallen leaves, participated in an EIC Investor Day for the first time and won the 'Industry' nomination.
The CEO and co-founder, Alexander Sobolenko, expressed gratitude for the high level of organisation and the opportunity to present their breakthrough ideas: "This participation and victory introduced us to several prospective investors who are smoothing out the possibility of investing in Releaf Paper," he added.
Releaf Paper's success in the ‘Industry 4.0 and manufacturing' session has positioned the company for significant growth and innovation in sustainable materials.
Alexander Sobolenko, CEO and co-founder of Releaf paper
Endika Gil-Uriarte, CEO at Alias Robotics, emphasises the importance of participating in events organized by the EIC. He highlights the value of these face-to-face interactions and the exceptional venues, encouraging future investments and engagement:
I would highly recommend all EIC beneficiaries who are searching for investment in the future to engage with this kind of actions by EIC and EISMEA, in these amazing locations that we are today, in this face-to-face event.
Thomas Lettieri, head of strategy at Qarnot and the winner of the ‘AI, connectivity and IoT’ session, highlights the significance of EIC events in connecting with the right investors and enhancing visibility: “Events like these organised by the EIC always help us connect with the right investors and gain additional visibility,” he said.
He also emphasised the value of EIC's long-term commitment to Qarnot, which provides the credibility and network necessary for scaling their sovereign HPC platform across Europe. "This is part of EIC's long-term commitment alongside Qarnot, which gives us both the credibility and the network we need to scale our sovereign HPC platform across Europe," Lettieri added.
Paul Benoit, CEO of Qarnot
Manolis Frantzeskakis, CEO & Co-Founder of Argo Semiconductors SA, highlights that the support received from the EIC is not only financial:
The support received from the EIC enhances the visibility of the company and confidence that the company has when meeting customers or even partners or practically anyone we have to deal with, this has a positive impact.
Manolis Frantzeskakis, CEO & Co-Founder of Argo Semiconductors
Why do EIC companies attract investor interest?
Asked about the reasons to choose the EIC as a partner, jury member Ines de Macedo Santos, Senior Associate at Armilar, highlights the value of EIC events for both start-ups and investors: "This type of events - it's really interesting and rich in terms of matchmaking investment setup, so I would recommend it for other start-ups, and we do that: we have a portfolio of 70+ startups, and we recommend this relationship with the EIC.”
She also mentioned that these events are excellent for matchmaking and building strong relationships with both French and international investors, providing a great opportunity for collaboration: “It’s a very good spot to catch up and to build this strong relationship with other investors that can co-lead with us, because we are lead investors."
Ines de Macedo Santos, Senior Associate at Armilar
Annaïk Barbé, Managing Partner at Iron Hands Capital, gave some extra insights, highlighting the diversity and range of venture capital investors present. "It’s much more than I thought, because you have a large broad of VC investors with a lot of diversity and lot of size, and it’s great to be here all gather in one event," she said, adding that this gathering provided them with a unique opportunity for networking and exploring diverse investment opportunities.
What are the companies that were pitching in Paris?
The full list of EIC companies featured in this Investor Day included ACWA Robotics, Alias Robotics, Argo Semiconductors, Blinkin, BOYDSense, HyperPV, Innatera, kiutra, Multiverse Computing, Orange Quantum Systems, SpiNNcloud, Alkion BioInnovations, AURA-AERO, Catalyxx, EverDye, Hyperion Robotics, InSpek.
About the EIC Investor Readiness and Outreach Programme
This opportunity is brought to you by the EIC Investment Readiness and Outreach Programme, which is expanding the EIC’s Business Acceleration Services (BAS). The programme aims to enhance the investor readiness of EIC Accelerator innovators, providing them with the necessary tools and knowledge to attract investment and scale their ventures. Once ready, the programme also provides introductions to the best investors in their sector, namely through ePitchings and Investor Days.
Why is EIC collaborating with Bpifrance - EuroQuity?
The EIC and EuroQuity-Bpifrance have previously teamed up to deliver a number of successful ePitchings and Investor Days.
Operated by Bpifrance (the French Public Investment Bank), EuroQuity is a matchmaking platform dedicated to economic development and an essential source of financing for SMEs. Its mission is to accelerate the growth of companies throughout Europe and beyond by giving concrete credentials to companies to maximize their opportunities to meet and match with investors, through their membership in e-communities and e-labels.
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.