On 12 February 2025, the European Innovation Council (EIC) and Alaian, the global open innovation consortium uniting leading telecom companies, co-hosted a Multi-Corporate Day under the framework of the EIC Corporate Partnership Programme. This online gathering brought together 11 EIC-backed startups and representatives from Alaian's global network, including telecom leaders such as Cellnex Telecom, DU, KPN, MTN, NGP Capital, NOS, Omantel, Orange, STC, Telefónica, TIM, and Türk Telekom.
Designed as a platform for exploring cutting-edge solutions aligned with Alaian’s strategic goal of fostering open innovation in the telecommunications sector, the Multi-Corporate Day was a culmination of the Corporate Partnership Programme after sourcing the most relevant startups from the EIC portfolio and working with them to tailor their solutions and pitches to Alaian partners’ needs.
“This Multi-Corporate Day showcased exactly what Alaian is about - bringing together major telecommunications companies to discover the most disruptive startups”, said Ruth Oliver, Open Innovation Manager at Telefónica. “It's inspiring to see how these 11 selected startups, after a rigorous filtering process, are presenting solutions that could reshape our industry. Whether through pilot projects, co-development opportunities, or potential investments, this is exactly the kind of platform we envisioned - where startups gain unparalleled opportunities and telcos discover groundbreaking solutions."
Driving industry transformation through collaboration
In the framework of the EIC Corporate Partnership Programme, Alaian Members were able to meet the most promising and relevant startups in Europe across multiple industries, including quantum computing, IoT, cybersecurity, green technology, and advanced software solutions:
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Albora Technologies (United Kingdom) providing high accuracy geolocation technology for smartphones and IoT with submeter-level positioning capabilities.
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Battery Check (Czech Republic) offering predictive battery monitoring software that provides real-time insights and analytics for battery management, particularly for telco infrastructure.
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Cubbit (Italy) delivering distributed cloud storage technology that splits and encrypts data across multiple locations, reducing storage costs by 50% while enhancing security.
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Cybernetica (Estonia) specialised in privacy enhancement technology and partially encrypted database solutions, serving over 35 countries through partnerships.
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Greener Wave (France) designing and developing RIS (Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces) technology for telecommunications, with applications in SATCOM, telecom, radar, and RFID.
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IS-Wireless (Poland) developing network technology solutions focused on resource management, particularly in radio access networks (RAN).
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Linknovate (Spain) providing team-based innovation scouting and monitoring solutions to help companies discover emerging technologies and market trends
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Multiverse Computing (Spain) delivering high-performance quantum and quantum-inspired AI solutions, including AI model compression technology.
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PXL Vision (Switzerland) offering end-to-end solutions for identity verification and customer onboarding, including qualified electronic signatures.
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Quantpi (Germany) focusing on AI testing and validation to ensure trust and reliability in AI systems.
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Vaultree (Ireland) tackling foundational issues for sensitive data aggregators.
Held virtually, the Multi-Corporate Day kicked off with reverse pitches from Alaian members, offering startups a comprehensive introduction to the consortium's vision, expertise, and innovation focus. This was followed by high-energy pitch sessions where startups 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 tailored conversations between startups and Alaian members to explore potential collaboration and investment opportunities.
For participating startups, the Multi-Corporate Day represented a rare opportunity to engage directly with key decision-makers from a diverse range of global telecom operators. "I'm excited to be here today because this event perfectly aligns with what the telecom industry needs right now,” said Stefano Onofri, CEO of Cubbit. “Through events like this EIC Multi-Corporate Day, we can showcase how startups like us can help telcos leverage their uniqueness. Alaian, as a concept, is exceptional because it operates across different countries, helping each other scout innovation and creating opportunities for startups to demonstrate how we can help telcos in their daily battle in the market."
By combining the collective strengths of Alaian members with the disruptive potential of EIC-backed startups, the Multi-Corporate Day highlighted the opportunities for innovation, agility, and collaboration that open innovation models can deliver.
Additional information
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 1200 EIC-funded startups and scaleups and +2500 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 startups, scaleups 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.