The European Innovation Council (EIC), in partnership with Plug and Play, organised the first EIC US Soft-landing programme. A cohort of selected 15 EIC-backed cleantech companies embarked on a transformative journey to scale their businesses in the dynamic landscape of the United States. The programme ran since October 2023 and had its culmination with an intense working week (4 to 8 December 2023) in Silicon Valley and San Francisco.
After several weeks of preparation with high-skilled professionals from Silicon Valley, the 15 EIC-backed companies enjoyed an intense working week that included their participation at the Plug and Play Winter Summit, where each EIC Awardee presented their pitch and had the chance to participate in pivotal business meetings with global investors, corporations, and business partners, all in the dynamic setting of Silicon Valley’s innovation hub.
Adding depth to the program, Stéphane Ouaki, EIC Head of Department, delivered a keynote speech at the PnP Winter Summit, shedding light on the EIC and the EU's robust actions in supporting innovation.
The program closed the working week last Friday 8th December with a DemoDay under the title “European Innovation Spotlight”, hosted at the Italian Innovation and Culture Hub (Innovit) in San Francisco. Among the +100 invitees: consulates, investors, and business partners. The 15 EIC companies showcased their technologies and business plans, and Stephane Ouaki joined a fireside chat with Jillian Manus, renowned American VC and media executive, technology investor and philanthropist on the EIC and the collaboration opportunities within the American innovation ecosystem.
Saeed Amidi, the founder and CEO of Plug and Play, stated: ‘’Welcoming EIC and its 15 awaredees to our headquarters has been a great honor. Witnessing innovative solutions and dedication to scaling businesses has reaffirmed the power of collaboration overseas. Together, we're fostering a dynamic ecosystem where transformative ideas thrive and contribute to shaping a sustainable future ’’.
In words of one of the participants, Alexander Schechner, CEO of Envola: “The EIC soft landing initiative has been an exceptional opportunity for Envola. We had outstanding meetings one after the other with potential investors and business partners. The US market is very big and can be overwhelming for a small company but with the EIC support, not only financial but with those acceleration initiatives, we are reassured that we are guided in the best possible way to scale up our business”.
Stephane Ouaki concluded:
The European Innovation Council (EIC) is the largest early stage deep-tech investor in Europe. To support the EIC our startups to scale up globally, we partner with the best investors, corporations, and accelerators. The first EIC US Soft Landing initiative allowed 15 of the best EIC companies in our cleantech portfolio to receive tailored-made advice and guidance to shine in the Valley, benefiting from an open and well-developed ecosystem of investors, corporates and other business partners. The feedback we received from the EIC companies has been positive and we expect those business leads to fructify in the next weeks.
From their side, the US business partners and investors received well the EIC Fund’s investment thesis (early stage, deep tech, co-investing) and competitive selection procedure. We plan on developing this acceleration service in the near future.
The 15 EIC companies participating were:
BEEODIVERSITY (Belgium)
BIOWEG (Germany)
Blue Planet Ecosystems (Austria)
Brite Solar (Greece)
Circu Li-ion (Sweden)
DAC (Poland)
Dracula Technologies (France)
Elonroad (Sweden)
Envola (Germany)
inPhocal (Netherlands)
Kasi Technologies (Sweden)
VOOL (Estonia)
Neuron Soundware (Czech Republic)
Sakowin Green energy (France)
XSun (France)
Learn more about the EIC ITF 3.0 programme and the EIC Business Acceleration Services (EIC BAS):
The EIC International Trade Fairs & USA Soft-landing Programme 3.0 supports the internationalisation of European start-ups in continuity of the predecessor EIC Overseas Trade Fairs Programme OTF 2.0.
EIC Business Acceleration Services: All EIC supported projects and companies get access to coaching, mentoring, partnering and other EIC Business Acceleration Services. Stay tuned on upcoming calls and find additional information and the EIC Community Platform through our news and trade fairs.
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.