On 23 May 2023, the EIC Tech to Market (T2M) Programme organised a Tech Demo Day for Quantum tech & Electronics, in collaboration with Samira Nik, EIC Programme Manager of Quantum tech and electronics, and Isabel Obieta, EIC Programme Manager of Responsible electronics. During this one-morning session, EIC Pathfinder and EIC Transition awardees presented their innovations to a panel of experts and received feedback on market readiness.
The EIC T2M Venture Building Programme aims at helping to build start-ups to exploit promising research results through venture building services. The Programme is composed by 4 main phases – Tech Demo Day, Opportunities’ exploration, Team creation and Venture Support Services.
In the first phase of the Programme, the participants had access to a collective training session, which took place on 2 May 2023, and, between 8 and 12 May, to the individual support sessions, where they received insight from a business expert and an expert in the field of Quantum tech & electronics, to help them better prepare their pitches.
On the Tech Demo Day, the innovators presented their projects to a diversified panel of experts, including academics, investors, corporate representatives, and EIC business coaches. We spoke to some of the innovators to learn what this experience meant to them, and what value this Programme added to both EIC beneficiaries and experts.
The view of an innovator
Marco Abbarchi, from Aix-Marseille University, was one of the eight innovators participating in the Tech Demo Day dedicated to Quantum tech & Electronics, representing the project NARCISO. According to Marco, “We are exploiting the fabrication of micro and nano-structures over large scales for applications in photonics and biochips. These methods are very powerful and, in 2019, we created a spin-off, SOLNIL, to exploit them”.
For Marco Abbarchi, participating in the first phase of the EIC T2M Venture Building Programme was beneficial because “we were able to see what is going on in our field and, most importantly, have suggestions on how to better present our innovations to potential investors”.
What did experts have to say?
We talked with Andrés Vallés, Managing Director of Koncentriq, and Silvia Pérez Díaz, Senior Open Innovation Expert at REPSOL, two members of the panel of experts.
In Silvia’s opinion, “this type of programmes is critical because there is no point in developing incredible technologies that in the end never get to the market due to the fact that they were not considering the current and real needs of the industry”. She added “programmes like EIC Tech to Market are key to helping the researchers to consider all the aspects required to have a successful product and include everything in a solid roadmap”.
The Senior Open Innovation Expert of REPSOL complemented by saying that her role at the Tech Demo Day was “trying to include the perspective of a corporation assessing the potential of the projects to get to the market in a successful manner, identifying those with more potential to become startups/spin-offs that deliver a product that, not only constitutes a disruptive technology but also a solution with a successful market penetration”.
For Andrés Vallés, the Tech Demo Day “was an incredible showcase of emerging innovations in the quantum tech and electronics fields. What I found most interesting was the diversity and range of ideas, all backed by solid research, and the potential they hold for disrupting various industries”.
The Managing Director of Koncentriq states that “the EIC Tech to Market Venture Building Programme is a vital catalyst for bringing cutting-edge research to market. It provides the necessary business acumen, market insights, and strategic guidance that researchers often lack. By fostering an environment where technical expertise meets entrepreneurial spirit, these programmes help ensure that the innovations born in research labs do not just stay there but make it to the marketplace where they can have a significant societal and economic impact. In essence, it turns scientists into entrepreneurs and helps them make a tangible difference in the world”.
This was the second Tech Demo Day of the Programme. If you’re interested in participating in future Tech Demo Days, read more and apply here.
About the EIC Tech to Market (T2M) Venture Building Programme
The EIC Tech to Market Venture Building Programme aims to help build start-ups to exploit promising research results through venture building services, comprising a range of activities from identification of promising business ideas to venture creation and development.
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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.