EUROPE –European medtech startups are among the 74 companies that have received a combined €382 million (US$400 million) in grants and investments, the 2022 European Innovation Council Accelerator has said.
The companies were selected from over 1000 start-ups and SMEs that submitted a full application for funding for the 23 March 2022 cut-off, of which 266 were interviewed by juries of experienced investors and entrepreneurs.
Most of the funding will be available in the next two or three months, with equity investments expecting to be finalized this fall.
The startups include Estonia-based Seventh Sense, which uses telehaptics to help blind and visually impaired people navigate their surroundings, and Finland-based Tilt Biotherapeutics, the developer of a novel oncolytic immunotherapy for ovarian, head and neck, and lung cancers.
The selected companies will each be eligible for up to €17.5 million (about US$18.8 million) worth of grants and equity investments depending on their needs.
Other companies that made it to the top of the list include German-based Mushlabs using biotechnology to create the next generation of tasty, nutritious and sustainable foods from mushroom mycelium.
AdjuCor’s revolutionary heart-assist technology – reBEAT – was also awarded with a substantial grant from the EU.
Contrary to all existing heart assist devices, reBEAT has the capability to assist the heart while completely avoiding the complication-laden aspect of blood contact.
Durability and long-term pre-clinical survival studies have proven the functionality and safety of this unique technology.
The companies were among more than 1,000 startups and small and medium-sized enterprises that applied for funding.
“The new wave of innovation is currently led by deep tech startups that target societal challenges,” Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth Mariya Gabriel said in a news release.
“I am happy to see so many of them applying to the EIC, in particular from countries that are catching up in their levels of research and innovation performance. Thanks to the European Innovation Council, they will get the support they need to accelerate their growth and lead on the next wave of deep tech.”
The selected companies have a wide geographical spread spanning 18 countries. Twelve percent of them originate from Horizon Europe “widening countries” which are catching up in their levels of research and innovation performance.
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