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Equity-Free Funding.
Corporate Connections.
Professional Mentoring.

Powered by

We nurture collaboration between startups and
large organisations in
these industries.

Health

  • Addressing the upstream determinants of disease
  • Healthier lifestyles, personalised disease prevention
  • Uptake of digital tools and services

Medicine

  • High quality, safe, effective and greener medicinal products
  • Increasing the quality and outcome of healthcare with innovative analytical tools
  • Sustainable health systems, technologies and supply chains

Biotechnology

  • Addressing global needs relating to health, ageing and the environment
  • Tackle unmet medical needs in the pharmaceutical sector
  • Novel approaches to treat degenerative diseases and injury

Energy

  • Boosting renewable, affordable, and clean energy deployment
  • Modernisation of the energy networks 
  • Sustainable use of energy
  • Utilising carbon capture, chemical, mechanical, electrical, and thermal storage

Veterinary Medicine

  • More effective veterinary medicines and technologies to prevent disease in animals
  • Animal management and farming systems solutions
  • Enhance resource-efficiency and security in the veterinary medicine supply chain

Agriculture & Waste

  • Transforming Europe’s agriculture sector and food systems 
  • Experiment with new foods, products, services, shorter food supply chains
  • Circular economy across full value chains

Marine

  • Enable more sustainable protection of the marine environment
  • Prevent and eliminate pollution, emissions, marine litter and contaminants
  • Promoting new uses of the maritime space

Improving opportunities
for founders addressing the
world’s most pressing problems.

Deeptech solutions

(BigData, AI, Blockchain, IoT, Bio-Tech) addressing pressing challenges in our focus areas

Minimum Marketable Product

Product/service and technology that has passed the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) stage (TRL-6, technology demonstrated in a relevant environment)

Widening Countries

Based in Central Eastern Europe or in the widening countries (see FAQ for full list of eligible countries)

About the programme

Ventures Thrive is an EIC-funded, pan-European venture builder providing €1,500,000-worth of support to 32 startups from Widening Countries.

During an 8-month programme, selected startups work alongside top corporates, investors, institutions and mentors. Each accepted startup is eligible for an equity-free cash and services grant of up to €100,000.

Phase 1: Apply

October 20, 2023

Application Open
Deeptech startup founders apply for the programme.

January 31, 2024

Application Close

Early March 2024

Evaluation Days
Startups are assessed on readiness and fit with the programme. Twenty teams will be selected for the programme.

Phase 2: Build

March 2024

Programme Starts
During the first month, the 20 selected startups will work with Ventures Thrive coaches to produce a Master Plan around their needs regarding Sales & BusDev., Product Development, and Fundraising from private & public sources. Each team will commit to a set of realistic KPIs to pursue during the Ventures Thrive programme.

Spring 2024

Pitch Contest
Teams will pitch to industry leaders and corporate partners. All companies reaching this stage qualify to receive a Venture Ticket of €5,000 equity-free, to cover travel & accommodation costs to attend the Selection Days. 10 startups will be selected to continue to the next phase.

Phase 3: Grow

April - October 2024

Growth Programme 
The 10 selected startups begin a 6-month growth programme including workshops, masterclasses, mentoring, and coaching around specific topics related to investment readiness. Startups that are working on specific Corporate Challenges will also work directly with the corporates.

Phase 4: Raise

October 2024

Demo Day
A day to celebrate startups’ achievements during the programme in front of hundreds of investors, corporates, mentors, and press attendees. Prizes will be awarded to the top three startups.

Why do startups join our programme?

€1,500,000 million EQUITY-FREE

Once accepted on the programme, startups are eligible to receive up to €100,000 equity-free funding (cash + services) subject to reaching programme milestones).

Global Network

Access to a global network of mentors, corporate partners, industry experts, and investors from 20+ countries.

Strategic Partnerships

Connections to the leading corporates in your industry for pilot projects, partnership opportunities, and as customers

Investor Access

Meet the most active VCs and Angel investors in your industry from around the world.

Masterclasses

Legal, finance, go-to-market and assistance in identifying and applying for R&D grants to help mature your technology stack with non-dilutive funding

8-month programme

A once in a lifetime opportunity to join a specialised deeptech accelerator + venture builder, providing hands-on support and valuable introductions to scale your business.

Increased Visibility

Celebrate your achievements during the programme in front of 1000+ investors, corporates, mentors, fellow entrepreneurs, and press attendees.

Funding & Sales

Partner with leading companies to increase your product launch and sales capabilities. Build your network of investors, and explore public funding opportunities.

Startup feedback

Here's what VT participants have to say about the programme.

"VT's management team & industry experts helped us refine our business model. The connections we’ve made opened doors for partnerships in our target markets."

Karel Kotoun
Co-Founder, Green0meter

Karel Kotoun

Co-Founder, Green0meter

"Securing funding through Ventures Thrive has been instrumental in driving our project forward, enabling us to scale our operations and invest in research and development."

Michael Cyrankiewicz
CEO, SeaSoil

Michael Cyrankiewicz

CEO, SeaSoil

"VT connected us with incredible mentors who have helped us prepare for our seed round investment and develop our business model, marketing strategy, and IP strategy."

Jon Goriup Dermastia
Co-Founder & CEO, VCG.AI

Jon Goriup Dermastia

Co-Founder & CEO, VCG.AI

Meet the Startups

These are the 30+ startups that have been funded by Ventures Thrive.

About Us

Ventures Thrive is

Ventures Thrive is one of the first pan-European deeptech venture builders committed to helping startups quickly scale their development. We are delivering on our mission by providing equity-free funding and a curated growth programme, which will connect startups with investors and corporations to test their solutions in real-world scenarios.

Funded by the European Innovation Council (EIC), the €1,500,000 grant will be deployed over two years to invest in up to 32 deeptech startups focused on addressing some of the world’s most pressing problems.

Founding Members

Wolves Summit is an integrated deal-flow and digital marketing platform for investors and tech companies.

Offering year-round engagement through digital events, corporate innovation challenges, and startup scaling activities. Every edition attracts a diverse audience of 2000+ investors, startups, and industry leaders.

Since 2015, Wolves Summit events facilitated over 35,000 meetings between 19,000+ participants. The summit has a network of 170+ community partners globally which includes accelerators and startup operators. In 2021 the company spun out a new startup division called WolvesX supporting large organisations such as LG Electronics, PwC, Garage+, Economic Development Board in Singapore, among others, addressing a wide range of corporate and government innovation challenges.

For more information please wolvessummit.com

ACCELER8 is a privately funded venture builder

working with deeptech companies and the scientific community during the past years, very oriented to commercialising science-based innovations.

ACCELER8 has established several companies, built R&D projects, and raised €50M+ of funding for these endeavours.

Over the years, A8 has worked with 100+ ERC/EIC researchers and high-tech startups.

For more information please acceler8.today

Anthology Ventures is an angel-powered venture studio, working in Southern, Central and Eastern European countries.

They specialize in fundraising and development for early-stage deeptech, spinoff, and consumer-oriented startups, in the Climate, Energy, Transport, Ag/biotech, Medtech, Proptech, and Edtech sectors.

AV also provides matchmaking, training and development for early Angel Investors, and partners in EU-funded consortia.

Anthology has worked with more than 150 startups since its founding in 2018.

For more information please anthologyventures.com

Programme Leadership

Antti Heikkilä, CEO Acceler8

Antti Heikkilä

CEO, Acceler8

Adriane Thrash, Anthology Ventures Managing Partner

Adriane Thrash

Managing Partner, Anthology Ventures

Maria Rodideal, Communications Manager

Maria Rodideal

Communications Manager

Founded by the European Union Logo Outline White

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

Ventures Thrive, project No 101073762 has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe framework programme, under the European Innovation Council’s StartUpEU initiative.

Copyright © 2022 Ventures Thrive
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Health

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WeedBot
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We build high precision machines for farmers that recognize plants with AI and kill weeds with lasers.

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Sorentum
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SOLIDU
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Psychomeasure
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Proofminder
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AI leaf-level farming platform to enable growers to produce more food in a sustainable way.

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Optiyol
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NevaSoft
Medicine

A healthcare technology company that develops software and devices for innovative diagnostic solutions for medical laboratory technologies.

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Naturelink Innovation
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MindGuide by Zamax
Medicine

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LynXes
Energy

Revolutionary compact X-ray technology redefines materials analysis by making cutting-edge technology accessible, opening up a billion euro market.

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IWROBOTX
Marine

IWROBOTX Company lies in developing autonomous systems and advanced methodologies that effectively collect and remove marine debris, including plastic waste, from various water surfaces.

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FUNKI
Agriculture & Waste

Funki is a biotech start-up revolutionizing the food industry with mycoprotein.

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Foldink
Medicine

A biotech startup developing advanced biomaterials for 3D bioprinting and tissue engineering researchers.

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EyeCheckup
Medicine

Non-invasive diagnosis of eye, heart, and kidney diseases using AI reimbursed by insurance.

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Enzum
Energy

Enzum helps Industrial Customers in Central Europe and the Nordics with their energy storage optimisation by generating extra revenue through smart energy trading, as well as increasing energy independence and decreasing CO2 emissions.

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Green0meter Studio
Finance

Green0meter is an AI-powered platform that helps companies reduce their carbon footprint and achieve sustainability goals.

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iQ3Solar
Energy

Transforming the solar photovoltaic operation and maintenance sector minimizing human error.

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EMMA
Health

EMMA minimizes patients waiting time at Emergency Departments by providing optimized triage and monitor.

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SeaSoil
Agriculture & Waste

SeaSoil is a biotech company fighting plastic pollution by transforming agricultural waste into a biomaterial similar to popular plastics.

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WindTak
Energy

WindTak provides individualised solutions in wind engineering, focusing on problems related to the operation of wind turbines and the improvement of their energy efficiency.

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VCG.AI
Agriculture & Waste

Transforming waste into valuable resources is hard. VCG.AI uses big data analytics and AI to make it happen.

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Eliava BioPreparations
Medicine

100 years of scientific excellence in producing Bacteriophages as sustainable antibacterial solutions.

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Digital Bites
Agriculture & Waste

VR technology to conceptually validate food products and receive customer feedback without the need for developing any physical products.

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Builtrix
Energy

Automated collection of energy data for decarbonization and sustainability.

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BrainTrip
Medicine

BrainTrip is a deep-tech startup in applied neuroscience. We developed the first practical EEG-based Point-of-Care dementia screening test.

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Animacel
Veterinary Medicine

Animacel is helping animals suffering from chronic joint diseases to regain their mobility using stem cell technologies.

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ARA Robotics
Energy

ARA designs and engineers autonomous mobile robots for commercial chores.

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Biorefic
Agriculture & Waste

Biorefic turns agri-food side streams which are usually burned into highly nutritional food ingredients via a unique upcycling technology

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Avrio Energy
Energy

Avrio is an AI-powered decarbonization platform for small commercial buildings such as food retail, fashion retail, gas stations, etc.

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Bluana
Agriculture & Waste

Bluana specializes in plant-based seafood products with unique production processes, delivering healthy and delicious options to consumers.

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