The EIT AI Community presents: Disruptive AI 2024

The ideal participant is a European early-stage AI start-up with disruptive, high-risk, high-gain innovation ideas. The start-up should have 1-3 years of activity. The programme is not suited for individuals or mature scale-ups.

• Degree of Innovation and Disruption: How ground-breaking and transformative the AI technology is, with a focus on its potential to disrupt existing markets and create new ones.
• Market Potential: The potential size and growth trajectory of the market, emphasising untapped or emerging markets where the start-up can create significant impact.
• Scalability: The start-up's ability to scale rapidly and efficiently, considering both technological and operational scalability.
• Risk Level: The start-up's willingness to take substantial risks, balanced by a clear understanding of those risks and strategies to mitigate them.
• Visionary Team: The entrepreneurial vision, expertise, and risk-taking capability of the start-up's team, including their track record of innovation.
• Feasibility of Disruption: The practical feasibility of the start-up's disruptive potential, considering technical viability and implementation challenges.
• Potential for High Reward: The expected returns on investment, focusing on the high-reward nature of the start-up’s technology and business model.
• Strategic Fit: Alignment with the EU goals and ability to leverage the EIT ecosystem and resources provided to maximise disruptive impact.

Financial backing from third parties such as investors and strategic partners will be considered a strong indicator of the start-up's credibility and potential for success. Moreover, EIT-supported start-ups will be highly prioritised as they are already strategically aligned and have proven team competencies and market potential.

Application Review process

• Call for Applications: We invite start-ups to submit their high-risk, high-gain solutions, highlighting the disruptive nature of their AI technologies and their potential to generate substantial returns on investment. – Deadline 20 August.
• Initial Screening: An independent expert panel will evaluate the submitted applications. Each application is assessed by at least three independent external experts. Each expert evaluates the proposals following the evaluation criteria outlined above.
• Review Gate: During the Review Gate, the experts come together to discuss each application based on their own individual assessments and assign in consensus a Review Gate Score. Based on the results, due Diligence Interviews might be requested afterwards following a Consensus Meeting with EIT Digital & Experts to align the scores. The highest scoring applications that have passed any relevant thresholds will be selected as winners of the Disruptive AI. All applicants will receive the feedback and the “go/no go” result- 2 September.

Business Boost

Mentorship & Training: Selected finalists (2-3) will receive tailored mentorship, AI strategic guidance, to further develop and scale their high-risk, high-gain AI innovations-Management, Strategy, Business Development, Access to Finance, US Landing & Pitching Training | 3 months. Investment Events: The selected start-ups will pitch their refined business plans and investment propositions to a wider audience of potential investors, corporation Clubs and strategic partners. Visibility and Recognition: The winning start-ups will recognition and visibility within the EU AI ecosystem. We can connect them with EU funding/scaling opportunities and give them visibility and support through our Joint focus group AI, and strategic AI event in December. Community support: The selected start-ups will become part of a prestigious pool, receiving ongoing support in the coming years. As this is a pilot year, additional activities will be introduced in the future.

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