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EIT Digital Challenge 2021 - Applications open

Apply for the 2021 EIT Digital Challenge, the leading pan-European competition for digital deep tech scale-ups, and become the next European success story.

Submission deadline: 10 May 2021

EIT Digital is looking for fast-growing European ‘deep tech’ companies with a differentiating product offering that leverages sophisticated, hard-to-reproduce digital technologies. The EIT Digital Challenge aims to identify the best European deep tech entrepreneurs and help them scale up internationally, thus supporting the European deep tech ecosystem.

Top 20 companies will be invited to an exclusive event to pitch in front of expert juries and participate in the matchmaking sessions with corporates and investors. The best three companies will receive prizes totalling EUR 250 000 to boost their international growth.

Since its launch in 2014, the competition has attracted more than 2 500 entries from all over Europe. Many of the winning scale-ups have gone on to become internationally successful companies. Now it’s your turn!

Criteria

To successfully apply for the EIT Digital Challenge, companies must fulfill the following criteria:

  • Must be less than 10 years old (incorporated after 01/01/2011)
  • Must be incorporated in EU27 or Horizon Europe Associated Countries, see the full list of countries here
  • Must be at the growth stage and ready to scale internationally

Start-ups in growth stage (scale-ups) can apply in five thematic areas: Digital Tech, Digital Industry, Digital Cities, Digital Wellbeing, and Digital Finance. Learn more about them here.

All submissions will be evaluated by internal and external experts. EIT Digital will examine the market and internationalisation potential of your product or service as well as the quality of your core team. The EIT Digital team will also consider the fit of your product or service to the thematic areas mentioned above and the impact the EIT Community support could have on your business.

Before you apply, please read carefully the contest conditions.

Download the contest conditions

Prize package

The best three companies will receive a full year of tailored international growth support by the EIT Digital Accelerator worth EUR 50 000 to scale up their business. On top of that, the first place winner receives a cash prize of EUR 100 000.

In addition to this growth package, the winners will gain access to EIT Digital's pan-European innovation network with more than 200 partners and will enjoy international publicity and greater visibility by means of EIT Digital's network channels.

Timeline

  • Applications open: 30 March 2021 at 14:00 (CEST)
  • Submission deadline: 10 May 2021 at 23:59 (CEST)
  • Calls with shortlisted applicants: June-July
  • Announcement of finalists: July
  • Final event: September

Apply now!

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact the EIT Digital team at challenge@eitdigital.eu.

For more details, please visit the dedicated website.