Cypriot startup IQ3Solar Limited shortlisted for European funding

Cypriot company IQ3Solar Limited has been selected as one of just 12 startups from around Europe to be shortlisted to move on to the next phase of Ventures Thrive, a deeptech pan-European venture builder funded by the EU’s European Innovation Council (EIC).

IQ3Solar Limited is a deep tech company aiming to transform the solar photovoltaic Operations and Maintenance (O&M) sector, a relevant announcement said.

“We develop best in class tools for efficient and profitable PV power plants. Our integrated intelligent Software as a Service (SaaS) platform enables early fault detection, forecasting and performance monitoring of photovoltaic plants,” the company elaborated.

“The first edition of Ventures Thrive consists of a six-month venture building programme designed to accelerate the growth of deeptech ventures by providing access to €1.5 million equity-free capital, masterclasses, and an international community of corporate partners, investors and world class industry leaders,” IQ3SOLAR Limited’s announcement added.

Ventures Thrive was launched in November 2022 by three founding organisations, Acceler8 Venture Builder (Malta), Wolves Summit (Poland), and Anthology Ventures (Bulgaria).

The programme’s first edition is particularly looking to address pressing challenges appertaining to six focus areas: Smart City, Agriculture & Waste, Energy, Mobility, Marine, and Sustainable Finance. The 12 selected startups are now in with the chance of receiving up to €100,000 in cash and services, equity-free. IQ3Solar Limited was one of the 12 highest-scoring startups who applied for the first edition of Ventures Thrive. The programme’s call for applications, which ran until the end of March 2023, attracted over 70 deeptech startups based in one of 20 Widening Area Countries.

The 12 startups are now working with Ventures Thrive-appointed coaches to produce a Master Plan catered to their needs and addressing the following: (1) sales and business development; (2) product development; (3) fundraising from private and public sources. All selected startups will also commit to pursuing a set of realistic KPIs throughout their participation in the programme. The Next Step The 12 startups’ Ventures Thrive journey will come to an initial climax at Wolves Summit 2023, a three-day festival full of investment, networking and talent marketing, corporate innovation challenges, and themed-stage tracks. During this event, Ventures Thrive’s highly anticipated ‘Pitch Contest’ will be hosted.

This event, taking place on 24 May at the Wrocław Congress Centre, will see participating startups pitch to industry leaders and corporate partners in hopes of making it to the next phase of the programme. By the end of the ‘Pitch Contest’, 6 startups will be selected to continue on to the full Ventures Thrive programme, whilst the remaining 6 will gain exposure and have their information distributed to the Ventures Thrive investor network.

All 12 shortlisted startups can be seen below:

Useful Gravity LDA (Portugal) ● Anteja ECG svetovanje d.o.o. (Slovenia) ● Emma Triage Private Company (Greece) ● Seasoil biopolymers sp. z.o.o. (Poland) ● Bluana Foods srl (Romania) ● WindTAK sp. z.o.o. (Poland) ● IQ3Solar Limited (Cyprus) ● Digital Bites I.K.E. (Greece) ● Digital & Legal, s.r.o. (Czechia) ● Biorefic SIA (Latvia) ● Ara Robotik ve Yapay Zeka Teknolojileri (Turkey) ● Avrio Energy Sp. Z.o.o. (Poland).