Berkeley SkyDeck Europe, Milano: Fifth batch of startups has collected € 1.3 million in equity investments. The 9 selected startups were presented during today’s Demo Day

Since the start of operations, over 6.5 million have been invested in startups from all over the world

A technology to develop customized plants capable of addressing challenges in food security and sustainable medicine; a robot that speeds up surgical procedures for vascular stent implants, enhancing patient safety; a system that uses artificial intelligence to guide doctors in performing implants on the tibia, humerus, and femur; a platform that automates the entire lifecycle of grant applications for non-profits and startups; a virtual assistant providing support to prevent burnout and depression among women:
these are some of the innovative projects created by the 9 startups that have been presented today to international investors during Berkeley SkyDeck Europe’s Demo Day.

Berkeley SkyDeck Europe, Milano is the acceleration program for startups that are interested in a growth path in the European market. It was launched by UC Berkeley SkyDeck (the accelerator of the University of California, Berkeley), the Italian innovation hub Cariplo Factory, and the international real estate group Lendlease. The project is financially supported by the Lombardy Region and the Cariplo Foundation.

Milan, October 29th 2024 – With today’s Demo Day, Berkeley SkyDeck Europe’s fifth acceleration program reaches its completion. Today the startup founders have had the opportunity to present their projects to potential investors and stakeholders. Berkeley SkyDeck Europe, Milano was launched by UC Berkeley SkyDeck (the accelerator of the University of California, Berkeley); the Italian innovation hub Cariplo Factory; the international real estate, infrastructure, and urban regeneration group Lendlease. It was created with the contribution of Lombardy Region and Cariplo Foundation.

Today’s Demo Day took place as part of FutureMatch, a major event dedicated to innovation promoted by the Lombardy Region within the framework of the 0100 Conference Mediterranean 2024, an international conference focused on Venture Capital and Private Equity, held for the first time in Milan.

The nine startups have taken part in the 6-month acceleration program in Berkeley, California and Milan, Italy (at MIND Milano Innovation District). Their endowment at the end of the program consists in 1.3 million euros in equity investments and direct contact with Italian and European investors and stakeholders.

The acceleration program and the selected startups

The program has given these startups the opportunity to get in touch with both the Californian and European ecosystems, as its first month took place at the headquarter of Berkeley SkyDeck, one of the best accelerators worldwide, while the final part of the program took place in Milan, Italy, at the Milano Innovation District (MIND).

Each startup has been matched with 3 key advisors from Europe and the United States, selected on the basis of their experience and areas of expertise. Moreover, each startup has been given access to a network of investors and has participated in a rigorous program designed to accelerate their business towards the next level of success.

The program also provided the founders with the resources and networks of some of the best Italian Universities, selected through a tender by Cariplo Foundation. The Universities that took part in the program are: Milan Polytechnic University, University of Milan, IULM Free University of Languages and Communication, University of Eastern Piedmont “Amedeo Avogadro”, University of Insubria, University Institute of Higher Studies of Pavia, and University of Bergamo.

The nine startups were selected among many applicants from all over the world. The companies are working in various technological sectors, including Health Tech, Med Tech, Green Tech, Deep Tech AI Automation, Cyber Security, Software Development:

• CloEE (Finland) is an AI Digital Advisor designed to enhance the productivity of discrete manufacturing companies. CloEE focuses on real-time data collection, reducing emergency stops by up to 95% and improving productivity, reducing reject rates by two times and improving equipment efficiency by up to 30%. The CloEE AI Digital Advisor provides continuous improvement suggestions, predicts, and helps optimize operation modes that lead to substantial cost savings on equipment expenses. Drawing on the data collected, CloEE presents the possibilities of generative AI, paving the way for advanced technology management. CloEE aims to reduce carbon emissions by improving OEE, decreasing downtimes and energy waste, and minimizing manufacturing machines worldwide.

• Omics (formerly DARWEEN BIOSCIENCE) (France) is pioneering the future of plant engineering by developing an AI-powered platform to create personalized crops addressing challenges like food security and sustainable medicine. It targets companies looking to improve crop performance by introducing new traits without affecting existing commercial lines.

• Daspren (France) is a cybersecurity platform that uses patented AI technology that learns and understands user-specific data-centric patterns and behavior to create a custom algorithm for unparalleled protection. This offers users levels of data protection far greater than any other prevention and protection platform in the world.

• Drill Surgeries (UK) has created the first artificial intelligence to navigate doctors operating on broken bones. Targeting 20 million patients a year, drill surgeries’ technology guides doctors operating on arms and legs, reducing operating time by 83%, X-rays by 75% and costs by €2,000 per operation while improving patient outcomes exponentially. The company has already operated on 12 patients, is live in one hospital and has commitments from 4 hospitals to start patient trials within the next 6 months.

• DT Master Carbon – DTMC (France) has developed two AI-driven products to address two of humanity’s most critical environmental challenges—climate change and biodiversity loss for companies: an AI-powered platform that enables companies to measure biodiversity and climate indicators, providing insights for mitigation strategies, transitional and physical risk analyses; and a MRV-technology-driven marketplace where companies can co-design or invest in biodiversity and climate projects.

• Flux Robotics (Netherlands) revolutionizes vascular stent implantation, cutting procedure time from 3 hours to 45 minutes, reducing radiation exposure, and saving up to $20K per patient. Our product, Flux 2, is a medical robot technology designed to assist surgeons in performing minimally-invasive vascular surgeries more efficiently. Flux 2 contains advanced hardware and AI-driven imaging software, which help to accelerate surgical procedures, improve patient safety, and significantly reduce the need for X-rays.

• OpenGrant (Poland) is an AI-powered platform that automates the entire grant lifecycle for EU organizations, with a 100% compliance success rate. OpenGrant automates relevant grant finding, decodes 100+ pages of grant guidelines into actionable steps, and generates fully compliant, high quality proposals in hours not weeks.

• Soula (Cyprus) is a virtual assistant, a combination of Neuroscience and AI that offers resources, coaching, and support for the prevention of burnout and depression of women. Soula combines top-notch neuroscience expertise with AI to create a tailored wellbeing program for each user and provides support through a proactive, personalized, and empathetic assistant.

• Trag (Armenia) is an AI-driven platform which ensures that your codebase remains clean, efficient, and future-proof. While engineering teams focus on writing new code, Trag is dedicated to maintaining and enhancing the code you already have, reducing technical debt, improving code quality, and accelerating development cycles.

SkyDeck Europe’s numbers to date

Today’s Demo Day comes at the end of the fifth acceleration program of SkyDeck Europe. In just 2,5 years, the program has selected 45 startups among 4.117 applications from all over the world. These startups have generated 6.5 million euros of direct investments and 13 million euros from other investors and grants. On average, the 36 startups of the first three batches have registered an increase in their workforce of approximately 30%, creating 145 job opportunities.

The goal of SkyDeck Europe’s acceleration program is to accompany the growth of startups and connect them with qualified financial operators that can support them with equity investments. Indeed, SkyDeck Europe, created with the contribution of Lombardy Region and Cariplo Foundation, aims at shaping a strong European ecosystem of innovative companies. On one hand, this project’s objective is to improve research through the integration of methodologies and best practices, thanks to the collaboration of the University of California, Berkeley. On the other, it aims at strengthening the local ecosystem by pooling the skills of universities and local incubators through a model of widespread collaboration.

“Since its launch, SkyDeck Europe has become vital in shaping Europe’s innovation landscape – said Caroline Winnett, Executive Director at Berkeley SkyDeck. – The startups in our program are tackling some of the world’s most pressing challenges and achieving impressive growth. By fostering collaboration between top-tier universities, local incubators, and financial operators, SkyDeck Europe continues to build a strong ecosystem that empowers bold, visionary companies to thrive.”

“The quality and potential of the startups participating in SkyDeck Europe keep rising with each edition, showing just how important our program has become in the global innovation ecosystem” – added Anders Nilsson, SkyDeck Europe Program Leader at Cariplo Factory. – “In this Demo Day, in particular, we saw several AI-driven solutions addressing global challenges that impact society, from health to sustainability and security. These startups represent excellence in tackling these issues, with real impacts on people’s lives. We are proud to have supported them in their growth.”

“We’re very pleased with the success of the Berkeley SkyDeck Europe Milan acceleration program. Over five editions we’ve seen 45 startups able to grow and innovate in key sectors for industry and society evolve – concluded Andrea Ruckstuhl, Lendlease Group Executive, International. – “At Lendlease, together with UC Berkeley SkyDeck and Cariplo Factory, we are proud that those startups have accelerated thanks to the MIND ecosystem. It’s an environment capable of attracting innovation and talent from all over the world; and where companies contribute to a more sustainable and inclusive future.”