S3E Charge 2024 | Meet the startup: DataFruit IIoT
DataFruit IIoT is one of the 17 startups selected to participate in the 2024 edition of S3E Charge, the EU-funded accelerator program fostering deep tech innovation and entrepreneurship in Southern Europe.
We spoke with Miglena Dogan, Head of Business Development, Marketing and Sales at DataFruit IIoT, to learn more about how this Bulgarian startup is building an integrated platform to enable automated manufacturing that promotes sustainable practices, their reasons for joining S3E Charge, and their ambitions to grow the business in the next 5 years.
https://youtu.be/CUNxEM0TZfQ
Hi Miglena! Tell us about DataFruit IIoT, the mission behind the business and the technology you've developed.
DataFruit is a deep tech company based in Bulgaria and it's several years old, but only in the last few months we've been developing the business side — so you could say it's a baby startup!
Our technology is based on advanced Internet of Things (IoT) and we are developing a fully open and integrated platform that enables successful automated processes across the whole workflow for businesses operating in the energy, manufacturing, logistics and transport sectors. In my role, my main focus now is to show our current partners and potential customers what kind of advantages they will have with our product.
How would you define your entrepreneurship journey so far?
Challenging, yet very exciting, of course!
As a small deep tech company, what makes it challenging is people having this misconception that the technology we've created will make their lives harder, but it's right the opposite — our platform is intuitive, extremely user friendly and it has the capacity to become a huge asset to help companies save lots of money and time, and to adopt greener day-to-day practices.
We are a small but very powerful team, and we're led by our drive and passion for what we do as we believe our technology will make a big impact in the way manufacturing companies operate. We're very excited about the journey we've embarked on!
Why have you decided to enrol in the S3E Charge accelerator?
We've seen similar programs but they're mostly focused on offering funding to startups, and that's not what we're looking for right now.
What we need is access to expert know-how on topics like marketing and business development but related to our particular needs as a startup, which is what S3E Charge offers. So far, I've really enjoyed the meetings with our mentor, Svetlana Stotskaya, who has been given us many ideas on how to improve and grow our business - I'm learning every day!
What are the key ambitions for your DataFruit IIoT? Where would you like to see the business in 5 years?
Our dream is to see our customers improving their efficiency rates and their manufacturing costs thanks to our product. We want them to think about our technology as a tool that's accessible for everyone and which supports our clients to grow steadily; so, in the next 5 years, we hope to see many happy customers using DataFruit!
Drawing from your experience, what piece of advice would you give to an entrepreneur who'd like to launch their own startup?
Passion, motivation and patience are key to push the entrepreneurship journey forward. If you have those three embedded within your attitude and your mindset as an entrepreneur, everything is possible.
Connect with the DataFruit team on LinkedIn and visit their website to learn more about their technology.
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S3E Start: Meet the research teams selected to join the 2024 cohort
After a very competitive and thorough selection process, and thanks to the expert help of the S3E Evaluators, we are very excited to announce the research teams and technology transfer offices (TTOs) that have been selected to join the second edition of S3E Start!
During the second Open Call for S3E Start— which launched on 18 September 2023 and closed on 15 January 2024 — we received a total of 65 applications from research teams and TTOs from all across Southern Europe. From those, 14 research teams and 11 TTOs have been selected to conform the new cohort of S3E Start, welcoming a total of 80 researchers in this year's edition. Keep on reading to find out who they are!
Meet the 14 research teams selected for S3E Start 2024
BioScreen 🇷🇴
- Research team: Ioana Silvia Hosu and Luminita Dimitriu
- TTO: Mihaela Frincu
- Institution: National Institute for Research & Development in Chemistry and Petrochemistry - ICECHIM
- Technology: A portable device that uses electrochemical quantification for real-time monitoring of plant oxidative stress, providing cost-effective screening of agrochemicals.
Blood2Power 🇵🇹
- Research Team: Andreia Trindade Pereira, Daniela Sousa, Herbert Middleton, Inês Gonçalves and Salomé Luís
- Institution: i3S - Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde
- Technology: A pioneering power-generating system that harnesses electrical energy from the movement of body fluids, like blood, to power medical devices.
BreastScreening-AI 🇵🇹
- Research Team: André Fadiga, Carlos Santiago and Francisco Maria Calisto
- Institutions: Instituto Superior Técnico Lisboa, Universidade de Coimbra and Universidade da Maia
- Technology: An advanced AI-driven diagnostic tool that integrates mammography, ultrasound and MRI data to enhance breast cancer detection accuracy, reducing diagnostic times and minimizing false positives and negatives.
C-Anal View 🇮🇹
- Research Team: Ilaria Toniolo, Francesca Rizzi and Lino Polese
- TTO: Francesca Rizzi
- Institution: Università di Padova
- Technology: A fenestrated anoscope and colonoscopy-compatible tool that improves tissue sampling, detects anal neoplastic lesions, and minimizes procedural risks. Its primary function is to enable precise visualization of the anal canal and rectum.
Comprehensive Pathogen Surveillance Ecosystem (CPSE) 🇹🇷
- Research Team: Cihan İspanoğlu, Ege Dedeoğlu, Gültekin Ünal and Hamza Yusuf Altun
- Institution: Faculty of Veterinary Medicine - Ankara University
- Technology: A comprehensive service suite for pathogen monitoring, delivering detailed reports via a customized database. It securely centralizes monitoring data, offers customizable diagnostics and optimizes action efficiency.
DOPANTS 🇬🇷
- Research Team: Anna Mastrogiorgi, Eleftheria Perivola, Marios Fragkioglou, Minas M. Stylianakis and Vasileios Tzatzadakis
- Institution: Hellenic Mediterranean University
- Technology: DOPANTS uses polymer nanocomposites to enhance safety and sustainability in medical consumables, offering infection resistance, customization via 3D printing, durability and reduction of environmental impact.
ECOPLAN 🇱🇹
- Research Team: Aurelijus Rinkevičius, Marius Kriukovas, Greta Čerškutė, Saulė Mačiukaitė-Žvienienė and Vytenis Mockus
- Institution: Vilnius University
- Technology: An AI-powered platform for construction material selection and recommendation. It analyzes projects from Building Information Models (BIM), suggests optimal materials, increasing selection accuracy by 60% and saving 20% project time.
GENESIS 🇵🇹
- Research Team: Alexandra Pinto, Diogo Silva, Helder Nunes and Lucas Marcon
- Institutions: Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto, Universal H2 and INEGI
- Technology: A plug-and-play off-grid production system providing clean fuel for boat owners and sodium borates for chemical industries. It offers hydrogen and power production, IP-protected borate, and promotes circular economy.
miRALS 129 🇮🇹
- Research Team: Linda Ottoboni, Mafalda Rizzuti and Stefania Corti
- TTO: Alessandro Cervi and Margherita Chierici
- Institutions: Fondazione IRCCS Ca'Granda Policlinico Maggiore Hospital and Università di Milano
- Technology: miRSEN is an active pharmaceutical ingredient that inhibits microRNA-129, an upregulated miRNA found in Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients, slowing down the progression of the disease.
NEMATEAM 🇵🇹
- Research Team: Cláudia Letras, Madalena Mendonça, Margarida Espada and Pedro Barbosa
- Institution: Universidade de Évora
- Technology: NemAway is a fast and efficient bionematicide, targeting a broad spectrum of plant-parasitic nematodes. It is environmentally friendly and can be easily applied to crops through contact or soil fumigation.
OncoMagnetoSweep 🇵🇹
- Research Team: Diana Fonseca, Luísa Fialho and Marta Laranjeira
- TTO: Natacha Rosa
- Institution: i3S - Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde
- Technology: A magnetic extracorporeal device removing cancer cells from blood, enhancing treatment by reducing side effects, treatment time, and sessions, with a global cost reduction.
OncoMets 🇵🇹
- Research Team: Ana Sofia Ribeiro, Bruno Freitas, Inês Conde, Joana Paredes and Rita Carvalho
- TTO: Bárbara Macedo
- Institutions: LEPABE-FEUP and i3S - Instituto de Investigação e inovação em Saúde
- Technology: A blood-based In vitro diagnostics (IVD) tool providing real-time monitoring for breast cancer. It offers accurate, non-invasive detection of recurrent cancer earlier than traditional methods, enabling timely interventions and improving patient outcomes while reducing healthcare costs.
THYMI 🇵🇹
- Research Team: Rute Pinto and Pedro Ferreirinha
- Institution: i3S - Instituto de Investigação e inovação em Saúde
- Technology: THYMI offers for the first time the possibility to produce in laboratory patient-specific T cells that can be ready use to supplement patient immunity with no risk of transplanted cell rejection or side-effects.
UPWIND 🇵🇹
- Research Team: Luís Tiago Paiva, Fernando Fontes, Gabriel Fernandes, Manuel Fernandes, Rui Costa and Sérgio Vinha
- Institutions: Universidade do Porto and Instituto de Sistemas e Robótica (Universidade de Coimbra)
- Technology: ZEPHYRUS is a transportable airborne device that converts wind energy into electricity, ensuring access to affordable, reliable, and sustainable power in remote locations lacking access to the electricity grid.
S3E START is a program designed to help research teams and tech transfer officers to explore the commercial viability of their deep tech projects. Through an 18-week online training & mentorship program, the selected research teams will learn first-hand about the processes required to develop a business case for science-based products or services.
The 18-week immersive experience involves weekly online tutorials to guide the research teams in the development of a strong business case for their technology, and a series of webinars on diverse topics to help them build up relevant skills in intellectual property, technology commercialisation, how to pitch for funding, etc. Each team will be paired with a dedicated mentor who will guide them through the market validation for their deep tech research project, thus receiving 1-1 support for the development of their business case.
The whole South3E consortium is very proud to welcome these 14 research teams into the S3E Start program. Stay tuned for more updates on their journey with S3E!
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S3E Charge: Meet the startups selected to join the 2024 cohort
After a very competitive and thorough selection process, and thanks to the expert help of the S3E Evaluators, we are very excited to announce the startups that have been selected to join the second edition of S3E Charge!
During the second Open Call for S3E Charge — which launched on 18 September 2023 and closed on 12 December 2023 — we received a total of 47 applications from growth startups from all across Southern Europe. From those, 17 have been selected to conform the new cohort of S3E Charge. Keep on reading to find out who they are!
Meet the 17 startups selected for S3E Charge 2024
Baukunst 🇪🇸
Based in Valencia, Baukunst is a heritage preservation specialist startup building 3D and Augmented Reality applications to build immersive experiences around monuments and cultural sites. They embrace tradition and modernity to provide solutions that transcend temporal boundaries, while fostering appreciation and understanding of historical heritage. The team is led by CEO Adolfo Bartolome Ibañez Vila, CTO David Cervera Vila and CDO Sebastians Jans.
BEDEV 🇵🇹
Founded by Gonçalo Pereira da Fonseca, BEDEV is a Portuguese medtech startup using 3D printing to develop early stage medical devices that are environmentally, socially and economically friendlier, while keeping patient safety at their core.
Bomensoft 🇹🇷
Turkish startup Bomensoft Computer Technologies is specialised in artificial intelligence technologies. It operates as an R&D company, conducting research and leading on designs around AI-related concepts such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and Machine Learning. Founded in 2020 in Konya, Türkiye, by Bora Ozdemir.
CRIAM 🇵🇹
Headquartered in Braga (Portugal), CRIAM follows a clear mission: to ensure every patient that needs help is adequately diagnosed and treated. With this aim in mind, this startup has developed a multi-purpose, electricity independent, easy-to-use and portable single-test Point of Care (PoC) diagnostics tool for rapid, highly accurate, automatized (no human error) and affordable blood testing. The team is led by CEO Victor Crespo and CSO Ljiljana Dukanovic.
DataFruit IIoT 🇧🇬
Bulgarian startup DataFruit IIoT is building an integrated platform which gathers, monitors, manages and analyses trends for sustainable manufacturing of goods and green energy. Their ambition is to help organisations become more effective and adopt planet-friendly practices.
Ecobubble 🇮🇹
Established in Rome in 2019, Ecobubble is an innovative green tech startup that promotes new ways to design and manage green areas by optimising water management, reducing local pollutants and improving the quality of agricultural products in urban environments - they're current developing their newest project, Plantiverse. The team is led by Co-Founders Nicola Nestacelli and Federico Di Vincenzo.
ELNAV.AI 🇭🇷
Croatian startup ELNAV.AI works with the latest technology in speech recognition to offer a competitive advantage in the maritime industry, enhancing communication and reducing navigational errors. The team includes CEO Hrvoje Mihovilović, Software Developer Ivan Biliškov, and Marketing Director Mislav Biondić.
EntoProtein 🇬🇷
Co-founded by Greek entrepreneurs George Rodopoulos and Alexandros Simalidis, EntoProtein are committed to providing innovative and sustainable insect-derived protein products to help solve global food challenges. Their mission is to create a healthier, more sustainable food system, having sustainability, innovation and compassion as their flagship values.
eXRciser 🇪🇸
Spanish health-tech startup eXRciser combines the power of wellness and extended reality (XR) to take the workout game to the next level, implementing elements of immersive technology, gamification and hyper-personalisation to enhance individuals' physical activity and overall wellbeing. The core team, located in Madrid, is led by Co-Founder Francisco Ros Peran and CTO Manuel Pasamontes.
Innervoices 🇪🇸
Innervoices is a revolutionary app designed to reconnect with inner selves. By providing personalised insights and guidance, it empowers individuals to navigate life's dilemmas thanks to cutting-edge technology and social science research. This Barcelona-based tech startup was co-founded by Maja Završnik and Mel Awasi.
Intellectra Technologies 🇨🇾
Headquartered in Nicosia, Intellectra's mission is to reshape the wireless cybersecurity landscape for safeguarding and supporting the digital infrastructures of the future. They focus on pushing boundaries in multiprotocol wireless systems and platforms, as well as developing intricate mechanical solutions like Rapid Prototyping & Manufacturing. The core team includes CEO Michalis Kyriacou, CTO Makis Christou and Projects Director Christos Mavrides.
ivoluntry 🇬🇷
Greek startup ivoluntry has built a digital platform focused on organising and improving the conditions of volunteering activities. It connects volunteers with actions, offers appropriate digital support to institutions, enhances scientific research through volunteer actions and contributes to the development of voluntourism. The team is led by CEO Andreas Kountouras, CMO Errika Zeler and CTO Antipas Azoidis.
MOVEN 🇪🇸
MOVEN is a Spanish innovation consultancy specialised in bringing new solutions into the urban mobility sector, with a key focus on helping Southern European cities and businesses transforming their approach to urban design, transportation, and more. The team is led by CEO Sergio Diez and Innovation Manager Inmaculada Caballero.
Nanomik Biotechnology 🇹🇷
Turkish startup Nanomik develops and produces microencapsulated biopesticides for food and agricultural products that protects them against food spoilage without affecting their quality. Their R&D team, led by Aslı Erdoğ, is specialised in formulation development, new bio-molecule discovery, bio-engineering of microorganisms and process development for bio-manufacturing. The rest of the core team includes Co-Founders Buse Berber Örçen and Arda Örçen.
Orbiba Robotics 🇹🇷
Agri-tech startup Orbiba Robotics operates under a well determined philosophy: “People become what they eat”. To support organic agriculture practitioners become highly efficient, they design and build small, affordable robots that have a minimal carbon footprint, operate on renewable energy and offer a high-return on investment. Funded by ilker Bektas.
QX 🇲🇰
An innovative tech startup from North Macedonia, QX is pioneering a decentralised consumer network that reshapes European B2C retail interactions, leveraging blockchain for enhanced consumer and retail experiences. The team is led by its Co-Founder and CEO, Zoran Nasteski.
Rosey's Mark 🇧🇬
With a combined knowledge in high-tech and cosmetic science, Rosey’s Mark uses the Bulgarian rose flower as a valuable multi-purpose ingredient to create high quality and clean label functional food products. Their goal is to support the wellbeing of the conscious consumers around the world in a sustainable and non-invasibe way. The team is led by Co-Founders Rositsa Paunova-Dlagnekova and Ina Abadjieva.
S3E CHARGE is a program that we have designed for growth start-ups with deep tech products, services, or process concepts, grounded in a scientific discovery or meaningful engineering innovation and at a growth development stage, that are already in the market. The program will facilitate selected growth startups to be better aligned with Horizon Europe’s goals, namely by better positioning them to apply for public or private funding and programs, assisting them in linking their business offerings to market needs and becoming market ready to pitch and attract investments whilst having validated and honed their business plan and value proposition.
During the following 14 weeks, the selected startups will participate in a tailor-made mentoring and networking program that aims to provide skills to growth startups to enable them to:
- link the product/service/process product with market needs,
- better communicate their offerings to potential clients and investors,
- become market ready to pitch, persuade and readapt the business offerings to different audiences, depending on market needs
- connect to ‘Innovation Leaders’ and ‘Strong Innovators’ Ecosystems
- better understand to protect IP
- prepare an investment ready business plan
- get access to funds and funding
The whole South3E consortium is very proud to welcome these 17 startups into the S3E Charge program. Stay tuned for more updates on their journey with S3E!
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