Startups and Data Providers collaborating to enhance THE European Big Data Sector

The ​European Data Incubator (EDI), a Horizon 2020 project, backed by the European Commission, is entering its final round.

The University of Deusto, project partner in the Upskilling Lab project, co-funded under the Erasmus+ programme, leads a consortium of experts in Big Data and Incubation of startups. “Only 2 out of the top 20 companies changing lives and making money from Big Data are European”. So this virtual incubator is linking startups with data providers (hopefully, some of them will become customers) to solve a challenge that the latter place on the table.

EDI will help those startups and data providers jump this hurdle providing:
(1) a free infrastructure with open source tools
(2) training on the most known off-the-self solutions
(3) support and business services to develop their business idea
(4) equity-free funding.
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The European Data Incubator is a three-phase incubation programme (more details in the picture below):

• Explore
• Experiment
• Evolve
  
  Each phase will allow the startup to develop its big data solution further, from defining the initial concept to launching into market in the last phase. 
  
  ​After each phase, a jury form by members of the consortium and investors decides if they are prepared to enter into the next phase or they should leave the incubator.

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The project is entering now Evolve phase of the second call and in March the new call for startups and data providers will be opened again.
 
So far, 70 startups have profited from the different services and grants provided by EDI. And, the aim of this project is to help 120 startups by the end of the third round.

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Author
University of Deusto