Open Innovation Factory

EIT Digital Open Innovation Factory

Funds European digital startups at TRL 4-5 seeking co-development with industry partners through EIT Digital's open innovation matching platform.

Eligibility · Europe (EU and associated countries)

EIT Digital (operating as 28DIGITAL) administers the Open Innovation Factory, a year-round curated matching platform connecting high-potential digital startups with industry partners, funding instruments, and ecosystem opportunities across Europe. EIT Digital is an initiative of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), a body of the European Union. The platform is not itself a single grant instrument; rather, it houses several programmes including the Co-Creation Accelerator (a 4-month programme for TRL 4-5 solutions developed with industry partners), the Venture Incubation Program, and access-to-finance support. The platform-level funding pool is not stated in concrete figures — the public page shows a placeholder figure only.

The Venture Incubation Program is the clearest grant instrument listed: it offers a reported 5,000 EUR grant component (with a separate optional 15,000 EUR equity investment). Award amounts for other programmes (Co-Creation Accelerator, SpeedMaster, ScaleSmart) are not stated on the public pages. No co-funding percentage or cost-share requirement is stated. The Co-Creation Accelerator targets startups at TRL 4-5 and runs for 4 months in collaboration with industry.

Eligibility across the platform is oriented toward European digital startups and entrepreneurs. The Co-Creation Accelerator requires collaboration with an industry partner. The ScaleSmart programme targets scaleups with at least EUR 1 million in revenue and/or Series A funding looking to enter the US market, indicating that different sub-programmes have different stage requirements. Researchers can access SPIN Explore (free online course) and SPIN Rise (9-week pre-incubation) for early-stage commercialisation support.

Applications are submitted via the 28DIGITAL website. No unified submission deadline or centralised scoring rubric is published across the platform. Individual programmes may open and close on their own schedules. The Finex, Finest Scaleup, and Accend listings were closed at the time of fact collection. Specific application URLs for individual programmes are not listed on the public pages.

Caveats: total pool/budget figures are not published for most programmes. Several offerings listed (MentorMe, Access to Finance, SpeedMaster) are paid services or training programmes, not grant instruments. SPEX Fund (100 million EUR) is an equity investment vehicle, not a grant. The Open Innovation Factory platform-level pool figure shown publicly is a placeholder with no actual figure stated. Award amounts cannot be confirmed from current public sources.