Open Horizons: Where Deep Tech Meets Business Impact
What happens when Europe's top women-led deep tech startups get direct access to the most pressing corporate challenges? You get Open Horizons, an EU-funded initiative designed to match groundbreaking startups with major corporations through fully funded Proof-of-Concept (PoC) projects.
This is not just another accelerator. It's a game-changer for startups looking to prove their tech at scale, and for corporates ready to adopt real, tested solutions that can reshape industries.
Register for the Open Call to access up to €55,000 in equity-free funding now
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BACKED BY MAJOR EUROPEAN CORPORATE PARTNERS
Open Horizons collaborates with leading corporations operating across energy, industry, materials, retail and infrastructure - offering startups access to real environments, data and deployment paths.
Let's talk Acceleration –
Inception Programme
Where deep tech stops pitching and starts preparing for real pilots — with structure, clarity, and corporate alignment.
Prepare startups for real PoC execution & scaling
Run the Inception Programme powered by InnovX (1-month)
Train startups on: Business Model Canvas, PoC design, KPIs & milestones, Legal & IP readiness
Business Model Canvas
5-month PoC Plan
Eligibility for Pilot Phase funding
Meet the Mentors Supporting the Open Horizons Founders
The Inception Programme mentors bring hands-on experience from technology, industry, finance, and innovation leadership. Throughout the Inception Programme, they work directly with founders to challenge assumptions, sharpen execution, and prepare startups for real corporate Proofs of Concept and scaling conversations.
Meet the First Cohort of Women-Led Deep-Tech Founders
The first Open Horizons cohort brings together women founders building complex, high-impact technologies across energy, industry, materials, AI, and infrastructure. Selected for both technical depth and execution potential, these founders completed the Open Horizons Inception Programme.
What They Say About Open Horizons
Hear from the corporates and startups who participated in the Open Horizons programme.
It has been a pleasure to work with InnovX during the Open Horizons Challenge. InnovX had been the captain navigating both the corporates and the startups safely through the program. Their expertise and experience helped to achieve the targeted results and impactful project proposals.
The Open Horizons Inception program was a genuinely useful experience for us at PPC Romania. InnovX kept everything clear, structured, and easy to navigate, which made the alignment and PoC planning feel natural. Best of all, the startup matching was spot-on - ending up with a partner start-up that fits our challenge and a real opportunity for a pilot project is not something we take for granted.
Amazing! Thank you for the awesome past few weeks. The experience has been fabulous, a lot of learnings on our end.
We're delighted to have completed the Open Horizons Inception Programme and to advance to the Piloting Phase in January. Huge appreciation to you and the InnovX & Pedal teams for orchestrating a complex programme on tight timelines; the coordination, clarity and support were excellent.
We are very grateful for this opportunity! Thank you so much! For us, this is a huge opportunity. We loved the Inception phase, it was challenging and we learned a lot!
It has been a pleasure to work with InnovX during the Open Horizons Challenge. InnovX had been the captain navigating both the corporates and the startups safely through the program. Their expertise and experience helped to achieve the targeted results and impactful project proposals.
The Open Horizons Inception program was a genuinely useful experience for us at PPC Romania. InnovX kept everything clear, structured, and easy to navigate, which made the alignment and PoC planning feel natural. Best of all, the startup matching was spot-on - ending up with a partner start-up that fits our challenge and a real opportunity for a pilot project is not something we take for granted.
Amazing! Thank you for the awesome past few weeks. The experience has been fabulous, a lot of learnings on our end.
We're delighted to have completed the Open Horizons Inception Programme and to advance to the Piloting Phase in January. Huge appreciation to you and the InnovX & Pedal teams for orchestrating a complex programme on tight timelines; the coordination, clarity and support were excellent.
We are very grateful for this opportunity! Thank you so much! For us, this is a huge opportunity. We loved the Inception phase, it was challenging and we learned a lot!
It has been a pleasure to work with InnovX during the Open Horizons Challenge. InnovX had been the captain navigating both the corporates and the startups safely through the program. Their expertise and experience helped to achieve the targeted results and impactful project proposals.
The Open Horizons Inception program was a genuinely useful experience for us at PPC Romania. InnovX kept everything clear, structured, and easy to navigate, which made the alignment and PoC planning feel natural. Best of all, the startup matching was spot-on - ending up with a partner start-up that fits our challenge and a real opportunity for a pilot project is not something we take for granted.
Amazing! Thank you for the awesome past few weeks. The experience has been fabulous, a lot of learnings on our end.
We're delighted to have completed the Open Horizons Inception Programme and to advance to the Piloting Phase in January. Huge appreciation to you and the InnovX & Pedal teams for orchestrating a complex programme on tight timelines; the coordination, clarity and support were excellent.
We are very grateful for this opportunity! Thank you so much! For us, this is a huge opportunity. We loved the Inception phase, it was challenging and we learned a lot!
It has been a pleasure to work with InnovX during the Open Horizons Challenge. InnovX had been the captain navigating both the corporates and the startups safely through the program. Their expertise and experience helped to achieve the targeted results and impactful project proposals.
The Open Horizons Inception program was a genuinely useful experience for us at PPC Romania. InnovX kept everything clear, structured, and easy to navigate, which made the alignment and PoC planning feel natural. Best of all, the startup matching was spot-on - ending up with a partner start-up that fits our challenge and a real opportunity for a pilot project is not something we take for granted.
Amazing! Thank you for the awesome past few weeks. The experience has been fabulous, a lot of learnings on our end.
We're delighted to have completed the Open Horizons Inception Programme and to advance to the Piloting Phase in January. Huge appreciation to you and the InnovX & Pedal teams for orchestrating a complex programme on tight timelines; the coordination, clarity and support were excellent.
We are very grateful for this opportunity! Thank you so much! For us, this is a huge opportunity. We loved the Inception phase, it was challenging and we learned a lot!
Open Horizons Consortium Partners
Funded by the European Union under grant agreement No. 101193231, HORIZON-EIE-2024-CONNECT-01. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.