The Innovation Fund has published the results of the 2026 Startup Accelerator Programme. Following a competitive selection process that included application review, pitch sessions and panel interviews, 7 startup teams were selected to participate in the programme with a total grant allocation of EUR 245,000.
The selected cohort covers a wide range of technology sectors: brain-computer interfaces, sustainable construction materials, smart irrigation, edge computing, rapid pathogen detection, AI-powered sports analytics and pedestrian safety applications. All seven teams completed the 12-week acceleration curriculum and presented their progress at the programme's final Demo Day event.
Grant agreements for all selected teams have been signed and project implementation is underway. Several teams have already initiated conversations with angel investors and regional venture capital funds following their Demo Day presentations.
Winners
Project name
Brain-Computer Interface Prototype
Project description
MVP development of a non-invasive brain-computer interface for motor-impaired users, enabling hands-free control of digital devices through EEG signal processing.
Project name
Sustainable Construction Materials
Project description
Development and testing of building insulation panels made from agricultural waste fibres, offering a lower-carbon alternative to conventional materials.
Project name
Smart Irrigation System
Project description
IoT-based precision irrigation system that adjusts water delivery based on real-time soil moisture, weather forecasts and crop type to minimise water waste on farms.
Project name
Edge Computing Platform
Project description
A lightweight edge computing middleware enabling industrial IoT devices to process and act on sensor data locally, reducing latency and cloud bandwidth dependency.
Project name
Rapid Pathogen Detection
Project description
Development of a portable biosensor device that detects common bacterial pathogens in food and water samples within minutes, without requiring laboratory infrastructure.
Project name
AI Sports Analytics
Project description
An AI video analysis platform for sports clubs that automatically tracks player movements, generates performance metrics and produces tactical insights from match footage.
Project name
Pedestrian Safety App
Project description
A mobile app and municipal dashboard that uses crowdsourced incident reports and traffic data to identify and alert users to pedestrian safety hotspots in real time.
