During it, eleven of the country’s most promising startups, selected by the “Plug and Play” investment committee, had the opportunity to present their ideas and make useful connections with potential investors.
Will seek to open up international opportunities for Lithuanian startups
Karolis Žemaitis, the Deputy Minister of Economy and Innovation, who participated in the event, said that this partnership with Plug and Play is extremely important for the Lithuanian startup ecosystem, which has great potential for growth, as it will help its participants become more visible and competitive in the international arena.
“It was a really difficult, challenging journey to attract an international accelerator to Lithuania – this was one of the promises and ideas we had in mind when we started working at the Ministry of Economy and Innovation. We had many discussions with the participants of the Lithuanian startup ecosystem, we asked what kind of help they lacked, and one of the most frequently heard wishes was international visibility and world-class players in Lithuania. I want to be happy that we did it,” shared K. Žemaitis.
He was seconded by Karolina Urbonaitė, who took up the position of head of Startup Lithuania a few days ago. According to her, attracting such an important service provider, accelerator and venture capital fund to Lithuania is of great importance and would not be possible without the close cooperation between Startup Lithuania and the Ministry of Economy and Innovation.
“Today, standing on this stage, I feel very special. First of all, because I am a former member of the “Plug and Play” team in Silicon Valley, I also had the honor of leading this accelerator program project for the last few months, and today I am officially the head of “Startup Lithuania”.
On behalf of the entire organization, I want to express a huge thanks to the Ministry of Economy and Innovation for its initiatives, for understanding the importance of innovative startups and the fact that our startup ecosystem has grown tremendously in the last few years. Also, a big thank you to the entire Startup Lithuania team for their trust and support and to Plug and Play – such an important global player joining our ecosystem is fantastic and we are looking forward to what this program will bring us,” said K. Urbonaitė.
The first cycle of the acceleration program includes 11 most promising businesses
Speaking about the goals of this international acceleration program, Plug and Play representative Raimondas Pili said that the company started its operations in Lithuania with the aim of growing early-stage technology startups, helping them to attract investments and open up international opportunities: “We are proud to be the first international investors starting operations in Lithuania .
In recent months, we have worked very diligently and although the journey ahead will be difficult, we will ensure the development and internationalization of the ecosystem of Lithuanian startups, we will help them establish useful connections and opportunities for international cooperation.”
Startups selected by the Plug and Play committee presented their ideas during the Accelerator Kick-Off event. There were eleven in total: virtual AI assistants that can help optimize human work, the development of AQ22, the creation of Boop, an app for animal care, the creation of eTOLLs EU, a convenient way to pay road tolls while traveling.
Innovative technology solutions that enable people with disabilities or special needs to access websites and web applications Developing Kloosive, an automated money laundering screening tool for participants in decentralized cryptocurrency markets Developing Micapass, personalized DNA analysis and injury prevention for athletes , faster recovery and better performing Ingenes.
Axcenna, which provides AI-based website and media content reviews and recommendations, Biohifs, a new food technology startup using mycelium and other components, SpotGo, an AI-powered trading platform, White Bridge AI, developers of a virtual reputation tool, and Uncovered, who are building an AI-powered competitive intelligence automation platform for B2B companies.
Lithuanian startups – almost 6 million. euro investments
In total, until 2026 5 acceleration cycles will be implemented in Lithuania in March, and the most promising startups of the program will have the opportunity to participate in the Global Foreign Acceleration and Learning Program (GOAL) in Silicon Valley and other events that will take place in various European cities.
The participants of the program will also receive mentoring from global experts, participate in creative workshops for the presentation of ideas, consult with the “Plug and Play” team and present their innovative ideas to potential investors and representatives of international companies at the final event.
One of the most important parts of the program is the opportunity to use a wide global Plug and Play network with the largest corporations. It will help start-ups establish useful connections and discover opportunities for international cooperation. In addition, the selected startups will be able to join other useful Plug and Play implementation programs.
During the entire program implementation period, the US company plans to invest 5.9 million. euros to at least 45 startups.
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2024-04-08 05:27:37