After four weeks of intensive training, strategic refinement, and rigorous evaluation, the Open Horizons project is proud to announce the five startups selected to move forward into the 5-month Piloting Phase. These teams demonstrated exceptional commitment, clarity, and readiness to co-develop real Proof-of-Concept (PoC) projects with leading European corporates.
Inception Phase beyond training
The Inception Phase challenged startups to go beyond presenting an idea. They were indeed requested to show their clarity and ability to execute it.
Over four weeks, teams engaged in:
- Business Model Canvas (BMC) workshops
- Corporate alignment sessions
- Proof of Concept (PoC) planning and technical refinement
- Legal readiness training
- Investor and corporate collaboration workshops
- 1:1 reviews with mentors, InnovX experts, and corporate partners
All activities were designed to verify strategic fit, technical feasibility, and team readiness before entering the piloting stage.
What it took to advance
To qualify for the Pilot Phase, startups were required to:
- Attend all mandatory sessions, including kickoff, BMC workshops, corporate meetings, mentoring reviews, and final evaluations
- Submit two high-quality deliverables:
– Business Model Canvas
– Proof of Concept Plan, with clearly defined Key Performance Indicator (KPIs), timeline, risks, and milestones
- Demonstrate strong alignment with the matched corporate challenge
- Show feasibility, clarity, and commitment throughout the process
Only the startups who met all criteria and surpassed the evaluation thresholds were selected, and secured the 10,000 € foreseen to implement Inception Phase.
The selection of the five Pilot Phase startups followed a two-layer evaluation process combining corporate insight with expert assessment. The first layer was managed by corporate evaluators (LG Future Home, PPC Romania, Stahl, Siemens, and ELYAF) who reviewed only their matched startup. In parallel, the Inception Programme Expert Panel, composed of
Dr. Daniel Dumitrescu, Dr. Diana Dumitrescu, Dr. György Bodó, and Elena Barsu, and InnovX team, evaluated all startups using the official scoring grid.
Their assessment covered corporate relevance, PoC robustness, business clarity, scalability potential, team readiness, and overall engagement throughout the programme.
This approach ensures a real-world validation from industry players, together with a holistic and criteria-based analysis about the startups’ ability to run successful pilots.
Announcing the winners: meet the 5 startups
These five startups represent a diverse set of solutions across energy, circular economy, AI for smart living, predictive analytics, and material innovation. They are all aligned with real-market needs expressed by our corporate partners.
Challenge: Data-driven energy management and predictive analytics
Delivers AI-powered insights to help industries reduce energy consumption and emissions through smart, predictive optimisation.
Challenge: Innovative automatic forecasting using public data
Transforms open datasets into forward-looking analytics that support better decision-making for policy, business, and sustainability.
Challenge: Smart home innovation
Creates privacy-first ambient AI — without cameras or wearables — to support safer independent living and optimize energy use.
Challenge: Circular economy & sustainable materials
Converts textile waste into high-performance sustainable materials through advanced recycling and bio-engineering.
Challenge: Intelligent grid flexibility and congestion management
Develops an orchestration platform that helps utilities manage flexible loads, prevent grid congestion, and integrate renewables.
What is ahead in Open Horizons
Starting from January 2026, the selected startups will officially enter the 5-month Piloting Phase. Here, they will co-implement their Proof-of-Concept together with their matched corporate partner. This stage will be all about execution, validation, and scale-up assessment.
Congratulations to all selected teams. We can’t wait to see your solutions grow from structured plans into real pilots with European industry leaders.
