Throughout September, the BSC AI Factory brought the second call of its Incubation Programme to a close with a series of events in Barcelona, Lisbon and Bucharest. Each one brought together the incubated startups for a day combining project presentations and networking.
This second call is also the first to be hosted beyond Barcelona, with Incubation Spaces in Portugal (Lisbon and Guimarães) and Romania joining the Programme for the first time. Over the past months, the incubated companies developed their AI-based projects with access to trainings, technical support and European supercomputing resources.
The sessions were led by Arnau Cuatrecasas Bergnes de las Casas, BSC AI Factory Space Manager. In his remarks, he highlighted that the BSC AI Factory aims to give each cohort much more than infrastructure, a physical workspace and mentorship, by also opening the door to the investment ecosystem.
"With this second call, the Incubation Programme has crossed borders for the first time, and our ecosystem of AI-native companies keeps growing. We give these teams the tools and the space to meet, share ideas and build the right synergies that will help them grow faster and go further."
Barcelona
In Barcelona, the startups that took part in the second call presented their projects in a series of pitches, sharing the progress they have made over the course of the Programme. The participating companies were AI Readi, Agrikola AI, Elna Health, AllPriv, Easyspecs, Lyra AI, Maitic, Oppy and Story Data.
The event also served to introduce the new opportunities that the BSC AI Factory offers startups beyond the Incubation Programme, including the services available through the Accelerator Programme, so that the companies can keep growing with the support of the BSC AI Factory.
Portugal
The closing session of the second call in Portugal took place in Lisbon at TTC@Lisboa. It brought together the startups from both Portuguese Spaces, Lisbon and Guimarães, and marked the end of the first edition of the Incubation Programme held in the country.
At the session, four of the companies shared their journey, the challenges they tackled and what they achieved along the way: Algorithm G, presented by Gonçalo Perdigão; Buddy, presented by Guilherme Castro Mendes; Forecast Factor, presented by David Cowan; and NOVA Legal, presented by Rui Neves Ferreira. The day concluded with the awarding of participation diplomas.
Looking ahead, the third call of the Incubation Programme will welcome Porto as a new Space, replacing Guimarães, to maximise the impact of the programme in this country.
Romania
In Bucharest, the second call came to a close at ICI Bucharest, the institution hosting the Romanian Incubation Space, where the two startups that took part in the Programme, ISAD Academy and Infosec Center, received their certificates.
For over six months, both teams had access to the incubation space, dedicated activities and meetings that helped connect them more closely with the BSC AI Factory community. The Romanian Space is already preparing for the next stage, with two new startups to be selected through the third call of the Incubation Programme.
Our thanks go to all the participating teams in Barcelona, Portugal and Romania for their dedication and talent. This second call closes, but the journey continues: the third call is about to begin, and the BSC AI Factory ecosystem keeps on growing.