EU accelerator Data Pitch ploughs €7.1m into 18 startups

Data Pitch has revealed it'll contribute 100,000 in funding for each of the companies it's backing in Europe. In total, the Open Data Institute-backed scheme will plough 7.1 million into startups from the UK, France, Italy, Germany, Estonia, Denmark, France, Spain, Portugal, Lithuania and the Netherlands.

The companies selected out of a shortlist of 142 applicants will also receive mentoring, funding and support from major global data providers including Deutsche Bahn, Sonae, UniServ GMBH and Spazio Dati. They've been tasked with finding new ways to solve modern-day problems across multiple sectors, including healthcare, transport, tourism, manufacturing and retail.

"By bringing together large multinational companies and agile startups, Data Pitch is creating a new ecosystem of innovators across Europe, where collaboration and data sharing can help to solve problems that would otherwise be impossible," Data Pitch explained in a blog post.

UK-based Next Question, which is developing a machine learning-based retail inventory management system, was selected as part of the project, alongside Transformative AI, which is deploying AI tools that help spot physiological changes in hospital patients suffering from chronic conditions.

Italy's Pharmawizard was also selected as part of the scheme, which hopes to create an app that helps people source medicines from local pharmacists and find the best prices.

"This first Data Pitch cohort of startups shows the best of European data talent," said Elena Simperl, a professor at University of Southampton and Data Pitch project director.

"From identifying breaks in human bones with tools fuelled by machine-learning algorithms, to online concierge services for local authorities, to predictive maintenance algorithms for car repair shops, the first cohort of startups are tackling challenges for our health, transport and tourism sectors in new and unexpected ways."

Data Pitch's initiative is also supported by the University of Southampton, i-Beta and Dawex. it's funded by the EU's Horizon 2020 research and innovation initiative.