EIT Culture & Creativity is proud to announce the selection for the first cohort of our Acceleration (Shape) & Post-Acceleration (Scale) Programmes 2025.
These 27 ventures, from 16 countries, will receive tailored business support designed to help them scale, attract investments, and expand into international markets. Top-performing participants will receive financial prizes of up to €60,000. The programmes address a critical gap in Europe’s innovation ecosystem for the cultural and creative sectors and industries (CCSI), and benefit from €495,000 in funding – half of the total €990,000 available, with the remaining to be awarded to a second cohort, which will be announced in August.
From transforming hard-to-recycle garments into sustainable knitwear to video games designed to support children on the autism spectrum, these ventures represent a rich mix of innovations across our five key focus areas: fashion, architecture, gaming, cultural heritage and audio-visual media. The cohort’s diversity extends beyond sectors, with female founders leading one third of the selected ventures.
The selected ventures are kicking the programme off in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, on 14–16 July 2025. Over three days of focused training and peer exchange, participants will sharpen their vision, explore funding models, strengthen leadership skills, and refine their pitching techniques – while connecting with local industry leaders, investors, and key stakeholders.
Here are the selected ventures, all addressing pressing challenges within the CCSI.
Pictured: Javier Arias, Director of Business Creation, welcoming participants during the kick-off meeting in Amsterdam | Photos by Anisa Xhomaqi
For the Acceleration (Shape) Programme 2025:
Responsible storytelling for children
Fabler is an early-stage start-up pioneering generative audio-visual storytelling for children in a responsible way. Through their AI-powered platform, parents can create personalized stories, narrated in their own (cloned) voice, fostering emotional connections. Fabler operates on a freemium model with optional subscription for premium content and features, operating at the intersection of media innovation and family wellness. Their plans for the future include expanding into educational and therapeutic licensing partnerships.
BeletrinaDigitalPRO – Professional Audio-Visual Institutional Service
Beletrina offers a multilingual, audio-visual platform that curates high-quality content (films, audiobooks, podcasts and articles) for companies, hospitals, educational institutions and other partners. Through a subscription-based business model, they enable organisations to use cultural content in onboarding, well-being and educational processes. Revenue is generated through tiered license packages with analytics, user management and AI-based content recommendations, turning cultural content into a scalable service for institutional users.
The International Media, Austria
The International is a Viennese local media outlet that features daily news, podcasts, and events for Austrian residents who speak English better than German. It is operated by the start-up Crossroads Media GmbH, which has generated revenue through partnerships from the public and private sectors through events, press coverage, and audio-visual production services (podcasts, events, and corporate videos).
Frame Rate uses machine learning to make electronic music composition accessible. The project combines generative AI with cutting-edge sensora, sound & light technologies to create the unique “MUTAT10NS AI” product solution. While Frame Rate began as a traditional audiovisual media company in 2020, it has since become rather an experience agency, providing immersive and exciting experiences for its clients.
Innovating digital gamified education for music
Museverse s.r.o. is an early-stage start-up creating an AI-enabled XR platform to gamify and modernize music education. Leveraging virtual reality technology, the company empowers students to learn universal music concepts interactively, while also making music education more accessible. Museverse’s primary revenue streams are one-time app purchases (~10 USD) and additional transactions for premium educational content. With partners like SingularityNET, contributions from industry-leading XR developers, and functional prototypes validated in schools, Museverse is committed to reshaping how music is taught and experienced worldwide.
Decentralized cultural engagement & smart city wallet
QX is an innovative deep-tech company specializing in blockchain and decentralized identities. Their Web3 wallet empowers smart cities and brands to securely engage users without sharing personal data. The wallet generates revenue via subscriptions, API integrations, and transaction-based fees. The project has partnered with Coca-Cola HBC and is currently piloting in Athens.
Transforming the art market through a token and AI-based values system
GAIA Culture is transforming the art market by bridging the gap between digital and physical worlds, helping traditional and contemporary cultural outlets engage younger, digitally savvy audiences. Through exclusive events where tokens are included in ticket prices, attendees enjoy immersive experiences while investing in their favorite artists. GAIA enables artists to monetize their brand via a token- and AI-based value system, creating passive income and direct investor access. Revenue stems from service fees, platform transaction commissions, and data monetization through market insights and personalized offerings.
Making culture accessible while preserving it for future generations
Vreal is a Finnish start-up combining cultural heritage, technology, and wellbeing. It offers immersive virtual travel experiences that enable users to explore real locations through high-resolution, interactive tours. Their licensing model includes annual licenses and project-based services for municipalities, care homes, and cultural institutions. In the Spring of 2025, they ran a successful pilot with Finland’s four largest cities, offering weekly virtual tours to seniors with excellent engagement. Vreal also supports heritage preservation by digitally documenting fragile sites.
The all-in-one platform for circular waste management in fashion
Musthad is guiding fashion companies towards a zero-landfill future. They offer an automated, data-driven platform enabling circular waste management for fashion and textile companies, reducing waste and costs while maximizing value and revenue. They generate revenue from brands and manufacturers through an annual subscription, with pricing tiered to the volume of excess inventory managed via the platform.
The platform for dynamic web configurators, using AI and blockchain technology for sustainable fashion
REM Experience is an award-winning startup specializing in immersive technologies such as 3D simulators, VR training, AR apps for heritage, and games. With over 100 tailor-made digital projects delivered in Spain, Mexico, and Peru, they generate revenue through B2B custom development for education, tourism, culture, and industry. They’re now scaling their new platform, Dynamic Web Configurators with AI and Blockchain for Sustainable Fashion, which enables fashion creators to offer on-demand, personalized products.
Developing upcycled textile products and digital tools for B2B clients including municipalities, event centers, and fashion brands. Heartbeat Studio develops upcycled textile products and digital tools for B2B clients including municipalities, event centers, and fashion brands. Revenue sources include product sales, take-back and repair programs, and licensing of the DPP system.
Sustainable fabrics and cultural heritage
Adire Lounge is a sustainable textile start-up that revives the ancient art of Adire, an indigo dyeing technique, using eco-friendly techniques and agricultural waste like banana stems and corn husks to produce natural dyes and fabrics. They want to innovate the circular fashion economy. Their business model includes B2B sales of hand-dyed fabrics to fashion brands, a print-on-demand textile service, and workshops that promote cultural preservation. They generate revenue through wholesale orders, collaborations, and educational experiences centered on sustainable design.
Artisanal couture for a more inclusive and sustainable future
Lorenzo Seghezzi is an independent fashion brand, known for its artisanal approach to clothing, emphasizing handcrafted corsetry and bespoke garments that challenge traditional norms of gender, sizing, and mass production. Rooted in queer culture and inspired by the Milanese nightlife scene, the brand seeks to empower individuals through fashion as a form of self-expression and political statement. The brand follows a direct-to-consumer model, primarily through its e-commerce platform and physical atelier in Milan. It offers made-to-measure garments, ensuring each piece is tailored to the client’s individual body and identity. This approach not only reduces waste but also fosters a deeper connection between the garment and its wearer.
Producing unique renewable eco-friendly pigments
Bio4Life is a biotech start-up based in Turkey, focused on making the fashion industry more sustainable by developing microbial dyes from organic waste through cutting-edge biotechnology. They’ve successfully developed red and yellow pigment prototypes, both of which have passed rigorous tests, including fastness, ecological impact, allergen, and antibacterial tests, demonstrating the products’ potential for large-scale industrial use. A patent application for their innovative microbial dyeing process is under review. To further expand market reach, they are exploring cross-sector applications by providing samples to potential customers in adjacent industries, such as packaging and cosmetics.
Sustainable lifestyle design and digital innovation
Pure Domus works is developing a deep-tech platform, Nord Natur, that empowers small designers to showcase the full value of their products through transparency tools, cultural storytelling, and environmental impact data. Their business model includes monthly subscriptions for designers, sales commissions, and optional AI-powered features. Revenue is generated through platform access, e-commerce transactions, and premium digital services.
Empowering autistic children with life skills
Jam Up! Is a gamified self-care platform co-designed with over 250 families and professionals, supporting children aged 5–14 with daily tasks like getting dressed and brushing teeth, promoting independence and reducing family stress. It’s the flagship product of Spectrum Tailored Technologies (STT), an SME developing evidence-based digital health solutions for neurodivergent children and families. Jam Up! Will be licensed to NHS Trusts, local authorities, and employee benefit providers. This route enables wide-scale distribution through integration into digital health pathways. Parents and carers can subscribe through the mobile application. Future AI features will enhance personalisation, accessibility, and commercial value, enhancing international market entry and long-term sustainability.
Blue Donut Studios Ltd, United Kingdom
Virtual reality experiences for all
Blue Donut Studios is developing Horror in the Library: The Invitation, a VR horror escape room experience adapted from the eponymous board game. The project blends narrative storytelling and puzzle gameplay in a haunted mansion filled with interdimensional traps. They generate revenue through game and board game sales, and aim to expand into digital publishing with the Meta Quest store as the first commercial release.
Garmio (soon to be Roobai), Lithuania
Revolutionizing style discovery
Garmio is an AI fashion tech start-up revolutionizing style discovery. The application (Garmio) provides hyper-personalized outfit recommendations by intelligently blending users’ existing virtual wardrobes with new items from aggregated retail partners. The platform seeks to combat choice overload and reduce costly returns for consumers and brands. Revenue is generation through the subscriptions and affiliate commissions.
Transforming corporate well-being
Trainect was founded with the mission of transforming corporate wellbeing through technology. They offer a digital platform designed to support HR teams in measuring, managing, and improving employee wellbeing in a strategic and personalized way. Their solution integrates training content, interactive tools, real-time analytics, and a scientifically validated Wellbeing Assessment developed in collaboration with the University of Turin.
Time-travel play across sites of story and survival
With roots in audiovisual production and software development, Stak Media aims to develop a platform for time-travel adventure games that create in-depth experiences of how natural or man-made disasters have changed places and caused displacement for inhabitants. They are expanding into gaming, focusing on digital transition, cross-sector innovation, and sustainability. Their business model is based on platform licensing to cultural institutions, tourism operators, educational publishers, and independent game content developers. Revenue will come from licensing the platform.
Accelerating the sustainable hydrogen economy
Using extensive knowledge of chemistry and using different methods to fulfill various stakeholders’ needs, Ion Membranes provides built to purpose membranes for each application which enables customers to reach the highest possible efficiency. In addition to customized properties, they provide standardized higher performance in ion conductivity and thermal stability compared to other currently available commercial products.
For the Post-Acceleration (Scale) Programme 2025:
Empowering Independent Artists with Scalable Digital Infrastructure
Cosimo is a start-up building digital infrastructure for independent and emerging artists to document, showcase, & sell their work online. The platform combines portfolios, modular education, and AI-powered tools in one accessible hub. They operate a freemium subscription model (<£14.99/month) and generate additional revenue through institutional licensing (£5k–£15k/year/school) to universities. The platform has already attracted over 1,800 users, 5% of which have been converted to paying subscribers. They are now raising £350k to scale user acquisition, expand B2B sales across Europe, & continue our mission to equip independent artists with the professional skills and support to capitalise on their creative output.
Secure creative collaboration
Built by creators and for creators, fuse.space is the most secure collaboration platform for creators, safeguarding intellectual property (IP). Every uploaded file is paired with a legally recognized certificate, ensuring verifiable ownership and authenticity. The platform provides much needed authentification help, in the era of AI-generated content. The platform drives digital transformation, democratizing IP protection and fostering sustainable collaboration in the audio-visual sector. They are currently a pre-revenue startup in beta, with over 3,000 users shaping fuse.space and partnered with leading cybersecurity institutes (such as Fraunhofer SIT, CISPA).
Cultural mediation across Europe
BavAR[t] is an early-stage start-up developing a gamified augmented reality (AR) platform that brings art and cultural heritage into public spaces through immersive, location-based experiences. Users play a game, acting as art hunters on a mission to capture virtual artworks that have escaped from museums — a narrative that transforms cultural exploration into an engaging and playful quest. Inspired by Pokémon Go and Duolingo, the platform system uses points, achievements, missions, and daily challenges to boost user retention and engagement. This gamification layer is key to building an active cultural community and engaging audiences far beyond traditional museum visitors.
Building the Upcycle Fashion Ecosystem
Alterist powers an upcycle fashion ecosystem that uses creativity, technology and design to find value in textile waste and keep materials in circulation. Their online marketplace supports over 150 designers across 18 countries, offering a curated platform to sell their upcycle fashion collections. Their collaboration programme matches brands with designers to transform their waste materials/surplus stock into new products. Alterist itself manages the process, from design and production to storytelling and measurable impact reporting.
Data Intelligence and Productivity Suite for Sustainable Culture and Regional Growth
Eventwood is a location intelligence startup, using data insights on visitor behaviour, spending, mobility, and CO₂ impact to empower employers. The platform integrates high-quality multisource data with advanced AI technology to generate unique, monetisable insights tailored for cultural heritage tourism, a step beyond conventional analytics. As a tool for municipalities, it enhances cultural attractiveness, improves public services (such as transport), and promotes inclusion (like youth engagement). It also addresses over-tourism, one of Europe’s key challenges, making it highly relevant for cities in the EIT Culture & Creativity network.
The Circular Renaissance of Italian Craft
Florania is an innovative circular and innovative fashion start-up, regenerating textile waste through proprietary upcycling techniques, AI-assisted design, and social tailoring. Their hybrid B2B/B2C business model includes product sales, tech licensing, consultancies, and educational workshops. They generate revenue through capsule collections, collaborations, online sales, and sustainability services. With a propietary AI app and ongoing R&D in smart inventory and 3D pattern-making, their goal is bringing Italian circular craftsmanship on a global scale — merging innovation, heritage, and inclusivity.
Join our online community, the Digital Hub, for more updates on our programmes.
