Home EIT Culture & Creativity announces second round of startups for its Acceleration & Post-Acceleration Programmes 2025 

EIT Culture & Creativity is proud to announce the second cohort of its Shape Acceleration and Scale Post-Acceleration Programmes 2025.

 

A total of 37 ventures from 18 countries have been selected, spanning fashion, architecture, gaming, cultural heritage, and audio-visual media. Together they showcase the next wave of tech-enabled cultural innovation, with social impact and sustainability at their core. 

 

The Shape Acceleration Programme welcomed 20 startups ready to refine their products and prepare to scale. Many are working with AI, immersive media, and sustainability – from mobile-first family storytelling and gamified education to circular fashion and new bio-based materials. 

 

The Scale Post-Acceleration Programme brings in 17 established ventures and scale-ups set to expand internationally. Their innovations range AI-powered adaptive learning and gamified cybersecurity to VR tourism, post-production automation, and carbon-cutting solutions or sustainability tools. 

 

Pictured: Javier Arias, Director of Business Creation, welcoming participants during the kick-off meeting in Bologna | Photos by Lorenzo Burlando

 

“These programmes not only support the immediate growth of high-potential ventures, but also help build a resilient, pan-European innovation ecosystem that sustains long-term value. By addressing structural barriers such as fragmented markets and limited access to finance, we aim to empower startups and scaleups to become investment-ready and internationally competitive,” stated Javier Arias, Director of Business Creation at EIT Culture & Creativity 

 

Selected from 130 applications, with particularly strong participation from the United Kingdom, Germany, Türkiye, and Italy, this second cohort follows the successful launch of cohort one in July 2025

 

Both programmes kicked off in Bologna from 16 to 18 September with the support of our Regional Hub South, where the ventures came together for three days of workshops, mentoring, and peer-to-peer exchange. In the months ahead, participants will continue a tailored growth journey, gaining expert-led support and access to EIT Culture & Creativity’s European network of investors and industry leaders. 

 

Next up is the EIT Culture & Creativity Demo Day, where prizes of up to €60,000 will be awarded to top-performing ventures in each cohort. Additional pitching events across Europe will further connect the startups with investors, partners, and cultural stakeholders. 

 

Read on for the full list of selected startups for Cohort 2. 

 

Pictured: 2025 Shape and Scale Cohort 2 | Photos by Lorenzo Burlando

 

Shape – Cohort 2

Body.Scratch, Netherlands 
Learning programming through movement 

Body.Scratch is an AI-powered immersive game that teaches 8–16-year-olds programming through dance. Combining physical activity, computer vision, and live AI assistance, it addresses screen time concerns, teacher shortages, and the digital skills gap in primary and secondary schools. Revenue comes from annual licences, bootcamps, and digital assets, with 14 active pilots, 400+ users, and 80+ B2B waitlist entries, setting the stage for European and global expansion. 

Brand Creatives, France 
Luxury leather goods with a sustainable focus 

Brand Creatives designs and produces handbags from innovative materials such as recycled salmon leather and cactus-based biomaterials. Combining direct-to-consumer and wholesale channels, it reaches global audiences through e-commerce, pop-ups, and high-end multi-brand retailers. The brand’s circular and sustainable DNA underpins its growth across Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.

Calico Media Interactive Ltd., Ireland 
Cross-platform and immersive media production

Calico Media creates original intellectual property (IP) and collaborates with IP holders to develop hybrid, cross-platform storytelling formats. By combining data, community-building, and digital technology, the company makes content internationally scalable. Currently, revenue comes from service work and original content development, while longer-term plans include launching software products that complement the content offering and can be spun off as independent revenue streams.

 

Decast.Live, Portugal 
Secure and decentralised live broadcasting

Decast.Live is a research-driven start-up specialising in video infrastructure platforms. Its flagship product,provides secure, decentralised live streaming for journalists, event organisers, creators, lawyers, and corporate clients. The platform combines IaaS and SaaS models, working with decentralised cloud storage platforms such as Sia and Swarm and integrating DID secure identity technology. Revenue comes primarily from grants and strategic partnerships, reflecting the company’s focus on innovative, scalable live streaming solutions since its 2023 launch.

Djooky, Ukraine 
Web3 and AI-powered music investment 

Djooky transforms song royalties into tradable digital assets, enabling artists to tokenise royalties and investors to earn passive income. Its AI agent supports discovery, risk assessment, and automated investing. Revenue is generated through primary and secondary transaction commissions. Spun off from a BaFin-regulated Web2 platform, Djooky is scaling globally with regulatory backing and growing investor interest. 

Ecodicta, Spain 
SaaS for fashion sustainability assessment 

Ecodicta helps fashion brands assess and communicate sustainability through a data-driven scoring system. Its freemium SaaS platform unlocks full features and certification with paid subscriptions, e-commerce integration, and advanced analytics. With ten pilot brands onboard, it is scaling across European SMEs, supporting transparent environmental impact communication.

Escena 4.0, Spain 
Modular, sustainable stage systems 

Escena 4.0 delivers modular, energy-autonomous stages for festivals, events, and corporate clients, integrating solar power, audiovisual technology, and plug-and-play assembly. Its business model combines direct sales, rentals, and B2B partnerships with distributors, with revenue from sales, leasing, licensing, and ongoing service upgrades. The start-up transforms live experiences through scalable, sustainable event infrastructure that reduces setup time, costs, and CO₂ emissions.

EOOS NEXT, Austria 
Innovative hygiene solutions for low-resource settings 

EOOS NEXT is a Vienna-based social enterprise innovating in the Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) sector. Its self-initiated SafeTap faucet delivers cost-effective, easy-to-install hygiene solutions for low-resource and mobile environments, including NGOs, disaster relief camps, festivals, and architectural projects like tiny homes and playgrounds. Revenue comes from product sales, high-volume contracts, and strategic R&D partnerships. By combining design expertise with scalable, sustainable solutions, EOOS NEXT aligns economic viability with social and environmental impact. 

Gamegine, Türkiye 
Open-world survival and cultural gaming 

Gamegine is developing an open-world survival and crafting game inspired by Eurasian nomadic cultures. With immersive storytelling, seasonal dynamics, and resource management, it combines B2C sales on Steam and Epic with B2B licensing for cultural and educational platforms, delivering both engaging gameplay and heritage education.

Irisphera, Romania 
AI-powered personalised fashion retail 

Irisphera enhances fashion retail with AI-driven outfit recommendations, virtual try-on, and personalised shopping experiences. Its platform reduces returns, boosts conversions, and strengthens customer loyalty by integrating digital and in-store interactions, helping retailers optimise both physical and online sales. 

Kami, Türkiye 
Immersive digital storytelling 

Kami connects creators and readers through interactive visual narratives in webcomics and next-generation media. With 1.6 M users and 400 M monthly sessions, it monetises via in-app tokens, ads, and subscriptions. With strong traction in Türkiye and over 150K international installs, Kami is preparing for global expansion.

Moonshoot, Germany 
Fostering innovation through play 

Moonshoot helps organisations generate ideas and foster creativity through play. Its game creates a dynamic, experimental space where teams compete playfully while developing new concepts and solutions for strategic challenges. Revenue comes from Moonshot toolkits, workshops, and training through the Moonshot Academy, with deployments such as Moonshot EDU in German schools via the Deutsche Telekom Foundation.

Myconom, Türkiye 
Sustainable mycelium-based materials 

Myconom develops biodegradable composites from mycelium and upcycled agricultural waste, primarily for acoustic panels in interior design and architecture. Operating on a B2B model, revenue comes from direct sales, custom design services, and collaborative R&D projects with architects, designers, and manufacturers. The start-up supports circular economy principles with low-carbon, non-toxic materials that naturally biodegrade at the end of their lifecycle, safely returning to the soil. 

Seenergy, Portugal 
Furniture as silent indoor power plants 

Seenergy turns everyday furniture into silent indoor power sources by embedding innovative solar cells that capture light from rooms and convert it into electricity. Its hybrid model combines direct sales, bespoke B2B installations, and future royalty-bearing licences. Pilots delivered over €20K revenue in 2024, with break-even expected by 2027, positioning the start-up for sustainable growth. 

Scent Bubble, UK 
AI-powered wearable fragrance 

Scent Bubble is a wearable fragrance platform that fuses perfumery, neuroscience, and AI to deliver personalised, micro-doses of scent based on wellbeing and environmental data from smartphones and smartwatches. Offering clinically backed benefits such as anxiety reduction, it also provides a sustainable alternative to single-use perfume bottles, with a refillable, circular design that drastically reduces waste. The start-up generates revenue through B2B licensing and royalties for global beauty brands, as well as B2C app subscriptions, with projected revenue of €30 M by 2032.

Sustein Material, Italy 
Turning medical waste into circular building materials 

Sustein Material is a mission-driven start-up commercialising a circular economy solution that transforms hazardous medical waste into high-performance, beautifully designed building materials. The company aims to build circular cities by turning local waste into local products on a global scale through a replicable system that upcycles 70% of healthcare waste. Revenue comes from B2B sales and pilot collaborations, with technology focused on closed-loop recycling and upcycling of hard-to-recycle textiles and plastics, adaptable to diverse waste management systems. 

Trendia, Spain 
AI-powered social media content creation

Trendia’s AI platform enables brands, agencies, and creators to detect trends and produce engaging content. Operating on a SaaS model with freemium and enterprise tiers, the start-up has validated demand with 20 pilot clients and 60 companies on the waitlist, generating recurring revenue through analytics and content optimisation.

Virtual Story, Georgia 
Interactive storytelling for education and family engagement 

Virtual Story combines gamification, education, and family interaction via a freemium app. Premium subscriptions unlock advanced stories, while B2B licensing expands use in schools and educational centres. The start-up is growing in Georgia and preparing for Eastern European and global expansion with culturally relevant content. 

Wenroll, Georgia 
On-the-go expert-led learning 

Wenroll offers a mobile learning app with expert-led, localised video masterclasses in native languages. Subscription revenue supports both learners and content creators. With 35K downloads and 1,400 paying users in Georgia, the scale-up is expanding into Spain and Spanish-speaking markets, delivering culturally relevant, scalable learning.

ZUNO Games, Montenegro 
AI-powered educational games 

ZUNO Games is transforming how schools, universities, and cultural institutions teach through AI-powered educational games. The platform converts static content into mobile-first learning games in just two weeks, and with 15 pilots and over 90,000 users, it has proven to boost motivation and learning outcomes. ZUNO monetises via a shared SaaS platform or custom-branded apps, combining speed, autonomy, and high-quality content to empower institutions to create and adapt their digital learning experiences at scale. 

 

Scale – cohort 2 

Agent Pekka, Finland 
Scaling premium illustration globally 

Agent Pekka is a leading illustration agency scaling internationally through physical expansion and a new digital licensing platform. Representing over 50 world-class artists, it bridges the gap in the global market for curated, high-quality commercial illustration and licensing. With offices in Helsinki, Amsterdam, Los Angeles, and Paris, and Shanghai next on the horizon – expanding its physical presence to 20 cities in total – the agency is building sustainable growth for artists while capturing new international markets. 

ArtCentrica, Italy 
Reinventing art education and interdisciplinary learning 

ArtCentrica is transforming how art is taught and experienced through a digital platform that connects art to broader learning. With over 8,000 high-resolution images from global museums including the Uffizi, Brera, and the MET, schools and universities use it to enrich curricula across subjects. Beyond education, bespoke projects—such as National Geographic’s Greatest Wildlife Photographs—showcase its ability to blend software licensing with creative services, while AI-powered interactive narratives like Renaissance and the Silk Road point to a future of immersive learning. 

Artist Arena, Sweden 
Scaling European artists globally through AI 

Artist Arena helps emerging European artists reach international audiences with AI-powered discovery tools and curated physical showrooms. Supporting over 300 artists from 18 countries, its hybrid model combines digital innovation with prestigious spaces, including the renowned Nordiska Kompaniet department store in Stockholm, alongside five other physical locations. With strong growth in both online sales and social reach, the company is now expanding to New York while developing live and AI-driven services requested by its members. 

Black Goblin, UK 
AI-driven post-production for film and TV 

Black Goblin is reshaping film & TV post-production with Thol, an AI-enhanced platform that automates the labour-intensive process of sound spotting. Built for freelancers as well as large studios, it saves hundreds of hours per project. With early validation through a paid R&D collaboration with the BBC and tests with leading sound designers, the company is preparing for a Private Beta to refine its technology alongside industry professionals.

COMET, UK 
Breakthrough lens simulation for VFX, gaming, and AI 

COMET is developing advanced lens simulation technology for VFX, gaming, and AI, capturing realistic lens effects and visual distortions with unprecedented speed. Its SaaS tools—NODE PRO SDK and NODE ML API—cut simulation time by 90% while modeling 14 types of lens effects compared with 2–3 in traditional tools. Targeting studios and AI companies, COMET positions itself as a breakthrough provider of scalable, automated lens simulation for high-end production and generative media. 

CRATER Studio, Serbia 
Scaling real-time content production 

CRATER Studio delivers high-end visual storytelling for film, streaming, gaming, and interactive media through Unreal Engine–powered real-time workflows. The scale-up is expanding across Europe, combining client services with proprietary toolkits to make production more scalable and accessible. With a strong track record of international projects and repeat clients, CRATER is driving growth while fostering innovation and sustainability in the creative industries. 

Green Producers Club (GPC), Norway 
Sustainability tools for culture and sports 

Green Producers Club empowers cultural and sports organisations to cut emissions with the Green Producers Tool, a science-based carbon tool. Backed by EU grants and Nordic institutions, the platform is already used by its network of over 500 organisations. Combining SaaS, memberships, and advisory services, GPC is expanding across Europe with AI integration and certification, aiming to become the sector’s standard tool for sustainability. 

Immersive Fox, UK 
AI-powered personalised learning at scale 

Immersive Fox partners with human experts to transform long-form content into adaptive, outcome-driven courses in minutes. Its platform empowers coaches, educators, and organisations to deliver personalised learning experiences at scale. Already used by enterprises, SMEs, and a growing community of course creators, it operates on a SaaS model that combines subscriptions, API access, and premium services, making scalable education simple and accessible. 

Mae, Germany 
Building a global creative community through art 

 Mae is redefining how people connect through art, combining an AI-powered creative social network with curated digital and in-person experiences. Users engage freely online, while paid memberships unlock exclusive events and deeper community connections. The platform is already building a fast-growing community, with a vision to create the first truly global creative network, blending digital belonging with real-world encounters. 

MusicGurus, UK 
Interactive video-based music learning

MusicGurus delivers Europe’s leading interactive video-based music learning experience. Partnering with publishers such as Universal, Sony, and Schott, and aligned with syllabi from the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM) and Trinity College London, its platform combines video lessons with synchronised sheet music. Now preparing to integrate AI-powered tools for practice and recommendations, MusicGurus is redefining how students engage with music and accelerate their learning.

Renesandro AI, Ukraine 
AI-powered marketing automation 

Renesandro AI is a Kyiv-based deep-tech start-up building a full-cycle, AI-powered marketing automation platform. It helps performance-driven companies create and test ad creatives up to ten times faster than traditional, reducing costs and combating creative fatigue. The subscription-based platform has supported €3M in ad spend and delivered over 100,000 creatives. Targeting tech and product-driven companies, the start-up is refining its product while scaling internationally. 

Sentric, Italy 
Automating product information for retailers 

Sentric simplifies product information management for European multi-brand retailers. Its SaaS platform provides accurate, up-to-date product data – including images and descriptions – directly from a central database, removing the burden of manual entry. Founded by experienced retail professionals, the company offers flexible subscriptions and pay-per-use pricing, helping retailers save time and ensure accuracy across digital sales channels. 

Take a Planet, Portugal
Immersive VR/AR experiences for sustainable travel

Take a Planet combines tourism and immersive media to promote sustainable travel. Through VR/360°, gamification, and AI personalisation, the company creates interactive destination experiences for eco-conscious travellers and cultural institutions. Alongside group tourism, its multimedia content supports tourism boards globally, driving growth through a mix of innovative digital products and sustainable travel services.

Valvur, Estonia 
Gamified cybersecurity for young gamers 

Valvur protects young gamers through a gamified platform that combines advanced encryption, predictive AI, and digital trust tools. Designed for schools, esports federations, and public institutions, it also offers premium features for parents and partnerships with companies to support social impact. With collaborations including the Estonian Cybersecurity Center, Valvur is building a safety layer for digital youth experiences across Europe. 

Wizama, France 
Reconnecting generations through immersive gaming 

Wizama brings the joy of face-to-face play back to gaming with SquareOne, a patented ecosystem merging video games and board games through connected dice, cards, and pawns. Winner of a CES Innovation Award, the platform supports titles from major publishers such as Ravensburger and Asmodee. Already presold internationally, Wizama is preparing for global growth while redefining how generations play together. 

YellowScan, France 
Global reference in LiDAR mapping for drones 

YellowScan develops sensors for drones that create highly accurate 3D maps—even through water and vegetation—using laser-based LiDAR technology. Designed and produced in France, its technology supports surveying, forestry, and environmental monitoring worldwide. With subsidiaries in the USA and Japan and a distributor network spanning 50+ countries, YellowScan has grown into a global reference for drone-based mapping solutions.

ZERØTEC, UK 
AI-powered sustainability for fashion manufacturing 

ZERØTEC helps fashion manufacturers reduce material waste and carbon emissions by up to 15% per garment, saving around 2 kg of CO₂, thanks to patented machine-learning technology. Launched in early 2025 after two years of R&D, it has already gained traction with over 200 users, including leading brands. Its subscription-based SaaS platform serves teams of all sizes, making cutting-edge sustainability accessible while aiming to transform fashion into a sector where efficiency and environmental responsibility go hand in hand. 

Share