In recent years, several SMEs have secured valuable EU funding.
It is well known that the presence of European institutions in Brussels is, in itself, an invaluable asset for the capital's economic influence. But beyond that, Europe also plays a driving role in the development of businesses in the capital through its various research and innovation support programs. Horizon Europe, its flagship program, has a budget of more than €90 billion. Through open and competitive calls for proposals, it funds projects submitted by various research centers and companies across Europe.
This is an exercise in which our economic players excel. Between 2021 and 2024, no less than €1.2 billion in funding has been granted to Brussels-based organizations international associations, companies, research centers, universities according to a report published last summer by hub.brussels and Innoviris. This puts Brussels in fourth place among beneficiary regions, just behind Paris, Munich, and Barcelona. Among these organizations, 111 Brussels-based SMEs have received a total of €140 million in aid. “They account for 77% of Horizon Europe funding granted to the Belgian private sector,” the report adds.
AI for new remedies
But who are these companies that, often with the help of Hub Brussels' National Contact Point, have secured valuable funding? Unsurprisingly, most of them operate in sectors and areas that Europe has made a priority in recent years. Many are active in healthcare, but also in energy, artificial intelligence, mobility, and food.
Among them is the pioneer Kantify, whose AI technology can predict the unknown effects of drugs. The Atlas it has developed lists the interactions between nearly 80,000 known molecules or natural compounds with all known human proteins, representing 1.4 billion possible scenarios. This solution could ultimately revolutionize the development of new treatments for rare diseases. Together with other European partners, Kantify secured €1.6 million in European funding in 2023.
“A total of 111 Brussels-based SMEs have benefited from €140 million in aid.”
Other examples include Axiles Bionics, a manufacturer of advanced prosthetics, and moveUP, whose applications collect, structure, and synthesize data from patients at home. These applications enable hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, and medtech companies to remotely monitor rehabilitation or understand the progression of symptoms and responses to treatment. Both medtech companies have received support from the European Innovation Council (EIC) and its highly selective EIC Accelerator program. “Given its weight and credibility, the EIC's validation of our plans clearly helped to unlock private shareholder investment,” explains Charles-Eric Winandy, director and co-founder of moveUP. With Belgian serial entrepreneur Bart Becks on its board, this EU investment fund dedicated to innovative SMEs has seen its resources greatly strengthened in order to support European deep tech.
The eyes of robots
The CEI has invested nearly €2.5 million to accelerate the development of VoxelSensors. A leader in its field, the Brussels-based company, founded in 2020, develops AI-powered 3D laser perception sensors for virtual reality glasses, autonomous vehicles, drones, and robots. Its technology has already won over Qualcomm, the American chip giant, with which it has signed a development partnership.
For the past five years, the start-up Octave has been developing energy storage systems using old lithium-ion batteries from electric cars. In 2022, it received a €1 million grant from the EIC. Another beneficiary of European funds—more than €4 million in total—Beeodiversity is an advanced environmental research firm that deploys bee colonies to measure environmental pollution, pesticide levels, and biodiversity using AI. Offering its services to farmers, manufacturers, and municipalities keen to monitor their impact, the Brussels-based start-up counts UCB, Suez, and Worldline among its clients.
There are also several Brussels beneficiaries in the consulting sector, such as the law firm Timelex (through its participation in a project on the European energy system), the marine observation specialist Seascape, and, in Saint Gilles, the consultant White Research, which specializes in market analysis and innovation management. All of these players have demonstrated the quality of their projects and secured valuable European funding.
Beci supports Brussels-based companies in their development and access to European opportunities. Find out about the funding available.