On the 20th of September 2019, the PARSEC Accelerator launched its first Open Call for applications. The Accelerator invites all SMEs, start-ups and aspiring founders keen to develop Earth based innovations for the Food, Energy or Environment sectors to apply. Applications should be submitted before the 20th of December 2019 at 17:00 CET here. Winners of this Open Call will receive €10.000 equity-free funding and access the PARSEC Accelerator business ecosystem and support services.
The PARSEC Accelerator aims to fuel innovation with Earth Observation. The Earth Observation sector is currently undergoing rapid changes, together with the maturation and convergence of a number of important enabling technologies such as cloud computing, the Internet of Things, big data and artificial intelligence. On top of this, the European Union’s Copernicus programme, operational since 2014 with its dedicated Sentinel satellites, generates over 1,5 terrabytes of data every day, which is freely and openly available for use by citizens, scientists and businesses. Consequently, Earth Observation presents an enormous opportunity for boosting the productivity, innovation and competitiveness of European SMEs and start-ups, especially in emerging industries such as food, energy and environment. The PARSEC Accelerator is created to seize this opportunity and enable new businesses make faster and better decisions by exploiting Earth Observation capabilities.
The Open Call 1 is the entry point into the PARSEC Accelerator and the first of two stages of the acceleration programme. The 100 selected winners will benefit from a broad range of services including: financial support (10.000 € per winner) and business services such as online and on-site matchmaking facilities, a comprehensive training program and an on-site bootcamp. Supported by the PARSEC Accelerator, they will develop their market intelligence and network with other companies to form cross-border and cross-sectoral consortia. The participation in the PARSEC Accelerator will enable the newly formed consortia to finetune and endorse their innovative ideas and develop sound business plans.
The consortia can later apply to the PARSEC Accelerator Open Call 2 and defend their new business in front of a jury at the PARSEC Demo Day. 15 winning consortia will access the PARSEC Accelerator Second Stage support services, including €100.000 funding per consortia, to launch their innovations into the market.