After a 2-month call for projects, the European Startup Prize for Mobility (EUSP) closed its 5th edition on June 20 with a record number of applications. As co-founder of the EUSP – alongside Karima Delli and the Boston Consulting Group – Via ID has drawn up a portrait of the innovative companies in intelligent and sustainable mobility that are candidates for this edition (based on eligible startups).
The European Startup Prize for Mobility: a record 5th edition
The European Startup Prize for Mobility aims to help tomorrow’s leaders in sustainable mobility to emerge, through an acceleration and investment program unprecedented in Europe.
Once again this year, Europe’s sustainable mobility startups didn’t miss a beat: over 700 startups applied for the 2023 edition of the EUSP in the hope of benefiting from:
- Tailored support from Roland Berger and access to Via ID‘s acceleration program dedicated to European expansion.
- Investment opportunities, with the European Investment Bank (EIB), EIT Urban Mobility, Shift4Good and a Demo Day with over +100 European investors.
- Public affairs opportunities, with the chance to contribute to work and exchanges at EU level.
- Increased visibility, with the possibility of pitching at Slush, Web Summit, OurCrowd and the European Parliament, as well as benefiting from the communication offered by the EUSP.
In addition to the EUSP acceleration and investment program, the “Special Prizes” offered by partners provide further opportunities for visibility and business partnerships.
As a result, the previous edition’s record number of applications (562) was beaten, making it the highest number of applications since the EUSP was launched in 2017. Also, 85% of startups applied for the first time this year.
The automotive and micromobility sectors well represented
In terms of mobility fields, over 40% of candidate companies specialize in the automotive sector. Also on the podium are micromobility (19%) and air transport (12.8%).
Mobility startups at the forefront of the ecological transition and gender equality
The EUSP gives priority to companies offering innovative sustainable mobility solutions with a positive environmental and societal impact. The candidates are on target: 63% of startups that applied to the EUSP contribute to reducing the carbon footprint of mobility. Over 20% of startups are working to reduce air pollution.
Candidates for the 5th edition are also particularly ahead of the game when it comes to gender parity. This year, 33% of startups that applied have at least one woman in the founding team, well above the European average of 10% (according to the 4th barometer carried out by SISTA and BCG in June 2023 on gender parity in the creation and financing of startups – all fields combined – covering 5 European countries: France, UK, Germany, Spain, Sweden).
The European continent, fertile ground for mobility startups
39 European countries are represented among the EUSP 2023 participants (compared with 32 for the 4th edition). Among the most represented countries are France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the UK, Israel, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway and Poland.
Europe has everything it takes to be at the forefront of sustainable mobility: by 2022, more than a third of the world’s seed funding has been channeled to mobility startups in Europe. Since its launch in 2017, and 4 completed editions, the European Startup Prize for Mobility has become the benchmark for sustainable mobility startups looking to scale up to European level, as evidenced by the record number of applications.
We are proud to have built Europe’s biggest acceleration and investment program for mobility startups, with institutional, private and semi-private partners, but also a community of +100 European investors and 90 committed experts enabling us to identify the 50 best startups, those with potential for development on a European scale.
What are the next steps for the European Startup Prize for Mobility?
- The 50 best startups will be evaluated by +90 independent evaluators, and the TOP 50 will be revealed on September 14
- The TOP 10 – the 10 best startups to benefit from the acceleration and investment program – will be revealed on October 26 at the awards ceremony at the European Parliament in Brussels.