On the 23^rd of September were unveiled the winners of the Covid-19 International Challenge. Among them, 8 startups and SMEs come from France.

The intergovernmental network EUREKA, at the initiative of the Canadian National Research Council (NRC), launched the Covid-19 International Challenge. The call for projects started on the 15th of April and lasted for a month.

The Covid-19 International Challenge aims at supporting and financing technological partnerships between innovative companies from different countries and working on solutions to limit or reduce the coronavirus crisis impact. Funding agencies for innovation of 7 countries (Canada, Spain, Denmark, Austria, Turkey, the Netherlands and France), including Bpifrance for France, were mobilized to accelerate the projects under this program. This reinforced and highlighted the many benefits of international collaboration in this sector

The call for proposals received more than 60 candidates, including 12 French companies. To make their final decision, the funding agencies for innovation relied on different criteria : the project had to be relevant and viable, but could also be quickly developed. Were thus targeted projects that can be developed within a 3 to 12-month timespan, with a product launch possible within 6 months after its development.

 

8 of the selected winners were French startups and SMEs :

Actility, specialized in low speed long range IoT.

Adelis, specialized in electronic and optoelectronic technologies for the biotechnology industry.

Bio Logbook, specialized in statistical analysis for health professionals.

Fieldbox.ai, specialized in the deployment of AI in industrial sites.

Mydatamodels, startup specialized in machine learning and small data.

Partelec, specialized in electronics, developing an optimized medical ventilator.

Scaleo Industries, pioneer in respiratory orthopaedics and expert in medical devices for patient transfer, hygiene and oxygen therapy.

Virtexx, startup developing broad-spectrum antiviral agents for current and future virus diseases.

 

They all addressed 3 current issues :

• Developing specific medical equipment to treat Covid-19 patients and to reduce the health services overload.
• Helping the diagnosis and the development of viral vaccines to offer a long-term solution to the health crisis.
• Securing the work space with tools that allow social distancing in industrial premises and in offices so that companies’ production carry on.