12 Start-Ups Pitch for Investment at Enterprise Ireland’s Big Ideas 2021

Twelve investor-ready start-ups will pitch their new technology solutions to investors at Enterprise Ireland’s Big Ideas 2021 today. The annual event, which showcases deep-tech start-up innovation emerging from higher education institutes, provides founders with direct access to investors. Now in its 13th year, Big Ideas 2021 will take place online for the second year running.

The event will see founders pitch their ‘big ideas’, which include a medical device to help cancer patients prevent chemotherapy-induced hair loss, a smartphone-enabled solution to get children active and moving, an AI-powered outside broadcast technology that dramatically reduces production costs, an improved infection treatment to reduce unnecessary amputations and a wearable breathlessness therapy for COPD.

The selected third-level spins-outs will each have just three minutes to promote their innovations and business propositions to an invited online audience made up of the Irish research and investment communities and the wider start-up ecosystem.

Start-ups that pitch at Big Ideas are representative of deep tech start-ups – companies that have to successfully conquer high levels of technical, engineering and science risk in parallel to other start-up risks such as market and finance risk. However, their combination of talent, and a differentiated, proprietary product means these types of start-ups can be highly disruptive to market incumbents and consequently impactful at a societal and economic level.

Leo Clancy, CEO of Enterprise Ireland said: “Today’s event is an excellent example of the collaborative nature of business in Ireland. The interaction between investors, higher education institutes and Enterprise Ireland provides these 12 ambitious founders with an opportunity to take their businesses to the next level. The commercialisation of companies that were born as a result of a research idea is an imperative for Enterprise Ireland and the State as their success will change our collective future for the better.

“We have a really strong mix of companies pitching today and it is great to see that 50% of them have women founders. I wish each of them luck today.”

Gearoid Mooney, Divisional Manager – Research and Innovation at Enterprise Ireland said: “Enterprise Ireland has been working with higher education institutes and the Irish research and investment communities on Big Ideas for over a decade and we have seen its benefits through the emergence of some excellent start-up companies.

The start-up ecosystem in Ireland is really strong and Enterprise Ireland is proud to support it through events like Big Ideas as well as follow on complementary supports such as our High Potential Start-Up, Competitive Start Fund and Horizon Europe investments for deep technology-based start-ups. I wish each founder here today the very best of luck!”

Big Ideas Alumni

Big Ideas alumni that have since gone on to raise angel, venture capital and corporate investment, grew headcount, secured international reference customers and were awarded highly competitive national, European and international funding include Nova Leah, SoapBox Labs, SepTec, Croí Valve, Nearform, Ostoform, Exit Entry, Loci Orthopaedics, AudioSourceRe, Selio, PlasmaBound, AtriAN Medical, Output Sports, Tympany Medical and Venari.

A judging panel will decide which of the 12 start-ups will be presented with this year’s ‘One to Watch Award’ for the outstanding pitch of the day. The online audience will also have their say – their vote will decide which pitch will be presented with the ‘Viewer’s Choice Award’.

Full details on the event are available at www.bigideas.ie.