The public-private start-up accelerator for the smart industry, BIND 4.0, has selected 38 emerging companies to deploy a total of 54 Industry 4.0 projects in its fourth acceleration programme, which begins on 21 January. This is a 20% increase on the number of the projects selected and contracted by the trail-blazing companies in the previous edition, which clearly shows their commitment to innovation.

After assessing the 577 entries received for this latest edition, –10% up on the previous year–, the most strategic innovative projects in different application areas of the industry were chosen. Specifically, 47% of the projects will be applied to the industrial sector, 23% to the field of food, 15% to the energy sector and 15% to health.

BIND 4.0 was set up in 2016 as a meeting point between innovative start-ups internationally and leading companies. It has since accelerated a total of 108 start-ups and 173 Industry 4.0 projects have been implemented. These figures are combined with the good results obtained by the companies once the programme has ended. The fact is that 67% of the start-ups continue working with the trailblazing companies after the programme ends and 6 out of every 10 start-ups renew their contract with them. Thus, after four years of being up and running, BIND 4.0 has been consolidated as a unique initiative capable of driving the digital transformation of industry and, in turn, of accelerating the consolidation of innovative initiatives using the validation of technologies in benchmark customer scenarios. Furthermore, this initiative is supported by the Basque Ministry of Economic Development and Infrastructure through the SPRI Group, the Basque Government’s business development agency. SPRI is leading the ecosystem of entrepreneurship in the Basque Country through its UpEuskadi platform.

The profile of the selected start-ups for the 4^th BIND 4.0

As regards the provenance of the start-ups selected to take part in this year’s acceleration programme, it is noteworthy that 18 are from the Basque Country (8 from Bizkaia, 6 from Gipuzkoa and 4 from Araba) and a total of 20 companies are from other autonomous communities and different countries around the world. Therefore, the 4^th BIND 4.0 has seen a 12% increase in the number of companies from outside the Basque Country, with respect to the previous year when there were 13 selected companies. Thus, 52% of the selected start-ups are from outside the Basque Country this year. Specifically, the 12 start-ups from other autonomous communities are from Madrid (4), Catalonia (5), Navarra (1), Andalusia (1) and Castilla y León (1). And the 8 international ones are from Denmark (2), Germany (2), Turkey (1), the United Kingdom (1), Italy (1) and Latvia (1).

All the start-ups selected for this fourth edition have submitted high-quality cutting-edge solutions, in order to improve processes, services and products. To that end, they apply innovative technologies in the field of artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things or Big Data, which are the most represented areas among the selected projects and account for 60% of solutions. Special mention should be made this year of the increase of the number of selected projects in the field of artificial vision, with application to optimise quality controls, likewise followed by other innovative solutions of cybersecurity, nanotechnology and robotics.

38 Startups will Participate in the 4th Edition

About BIND 4.0

BIND 4.0 is the result of the commitment in the Basque Country to implement the Fourth Industrial Revolution, characterised by the digitalisation of factories, in the framework of the global competition to attract talent and the best start-ups. This goal has brought together public stakeholders of the BAC (Basque Government, SPRI Group, Provincial Council and the BIC innovation and company centres of Araba, Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa) and 52 of the leading private business corporations with headquarters in the Basque Country, in addition to cutting-edge international companies such as Siemens, Microsoft and Amazon Web Services, which are participating as technology partners.