What Startup Scaleup does

Startup Scaleup (legal name: Startup Europe's IOT Accelerator) is a 6-month no-equity, no-cost accelerator program for early-stage Internet of Things startups, operating across five European countries — Lithuania, the Netherlands, Ireland, and Spain (in the cities of Madrid and Cartagena). Founded in 2014 under the European Commission's Startup Europe initiative, the program does not develop proprietary technology or sell a software product. It delivers a structured curriculum comprising an intensive in-person "IoT'ers Week" hosted at one of six partner hubs, followed by online workshops and recurring Ask Me Anything (AMA) sessions with senior IoT experts. Services provided to accepted startups include access to prototyping facilities (3D printers, electronics labs), CE marking expertise, licensing support, introductions to mass manufacturers, and access to investor networks.

The program takes no equity from participating startups and charges no fees; it is funded entirely through the European Commission's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 644023. The go-to-market motion is event-driven, with applications sourced online and through regional startup community events, and the 6-month cycle culminates in a Demo Day held at Connected Conference in Paris — described in the source material as the largest IoT event in Europe — where cohorts pitch to investors and corporate partners including Intel and PCH International. At least two cohorts have run, with the first batch in 2015 and the second batch in 2016.

The program's value proposition rests on its pan-European network of six partner organizations — Cloud Incubator HUB, Crosspring Lab, Open Coffee Club Vilnius, DCU Ryan Academy, F6S, and BluSpecs — and access to high-profile mentors including Vinton G. Cerf (Google VP), David Cuartielles (co-founder of Arduino), Philip Moynagh (Intel IoT Group VP), and Jerry Yang. The target customer segment is IoT startups facing challenges in prototyping, licensing, manufacturing access, and IoT-focused fundraising. Distribution occurs via online application portals and the partner hub network across the five operating countries.

Name

Startup Scaleup

Legal name

Startup Europe's IOT Accelerator

Website

https://startup-scaleup.eu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Startup Scaleup (Startup Europe's IOT Accelerator) is a 6-month no-equity, no-cost accelerator program for early-stage IoT startups, funded by the European Commission's Horizon 2020 programme and operating through six partner hubs across five European countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Startup Accelerator Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (61171)

akta.pro primary industry

Accelerators & Incubators (Investor-Operated) (FSANAAAM)

Keywords

• IoT accelerator program
• Startup mentorship services
• Hardware prototyping support
• European startup ecosystem
• Demo day investor access

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. EU Horizon 2020 Funding: Startup Scaleup is funded entirely by the European Commission's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 644023. The program offers a no-strings attached model: no equity taken, no cost to selected startups. The program provides mentorship, resources, and access to networks without financial contribution from participating startups.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Startup Scaleup runs a 6-month no-equity, no-cost accelerator program for early-stage Internet of Things startups, funded by the European Commission's Horizon 2020 programme. The program offers an intensive IoT'ers Week onboarding at hub locations across five European countries, ongoing online workshops, AMA sessions with top IoT experts, access to prototyping facilities and CE marking expertise, licensing support, introductions to manufacturers, and a Demo Day at the Connected Conference in Paris.

Product overview

Startup Scaleup is a 6-month no-equity, no-cost accelerator program for IoT startups, funded by the European Commission under the Startup Europe initiative (Horizon 2020, grant agreement No 644023). The program operates across 5 European countries (Lithuania, Netherlands, Ireland, and two cities in Spain) through partner startup incubators. Services include an intensive IoT'ers Week (in-person kickoff at partner hubs), ongoing online workshops, Ask Me Anything (AMA) sessions with IoT experts and investors, access to prototyping facilities, licensing support, access to mass manufacturers, investor introductions, and Demo Day at the largest IoT event in Europe (Connected Conference). The program does not offer a software product, platform, or API—it provides mentorship, network access, and educational resources to early-stage IoT startups.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• IoT'ers Week: An intensive week of activities, workshops, and networking held at hub locations for accepted startups to kick off the accelerator programme.
• Ask Me Anything (AMA) Sessions

Products and services

• Startup Scaleup Accelerator Program A 6-month no-equity, no-cost accelerator program for early-stage Internet of Things startups, funded by the European Commission's Horizon 2020 programme. The program provides mentorship from top IoT experts, access to prototyping facilities, licensing support, manufacturer introductions, investor networking, and a Demo Day at Europe's largest IoT event.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Connected ConferenceminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2016Largest IoT event in Europe. Hosts Demo Day where Startup Scaleup startups showcase to investors and industry. Annual venue for program completion.
• Cloud Incubator HUBcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015Launched in 2011 by Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena to support mobile technology-focused entrepreneurs. Over 84 entrepreneurs graduated from 3 programs. Provides prototyping facilities for wireless sensors, beacons, drones, and gadgets. Has 3D printers for rapid prototyping and CE marking expertise. Angel network has invested over K€675 in startups.
• Crosspring LabcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015Located in Dutch Innovation Factory in Zoetermeer. 18-month acceleration program with coaches, investors, researchers, and standard documents for startups in Internet, mobile applications, software, and games.
• Open Coffee Club VilniuscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015Lithuanian NGO founded in 2008, has assisted a thousand startups in raising capital, gathering teams, winning international competitions. Was instrumental in establishing first startup accelerator in Baltic (StartupHighway) in 2011. Has partnerships across Latvia, Estonia, Poland, Ukraine, Belarus.
• DCU Ryan Academy for EntrepreneurscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015Ireland's leading university centre for Entrepreneurship. Not-for-profit partnership between Dublin City University and the family of Tony Ryan (founder of Ryanair). Aim is to be the leading supporter of entrepreneurship and innovation in Ireland.
• F6ScoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015Largest social network for startups with over 1,200,000 profiles and 400,000+ startups. Supports ecosystem through deal flow/applications, job listings, free services, and communication forms.
• BluSpecscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015Innovation agency helping clients find new opportunities through technology. Applies market-driven approach involving end-users in design and development. Works with corporates and startups across Europe in sectors including financial services and health.
• IntelminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015Corporate supporter of Startup Scaleup startups in previous program cycles. Provides IoT expertise and ecosystem support.
• PCH InternationalminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015Corporate supporter of Startup Scaleup startups in previous program cycles. Provides supply chain and manufacturing expertise relevant to IoT hardware startups.

Scale indicators3 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Regional players

• Seedcamp: Seedcamp is one of Europe's most established early-stage seed funds and accelerators, primarily UK-based but with pan-European reach. It is a peer in European pre-seed acceleration, with comparable geographic footprint but a broader sector mandate (not IoT-specific) and an equity-taking model.

Direct peers

• Techstars IoT: Techstars runs IoT-focused accelerator programs (e.g., the SAP.io / IoT partnerships) and is one of the most established global accelerator brands. It targets the same early-stage IoT founder segment as Startup Scaleup, but takes equity and operates at materially larger cohort scale.
• HAX: HAX is the world's leading hardware/IoT-focused accelerator, originally based in Shenzhen and now split between Shenzhen and San Francisco. It is the canonical benchmark for IoT/hardware acceleration globally and directly competes for the same founder profile that Startup Scaleup targets, but at greater scale and with deeper supply-chain access.
• Hardware Club: Hardware Club is a global community and investor syndicate dedicated to hardware/IoT startups, co-founded by former PCH executives and including Jerry Yang — who is also a Startup Scaleup AMA mentor. It is a peer in the IoT acceleration/support ecosystem and overlaps in mentor network.
• Bolt (by PCH Innovations): Bolt is a hardware-focused accelerator run by PCH Innovations — and PCH International is itself a corporate supporter of Startup Scaleup. Bolt targets pre-seed hardware/IoT startups with a similar mentorship-driven model, making it a particularly close peer given the shared PCH ecosystem linkage.
• Startupbootcamp IoT: Startupbootcamp runs multiple vertical accelerator tracks including IoT / Connected Devices, based in Europe. It is one of Startup Scaleup's closest direct competitors for European IoT founders, with overlapping geographic reach and similar corporate-mentor-driven models (though equity-taking).

Broad incumbents

• Wayra (Telefónica): Wayra is Telefónica's global corporate accelerator network with European hubs in Madrid and Barcelona — directly overlapping Startup Scaleup's Spanish geography. It targets similar early-stage digital/IoT founders with corporate-backed mentorship and resources.
• Antler: Antler is a global early-stage accelerator with strong European presence (London, Berlin, Stockholm, Amsterdam) and active investment in hardware/deep-tech verticals. It competes for the same pre-seed European founder pool as Startup Scaleup, with the distinction of taking equity and investing its own capital.
• EIT Digital Accelerator: EIT Digital is a pan-European, EU-funded digital innovation initiative with an accelerator that scales European deep-tech/IoT startups across multiple hubs. Like Startup Scaleup it is EU-backed and pan-European, but it operates at much broader scope and longer-running scale.
• Founders Factory: Founders Factory is a London-based accelerator and venture builder with corporate partners (e.g., L'Oréal, Aviva, Kraft Heinz) that builds and scales early-stage startups. While not IoT-specific, it competes for the same European, corporate-backed acceleration ecosystem role as Startup Scaleup.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/startupscaleup
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/startup-scaleup
• Facebookfacebook.com/startup.scaleup

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Startup Scaleup