What SMART EUREKA CLUSTER does

SMART EUREKA Cluster is a non-profit EUREKA Cluster program headquartered at the Gipuzkoa Science and Technology Park in San Sebastián, Spain, focused exclusively on Advanced Manufacturing. Founded in 2016 and granted the EUREKA Cluster Full Label in 2018 for a 7-year mandate with a €400 million budget commitment, the organization coordinates international collaborative R&D across more than 21 EUREKA member countries through periodic Calls for Projects, matchmaking events (Proposers' Days, broker events), and a two-stage submission process (Project Outline followed by Full Project Proposal). Selected proposals are awarded a SMART label that enables participating consortia to seek national funding from agencies such as CDTI (Spain), TUBITAK (Türkiye), BMBF (Germany), and VINNOVA (Sweden).

The operating platform comprises a website-based Project Outline submission system (the Cluster Projects Tool), a published Technology Roadmap spanning robotics, additive manufacturing, sustainable/circular manufacturing, human-machine collaboration, and digital twins, a project-labeling service run by the SMART Board, and a community network of more than 140 organizations spanning SMEs (50-57% of partners), large industry (18-37%), and research institutes/universities (~15%). Named members and board participants include Aernnova, Siemens, GKN Aerospace, MONDRAGON, Danobat, BSH, Anadolu Isuzu, Tecnalia, Fraunhofer IWU, RISE Research Institutes of Sweden, VITO, SIRRIS, and — as of 2026 — Canada's NGen. Through nine completed Calls, SMART has labeled projects with a combined budget that has grown from €39.2 million in the first Call to €65.8 million in the ninth Call across 20 countries.

The business model is non-commercial: SMART is a publicly-funded intergovernmental initiative under the EUREKA network, and revenues (not publicly disclosed) derive from membership dues, host support from founding partners AFM Cluster and MONDRAGON, and EUREKA administrative contributions rather than from selling products or services. The 14-person office (Patricia Tamés, Office Director; Aritz Arteche, Programme Coordinator; Jon Núñez, Programme Officer; Irati Gurrutxaga, Marketing; Eduardo Beltrán de Nanclares, Board Chairman) manages program coordination, evaluation, communications, and member services.

Name

SMART EUREKA CLUSTER

Legal name

SMART EUREKA Cluster

Website

https://smarteureka.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

SMART EUREKA Cluster is a non-profit EUREKA Cluster program that coordinates international collaborative R&D in Advanced Manufacturing across 21+ countries, connecting 140+ organizations through periodic project calls and national funding mechanisms.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Advanced Manufacturing R&D Collaboration

NAICS

Business Associations (813910)

SIC

Services-Services, Nec (8900)

akta.pro primary industry

Industrial Data Platforms, Historian & MES/MOM Integration (IMAIAMAI)

Keywords

• Advanced manufacturing cluster
• R&D collaboration programs
• EUREKA cluster initiatives
• International project funding
• Innovation consortium building

Headquarters

HQ city

San Sebastián

HQ country

Spain

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. R&D Project Facilitation: SMART is a non-profit EUREKA Cluster that facilitates international R&D collaboration in advanced manufacturing. The organization does not generate revenue directly but coordinates funding opportunities across participating countries. Projects submitted through SMART Calls receive national funding from each participating country's funding agencies.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

SMART EUREKA Cluster is a non-profit EUREKA Cluster program that facilitates international R&D collaboration in Advanced Manufacturing. It organizes periodic Calls for Projects, evaluates proposals through its labeling service, and enables member organizations to access national R&D funding from EUREKA member countries for collaborative innovation projects.

Product overview

SMART EUREKA CLUSTER is a EUREKA Cluster Program on Advanced Manufacturing, not a traditional product company. Rather than selling software products, it operates a collaborative R&D coordination program comprising the SMART Cluster Program (facilitating international advanced manufacturing innovation), the Project Outline (PO) Submission System (using the Cluster Projects Tool for consortium submissions), the SMART Technology Roadmap (strategic research priorities), the Project Labeling Service (evaluation and certification), and the SMART Community Network (partnership facilitation across 140+ organizations in 21 countries). The organization functions as a public-private partnership enabling nationally-funded, internationally-executed, high-TRL innovation projects in manufacturing technologies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• SMART Cluster Program A EUREKA Cluster program on Advanced Manufacturing that facilitates international R&D collaboration, project evaluation, and funding coordination among industry partners, research institutions, and funding agencies across EUREKA member countries. Targeted at manufacturing companies, RTOs, and universities seeking cross-border R&D collaboration.
• Project Outline (PO) Submission System A web-based submission mechanism using the Cluster Projects Tool that allows participants to submit project outlines and receive early feedback from the SMART evaluation team before advancing to the Full Project Proposal stage. Used by consortium leads building international advanced manufacturing projects.
• SMART Technology Roadmap A strategic document identifying research priorities and innovation domains for advanced manufacturing, including Intelligent and Adaptive Manufacturing Systems, Digital Virtual and Efficient Companies, Person-Machine Collaboration, Sustainable Manufacturing, Customer-Based Manufacturing, and New Business Models. Used by consortium participants to align project proposals with cluster priorities.
• Project Labeling Service An evaluation and certification service where the SMART Board reviews Full Project Proposals and awards the SMART label, enabling participants to proceed with national funding applications from their respective EUREKA member country funding agencies.
• SMART Community Network

Quantifiable outcome

• €84.2 million in collaborative innovation proposals in 9th Call
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• NGen (Next Generation Manufacturing Canada)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 June 2018NGen joined SMART's Association and Board of Directors as Canada's Global Innovation Cluster for Advanced Manufacturing. They strengthen Canada's manufacturing ecosystem and accelerate adoption of advanced technologies. Founded on digital transformation principles to improve competitiveness, sustainability, and economic growth.
• EUREKA NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 July 2017SMART operates under the EUREKA framework - a publicly-funded intergovernmental network involving 40 countries. EUREKA promotes R&D+I projects through public-private partnerships with clusters being long-term initiatives developing technologies of key importance for European competitiveness.
• AFM Cluster (Advanced Manufacturing Technologies)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 July 2017AFM Cluster leads the SMART startup together with MONDRAGON Corporation. AFM represents advanced manufacturing interests in Spain, comprising four industrial associations with nearly 400 companies and over 12,000 employees. AFM provides administrative and operational support for SMART operations.
• MONDRAGON CorporationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 July 2017MONDRAGON co-leads SMART and is one of Spain's largest business groups. In 2016, revenues totaled €12,000 million with 73,635 workers. MONDRAGON integrates 15 R&D centers, has 461 patent families, and employs 1,921 full-time researchers.
• CDTI (Centro para el Desarrollo Tecnológico Industrial)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 July 2017Spanish national funding agency supporting SMART's activities in Spain. CDTI provides funding instruments and programs applicable to SMART project submissions.
• TecnaliamajorTechnology or IntegrationRTO member offering extensive advanced manufacturing capabilities including additive manufacturing, robotics, digital twins, and sustainable manufacturing technologies.
• GKN AerospacemajorTechnology or IntegrationNorway-based aerospace manufacturer member contributing advanced manufacturing capabilities including measurement systems, autonomous systems, and manufacturing optimization.
• Fraunhofer Institute for Machine Tools and Forming Technology (IWU)majorTechnology or IntegrationGerman RTO member contributing advanced manufacturing research capabilities.
• RISE Research Institutes of SwedenmajorTechnology or IntegrationSwedish RTO member providing advanced manufacturing research and innovation capabilities, coordinating Swedish participation in SMART.
• VITO (Flemish Institute for Technological Research)majorTechnology or IntegrationBelgian RTO member contributing to sustainable manufacturing and advanced processing technologies.
• SIRRISmajorTechnology or IntegrationBelgian research center for the manufacturing industry offering expertise in additive manufacturing, digital technologies, and sustainable manufacturing.
• National Funding Agencies NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerParticipating countries include: Spain (CDTI), Turkey (TUBITAK), Germany (BMBF), Portugal, Finland, Slovenia, Sweden (VINNOVA), South Korea, Czech Republic, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Ireland, Norway, Switzerland, and others. Each agency evaluates and funds approved SMART projects nationally.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• EFFRA (European Factories of Future Research Association): European public-private partnership coordinating pre-competitive manufacturing R&D under EU Horizon programs. Comparable as a Europe-wide manufacturing innovation coordination body with multi-stakeholder membership.
• PENTA (EUREKA Cluster): EUREKA Cluster focused on microelectronics and semiconductor systems. Operates an analogous pan-European collaborative R&D labelling and funding model under the same EUREKA Cluster framework as SMART.
• ManuFuture: European technology platform for manufacturing research and innovation, coordinating strategic research agendas and public-private collaboration across EU member states. Functionally analogous to SMART's European advanced-manufacturing remit.
• Manufacturing USA: U.S. network of 16 manufacturing innovation institutes focused on advanced manufacturing technologies. Operates a comparable industry-led, federally-supported R&D coordination model serving SMEs, large industry, and research institutions.
• High Value Manufacturing Catapult (UK): UK Catapult centre for advanced manufacturing, providing access to manufacturing R&D infrastructure, expertise, and collaborative projects. Comparable as a publicly-supported advanced manufacturing coordination and capability platform.
• NGen (Next Generation Manufacturing Canada): Canada's Global Innovation Cluster for Advanced Manufacturing. Now a SMART Board member, NGen operates a near-identical model — public-private partnership funding industry-led advanced manufacturing R&D projects — making it the most direct functional peer.
• ITEA (EUREKA Cluster): Sister EUREKA Cluster programme for software-intensive systems and digital innovation. Same EUREKA governance framework, periodic Call process, and national-funding-agency model as SMART, but focused on software/digital rather than manufacturing.
• CELTIC-NEXT (EUREKA Cluster): EUREKA Cluster for next-generation communications. Shares SMART's EUREKA Cluster governance, Calls-for-Projects structure, and national-funding-agency coordination mechanism, but operates in the telecom domain.
• ECSEL Joint Undertaking: Public-private partnership funding electronic components and systems R&D across Europe. Comparable as a multi-country, mixed-funding collaborative R&D program targeting strategic industrial technology capabilities.

Others

• EUREKA Network: Intergovernmental network of 40+ countries under which SMART operates. Not a peer in the competitive sense but the parent/host framework providing governance, recognition, and access to national funding agencies.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/smart-eureka-cluster

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about SMART EUREKA CLUSTER