Leading Technologies in Artificial Intelligence, Medicine, Microelectronics, and Circular Economy Showcased at the Third Edition of Spinoff Conference 2024 

The international conference Spinoff Conference was held on June 20 and 21, 2024, at Sofia Tech Park, John Atanasoff Forum, once again providing a platform for exchanging ideas, know-how, and raising awareness on topics related to technology transfer.

The primary goal set by the organisers— Health and Life Sciences Cluster, Artificial Intelligence Cluster Bulgaria, Venrize – spinoff factory, ISTEB—is to create a favourable environment for the growth and realization of 100 spinoff companies by 2030. These companies aim to provide high-value-added products and services crucial for the modernization and innovation of the Bulgarian economy. The initiative is supported by numerous ministries, municipalities, professional associations, and universities.

At the conference's opening, Kristina Eskenazi, one of the main organizers, shared that over the past three years, more than 40 spinoff companies have been presented and awarded on the prestigious stage. "Bulgaria has immense capacity in cutting-edge technologies, and over the next two days, we have the opportunity to showcase them to you," she stated.

Day One Highlights

The first day of the conference focused on investments and funding for innovative companies in Europe. Experience and recommendations were shared by Sven De Cleyn, PhD – Managing Director of imec.istart Fund & istart.nl Fund, Diane Nevin – CEO of Grit International Female Network, Sebastian Schenk from Verbund X Ventures, Henk Joos from MEDVIA, and Christophe Pompée - Venture Partner at Wippd Ventures, expertly moderated by Pavel Lisev – Executive Director and Member of the Management Board of the Fund of Funds.

The following hours featured presentations from over 20 technology startups, divided into several panels. Among them was the selection panel for the largest MedTech investor forum, HealthTech Investor Summit (HTIS24), which will take place from December 9-11 in Bruges, Belgium. Spinoff Conference is one of the 23 partners of the event. Four Bulgarian and one Romanian company will present on the prestigious stage, including Barin Sports, Epix AI, Neuromorphica, Kelvin Health, and AlignSpine.

Awards and Recognitions

One of the most anticipated events of the conference was the awarding of "Spinoff of the Year." This prestigious award was given to companies that have successfully implemented innovative technologies and achieved significant market success. Six companies were awarded the Spinoff of the Year 2024: Momfident, VAReyes, Senesys. Biо, Simenso Ltd, MedTechLab, and Neuromorphica.

In 2023, the awarded companies included Micar21 (novel drug molecules), EpixAI (epigenetics), Kelvin Health (diagnostics), Metrichem (bioprinting), and Barin Sports (telemetry). Their technologies are now conquering numerous international stages and attracting funding.

Start of the Spinoff Danube Alliance

The Spinoff Conference in Bulgaria marked the launch of a newly formed network designed to support spinoff companies and stakeholders in the Danube region. The initiative called Spinoff Danube Alliance (SDA) aims to be a central hub where spinoffs, technology transfer experts, and investment organizations from the region can collaborate, exchange best practices, and discuss the latest developments in science-based innovation.

The sectoral focus of the initiative will be on ClimateTech and Artificial Intelligence, currently two of the most relevant topics in Europe and on a global level. Next to the initiators and organisers of the Spinoff initiative in Bulgaria, the initiators of the SDA include leading organisations such as VERBUND X, Spinoff Austria, INITS, New Venture Scouting, Vangaivs, and the Austrian Institute of Technology. The initiative is supported by partners like Frauenhofer from Germany as well as by stakeholders from Slovakia, Croatia, and the wider Danube region.

“Our goal is to support the development of a sustainable spinoff ecosystem in the Danube region by connecting national frontrunners with international partners. Awareness, knowledge exchange about best practices, and a strong network will be key elements for the development of the sector in the region”  states Kaloyan Ratchev, co-organizer of the SDA and the Spinoff Conference in Bulgaria.

Workshops and Panels

Co-organizers this year included Cleantech Bulgaria, the EIT Manufacturing Hub for Bulgaria, the largest European network for industrial innovation. During the conference, Cleantech Bulgaria and EIT Manufacturing presented support opportunities, including open calls for funding innovation projects with a budget of 11 million euros. The published calls will fund projects in two main areas: Innovative solutions for industrial challenges—creative and effective solutions for existing problems in the industry, and Transition to sustainable and human-oriented production—projects focusing on environmental sustainability and the human factor. For more information and application submission, visit the EIT Manufacturing website – Call for Proposals 2025.

Under the SPREAD2INNO project, aimed at implementing a scalable, replicable, and holistic two-year program to provide high-quality business services and cooperation between different regional innovation ecosystems, Cleantech Bulgaria presented 9 companies: Dataphoria (Greece), H-CAM (Greece), c-BEMS/INTELIGG (Greece), Lunar Cargo (Greece), Solumar (Bulgaria), Mealprot (Bulgaria), Capsule Corporation (Italy), Saferplaces (Italy), and Golden Snails (Bulgaria).

This year's program also included a variety of practical workshops, panels, and discussions covering different aspects of entrepreneurship, innovation, and investment in spinoff companies.

Research and projects in the field of the European biotechnology ecosystem—INNAXE, the Digital European Health Hub—VELES, and the first European Innovation Valley for personalized medicine—PRECISEU were presented. The Health and Life Sciences Cluster, a main organizer of the event, serves as the unifying element in the presented projects. Over its 5-year history, the cluster has established itself in the European ecosystem, successfully implementing a series of projects under Horizon Europe and participating in the largest biotechnology and medicine networks (EuropaBio, CEBR - Council of European Bioregions, ECHAlliance (www.echalliance.com), ECCP https://clustercollaboration.eu/). The inclusion of the cluster in the new European Health Institute initiative was also officially announced.

Workshops dedicated to Horizon Europe, Health Cluster, held by the National Contact Network at the Ministry of Education and Science, and those focusing on practical solutions and strategies for protecting innovations and technologies were conducted in partnership with the U.S. Department of State and SECURUS Strategic Trade Solutions, LLC. Training from EIT Manufacturing on funding and support opportunities for SMEs, as well as sessions on emerging technologies—artificial intelligence and next-generation technologies for accelerating innovation adoption—also took place.

Speakers and Experts

The conference welcomed numerous influential leaders and experts who shared their knowledge and experience. Among them, the Bulgarian audience met Dr. Claire Skentelbery - Director General of EuropaBio, Montse Daban - President of the Board of the Council for European BioRegions, Dario Zoric - Head of Regional Digitization at the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sarah Ackerman, Ph.D., PMP, Program ManagerProgram Manager at U.S. Department of State, Dr. Hamish McAlpine from Oxentia, Anne-Charlotte Joubert - Project Leader of INVEST'HER, project manager at Euro-BioImaging, Sven De Cleyn, PhD - Managing Director of imec.istart Fund & istart.nl Fund, Sebastian Schenk and Lisa Kratochwill - Verbund X Ventures, Henk Joos - General Manager of MEDVIA, Christophe Pompée - Partner at Wippd Ventures, and many more partners from Spain, Germany, France, Denmark, Belgium, Italy, the USA, and the UK.

Partners of the conference include SECURUS Strategic Trade Solutions, VERBUND, Invest Sofia, Cleantech Bulgaria, EIT Manufacturing South East, BioHub Group, Vangavis, Ministry of Education and Science, Horizon Europe, Fund of Funds, Devin Spring Water, Martines Coffee, MEDIC-NEST META-CLUSTER IN PRECISION MEDICINE, Imago-Mol Cluster, HealthTech Investor Summit, United States Department of State Office of Cooperative Threat Reduction (ISN/CTR), Flanders Investment & Trade, Micar21, America for Bulgaria Foundation, Cluster of Microelectronics and Industrial Electronics Systems, EuropaBio, European AI Forum, Technical University Sofia, SPIN-OFF Austria, Confederation of Employers and Industrialists in Bulgaria (CEIB), Valentin Savov & Partners, Google Developer Groups (GDG) Plovdiv.

Don't miss the next edition of Spinoff Conference – June 19-20, 2025!

Be part of the future of innovation in Bulgaria! For more information, visit www.spinoff.bg.

9th edition of the European AI Forum

The event once again highlighted the dynamic and innovative spirit of the AI sector in Europe. It was also our first hybrid event, hosted by the Artificial Intelligence Association of Lithuania live from Vilnius.

Among the inspirational Keynotes were Dr Volker Wissing (Federal Minister of Digital Affairs and Transport, Germany), Erika Kuročkina (Deputy Minister of Economy and Innovation, Republic of Lithuania), Tomas Lamanauskas (Deputy Secretary-General, International Telecommunication Union), Thomas Schneider (Chair of the Council of Europe Committee on AI (CAI) Prof. Volker Wittpahl (Director of the Institute for Innovation and Technology (it)), Henri Verdier (Ambassador for Digital Affairs, France), Lucilla Sioli (Director of the EU AI Office, DG CONNECT), Valeria Orlova (Technology Policy, University of Cambridge), Rok Zaloznik (co-founder of the Swiss AI Association), Dr. Katharina von Knop (VDE Association for Electrical, Electronic & Information Technologies), Orestis Trasanidis (Managing Director, EIT Hub Silicon Valley), Alex Dickmann (Project Lead, AI Village), Chloé Plédel (Head of European and Regulatory Affairs, Hub France IA), Prof. Lucas P.J.J. Noldus, Radboud University.

For a full replay of the 9th European AI Forum's engaging discussions and presentations, click on this link: https://lnkd.in/dSGFH-v4

Founders of the EAIF are CroAI (Croatian AI Association) Hub France IA KI Bundesverband ai4si (AI for Slovenia) AI Austria AI Cluster Bulgaria Nederlandse AI Coalitie | NL AIC Fundacja Digital Poland Artificial Intelligence Association of Lithuania .

Green Transition Forum 4.0

AI Cluster Bulgaria was official partners of the Green Transition Forum 4.0, organized by DIR.BG brings together experts from Central and Eastern Europe who are shaping the green future of the region!

Kristina Eskenazi was a moderator of the Panel TRENDS IN DIGITALIZATION AND CYBERSECURITY IN CEE, together with Prof. Sylvia Ilieva,  Valentin Mundrov, Minister of e-Government, Prof. Dr. George Angelov, Deputy Minister of Innovation and Growth, HRH Boris, Prince of Tarnovo and Duke of Saxony, Sasa Bilic, CEO APIS IT Croatia, President of Euritas, Dario Zoric, Regional Digitisation Lead, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Denmark and Kobi Freedman - Founder of Findings.co. 

https://greentransition.bg/en/ 

Moments from Spinoff Bulgaria Conference 2023

Our Focus!

Минали събития

8th European AI Forum Conference - A Marked Milestone!

The curtains have closed on the 8th Edition of the European AI Forum, leaving us enriched and eager for the future. The event has underscored the vibrant and dynamic nature of the AI sector, especially within the European context.

The 8th EAIF has highlighted key advancements from an exciting year of AI, from policy to business breakthroughs. The AI Act remains a cornerstone in our discourse, serving as a beacon for innovation.

For those who couldn't join us, we've got you covered:

⚖ EU AI Act:

▫ Interviews with MEPs Eva Maydell (Paunova) and Sergey Lagodinsky providing in-depth insights into the AI Act

▫ Kai Zenner (Head of Office to MEP Axel Voss) with a unique perspective on the behind-the-scenes dynamics in the trilogue

▫ Tobias Haar, LL.M., MBA (Aleph Alpha) adding an industry viewpoint to European FM development

▫ Alberto Di Felice’s (DIGITALEUROPE) assessment on the AI Acts impact on infrastructure, privacy, and security

🌍 National AI Strategies:

▫ Keynote by Bettina Stark-Watzinger (German Federal Minister of Education and Research) on the German AI Action Plan

▫ Prof. Dr. Georgi Angelov (Deputy Minister of Innovation & Growth Bulgaria) on the potential of the Bulgarian AI ecosystem

📚AI in Education & Inequality:

▫ Juraj Bilic (CARNET - Croatian Academic and Research Network) introduced the BrAIn project, showcasing the use of AI in education

▫ A panel featuring Andrea Covic, Tobias Zwingmann, and Martina Silov on the question whether AI creates inequality

▫ MEP Matjaž Nemec explored the ethical considerations of AI

🗣 Further Keynote Highlights:

▫ Aida Kamisalic Latific (State Secretary at the Ministry of Digital Transformation in Slovenia) emphasized the importance of compatibility and collaboration in AI

▫ Inga Karulaityte, Marco Berschneider, Ferdinand Rüchardt discussed the challenges associated with adopting generative AI

▫ Juan González-Barba (Spanish Ambassador to Croatia) shared insights into the global landscape and developments in AI

▫ Piotr Mieczkowski on AI perception and integration within Polish society

The 8th edition of the European AI Forum was moderated by our President Daniel Abbou and Vice-President Jeannette Gorzala. 

Новини

Останете информирани!

Участие в най-големия регионален форум за Зелената трансформация, иновациите и индустриите на утрешния ден - "GREEN TRANSITION IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE" 

Клъстер Изкуствен Интелект България се включи в събитието в рамките на два поредни дни с панели, посветени на технологиите.

В дискусията в ден 1 "Disruptive технологиите. От технологичната революция до етичните въпроси" се включиха Даниел Абоу, председател на EAIF (European AI Forum) и Изпълнителен директор на KI Bundesverband (AI Germany), Петр Братски, управляващ партньор, Кинстелар Прага, доц. Радослав Милчев, ръководител лаборатория по Изкуствен интелект в София Тех Парк, заместник декан на ФИТ към Технически Университет София, Кирил Кирилов, оперативен директор на суперкомпютъра "Discoverer" , Георги Киров, главен изследовател и Технологичен директор в Крисп Лабс, Mоника Манолова, PhD, експерт по иновации в Дигитална Национална Коалиция (DNA), проф. Милена Георгиева, главен научен директор в EPIX.AI, Институт по молекулярна биология към БАН и гл.ас. Момчил Карпузанов, академичен директор на магистърските програми в AUBG 

Отразяване и подробности за панела ТУК

В дискусията в ден 2 "Дигитализация и Киберсигурност" се включиха министърът на електронното управление Александър Йоловски, Благовест Кирилов, бивш заместник министър в Министерство на електронното управление и председател на УС на Българската асоциация на секторите софтуер и изнесени услуги, комисар Владимир Димитров, началник на дирекция "Киберпрестъпност" в Главна дирекция "Борба с организираната престъпност" на МВР (ГДБОП), Антон Пулийски, основател на КиберКЛУБ , Деян Благоев, управляващ съдружник в Bulbera, Иво Русев, главен търговски директор на Telelink Business Services, Ния Йотова, ръководител на отдел "Бизнес развитие" в "ZenArt VR" , и Емил Абаджиев от "Тумба Солюшънс"    

Отразяване и подробности за панела ТУК

Водещ двете дискусии беше Кристина Ескенази, член на УС на КРИБ, Клъстер Изкуствен Интелект България. 

Отминали събития

Запазете в календара си за 2023 г.!

Клъстер Изкуствен Интелект България партнира на Ratio CONNECT: Изкуствен интелект

В рамките на Ratio CONNECT: Изкуствен интелект се проведе изключително интересна дискусия за възможностите и предизвикателствата на съвместната работа между държавните институции, бизнеса и Академията. 

Благодарим на Благовест Кирилов - заместник министър на електронното управление, който ни запозна с европейските политики и стратегии за развитие на Изкуствения Интелект, както и постави темата за фалшивите новини и профили в социалните мрежи като Facebook.

В събитието се включи и Генчо Керезов - заместник-кмет по дигитализация, иновации и икономическо развитие на Столична община, който представи възможностите за подкрепа на местната AI екосистема. Интерес предизвика представянето на успешни примери като участието на общината в проекта „Пилотно използване на европейската облачна инфраструктура за публични администрации“, в който участват още Atos (Испания), IBM Research (Израел), London Borough of Camden (Обединено Кралство), Socieadad Aragonesa de Gestion Agroambiental (Испания), Instituto Technologico de Aragon (Испания),  EGI (Нидерландия), Singular Logic (Кипър), Гръцката мрежа за научни изследвания и технологии (Гърция), Maggioli (Италия), LeanXcale (Испания), Ubitech (Кипър) и други.

Председателят на Клъстер Изкуствен Интелект България и СЕО на Efemerai, Светлин Пенков демонстрира примери за Надежден изкуствен интелект и неговите възможности за употреба в различни домейни.

В дискусионния панел, в който се включиха и Антон Пулийски - Обединено Дрон Общество и Кристина Ескенази - AI Cluster Bulgaria, постави на фокус данни от Доклада за Изкуствен Интелект на България'2022 г., който се реализира от Клъстера в успешна колаборация със SeeNews, кометираха се правно-етичните измерения на технологията, както и конкретни успешни примери от екосистемата.

AI & I FACTORY обединява експерти и студенти в активности, насочени към съвместно развитие на знания и култура, ориентирани към промяна на бъдещето чрез силата на технологиите и междусекторното сътрудничество.

Инициативата има за цел да задълбочи разбирането на ролята и потенциалното приложение на изкуствен интелект (AI) в човешкото ежедневие, да отвори тематично ориентирана рамка за дебат, да представи различни гледни точки, да насърчи експериментите и да привлече повече младежи и дами в тех индустрията, както и да вдъхнови генерирането на социално-ориентирани стартъп идеи и да повиши уменията на младите предприемачи.

AI & I FACTORY е платформа за обучение, обмен на идеи и създаване на иновации, която формира пресечна точка на бъдещи и настоящи професионалисти и ги обединява в една общност.

Инициативата е следствие на успешната колаборация между Дигитална Национална Коалиция, Клъстер Изкуствен Интелект България и подкрепата на Европейската Инвестиционна Банка.

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Пилотният проект на инициативата AI & I FACTORY

/// CHALLENGE 1.0 е серия от активности, кулминиращи в хибриден хакатон за млади предприемачи (smartpreneurs), фокусиран върху практическото прилагане на AI за добри и етични каузи.

Студенти от различни специалности ще посетят лабораторния комплекс на София Тех Парк, състоящ се от 11 иновативни лаборатории, предлагащи възможност за генериране и тестване на идеи за научни и бизнес проекти в различни изследователски области.

Във втория етап на Challange 1.0, участниците ще преминат през поредица от лекции и менторски сесии, които ще ги запознаят с основите на изкуствения интелект, неговото приложение в различни области, както и кои са ключовите стъпки за оформяне на основите на успешен стартъп.

Накрая, участниците ще работят в смесени екипи върху създаването и представянето на свои стартъп проекти, базирани на AI. Най-добрите отбори ще бъдат представени на сцената на събитието, наречено "Българският Давос" - Powers Summit 2022, организирано от Webit Foundation, съвместно с Дигитална Национална Коалиция и ще станат част от следващия доклад на България за AI ' 2023 г.