The first Open Call of the O-CEI project has reached an important milestone with the selection of its winners, marking a key step in supporting the next generation of Cloud–Edge–IoT (CEI) solutions across Europe.
The call attracted a strong response from the European innovation ecosystem, with 249 proposals submitted from 37 countries, reflecting a clear demand for scalable, interoperable and energy-efficient digital infrastructures.
This level of participation confirms both the relevance of the CEI domain and the growing interest from startups and SMEs in contributing to Europe’s digital and green transition.
From competition to collaboration
Following a rigorous evaluation process, 24 companies from 13 countries have been selected to receive up to €100,000 each in equity-free funding, alongside tailored support to further develop and scale their solutions.
Beyond funding, the selected innovators will participate in a seven-month acceleration programme, combining:
- technical mentoring,
- business coaching,
- and integration support within the O-CEI ecosystem.
This approach ensures that the open call goes beyond financial support, enabling participants to validate, refine and position their solutions within real pilot environments.
Addressing key challenges across the CEI continuum
The selected projects cover a wide range of challenges across the CEI spectrum, including:
- energy systems and smart grids,
- mobility and vehicle-to-everything (V2X) applications,
- data sharing and interoperability,
- AI at the edge,
- and cybersecurity and distributed architectures.
This diversity highlights the cross-sector nature of the CEI ecosystem, where innovation increasingly depends on the ability to connect technologies, domains and stakeholders.
Supporting the scaling of CEI innovation
Within the broader CEI-Sphere framework, O-CEI’s open call represents a concrete mechanism to bridge the gap between research and market deployment. By enabling SMEs and startups to plug into large-scale pilot environments, the initiative supports the transition from promising concepts to scalable, real-world solutions.
CEI-Sphere contributes to this process by fostering visibility, knowledge exchange and ecosystem alignment, ensuring that the outcomes of such initiatives are not isolated, but instead contribute to a more coherent and interoperable European CEI landscape.
Looking ahead
As the selected projects begin their journey, the focus now shifts to integration, experimentation and scaling. At the same time, new opportunities are emerging across the ecosystem, including upcoming open calls such as those from COP-PILOT, further expanding the pathways for innovation.
👉 To learn more about the selected projects and hear directly from the winners, visit:
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| O-CEI_1st-Open-Call_Evaluation-Public-Summary-Report.pdf | 1.03 MB |