Imec is the world-leading research and innovation hub in nanoelectronics and digital technologies. Here, you’ll find the expertise of more than 5,500 scientists and researchers in these domains.

Imec collaborates with numerous acclaimed universities and companies from around the world. But it also strives to give startups and entrepreneurs a head start on their road to market. Find out more about imec.

The imec.istart program fully supports you for 12 months. Are you a deep tech startup? Then the period is extended to 18 months. That gives you the opportunity to acquire the needed specific certifications.

However, your graduation from the program does not necessarily mean the end of all support from imec.istart. As long as we’re a shareholder, we’ll continue to help you with access to funding, talent, networking and other services.

We can’t help you if your company is:

• a consultancy firm, agency, engineering bureau or third-party software development house, such as a general project-based business or pure service company
• a startup with a product that targets industries such as gambling or pornography
• a startup that develops me-too products without a novel technology component, disruptive business model or other innovative feature

There are many successful graduates from the imec.istart program, and their numbers grow every year. A few notable examples are Deliverect, Ontoforce, Twikit, Waylay, UgenTec and Lightspeed (formerly POSiOS).

Browse through the complete portfolio

Young and ambitious tech-based startups like yours can choose from a wide range of accelerator programs. But imec.istart is different. Because imec.istart:

• is backed by imec, one of the world’s leading research institutes on new digital and nanotechnologies. That gives you unique access to the knowhow of no less than 5500 researchers.
• has a unique network of investors and over forty industry partners such as ING, BNP Paribas Fortis, Cronos, UCB and Pfizer.
• is consistently ranked among the best programs in Europe and even the world. In 2023, UBI Global ranked us as the number one university-business accelerator worldwide.
• provides a longer period of support: 12 to 18 months instead of the 3 to 6 months that most programs offer. In other words: you’re supported for at least one full sales cycle – ample time to build solid fundamentals for your startup.
• accurately measures your progress. Our Innovatrix tool monitors your achievements and benchmarks them against those of your peers. This provides us and you with additional insights.
• has supported over 350+ startups, a large portion of which consists of high-growth scale-ups with an above-average survival rate. That vast experience ensures support practices with proven efficiency and a wide network of entrepreneurs to learn from.

We have corporate partners with expertise - like health, cleantech, logistics, fintech, hardware,... That are definitely eager to get to know you. Discover all of our partners on our partner page.

You’ll go through two selection phases:

Your entry is evaluated on paper by the investment committee of the imec.istart fund. Do they like your project? And does it fulfill all the requirements? Then you’re part of the pre-selection of startups that enter the second phase.

You’re invited to pitch your project in person. The investment committee asks you to give a detailed presentation of your business proposal, team composition and motivation.

In both phases of the selection process, you’re competing with other startups. Our resources are limited: we sometimes have to turn down a promising project because other ones are simply even better. So, make sure to pull out all the stops for your application.

Yes, we always give constructive criticism to help you strengthen your project. Even if you’re not selected for the program.

Enhance your selection chances by coming up with:

A product that:

• is highly technically or technologically innovative
• responds to a clear customer need
• is backed by the outline of a business model
• has at least one clear and strong differentiator
• is ready to compete in a defined and sufficiently large market

A core team that:

• is committed and willing to bear the entrepreneurial risk
• is capable of pushing technological boundaries
• embraces external coaching
• is ready to go global
• can show a finished proof of concept of the technology, including a sketch of the required actions regarding freedom to operate (FPO) and intellectual property rights (IPR)
• envisions the possibility of a break-even within two to three years
• aims at a sales figure of at least 1 million euro within three years and 10 million euro in the long term

Those last two points address the financial viability of your startup. So, you might think that they’re more important than the others. Actually, the opposite is true. If two proposals are equally strong, imec.istart will choose the one that excels in technological innovation and business orientation and has a clear ambition for societal impact.

Attach the following documents to your online application:

• executive summary of your project
• business pitch (slide deck)
• short demo movie of your working prototype

Yes, but that might prove too big a challenge for you, depending on the intensity of the other accelerator program. Because we expect you to dedicate sufficient time to the imec.istart program – including attendance at all sessions and events.

Yes, but we don’t recommend it. In our experience, startups who only work part time are less likely to succeed. So it improves your chances at selection and long-term success if you fully commit.

Most of our workshops are tailored to the needs of your startup. Those are mandatory and require at least one of your team to be present. Other workshops are optional. But if you want to reap all the rewards of our program, why would you skip them?

We realize that starting up a business is already intense and challenging. The program doesn’t require your full-time presence. And we never fill up entire work weeks with workshop and events. All activities are spread over the entire duration of the program, giving you ample time to absorb the insights and putting them to good use.

Yes, just ask us who you would like to meet, and we’ll try to set up your introduction to national or international corporate decision makers. And you always remain welcome at our regular barbecues, Founders Circles and other network events.

Yes. Once your project is in an advanced stage, we’re happy to support you in crossing the borders. We have access to people and facilities around the world. And our dedicated internationalization officer helps you to connect with local players, guides you to promising events and advises you on how to do business abroad. Eventually, she will help you to set up a local subsidiary.

Rest assured, we only show your application to the imec.istart selection jury, which signs a confidentiality agreement. Because we get a lot of applications, and for other practical reasons, we don’t draw up an NDA. Is this an issue for you? Please contact us and we’ll discuss it.

We do our best not to. But companies and the products they bring to market often evolve over time. So we can’t completely rule out that they move on each other’s turf.

In any case, we always ensure that:

• there is never an exchange of sensitive data
• competitive companies are coached by different venture acceleration managers

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Imec.istart is a fund business acceleration program that guides your tech startup through its first steps on the market.

In Italy, if you are selected for investment, you will also have the opportunity to apply for a dedicated acceleration program delivered together with our local and global partners.

If selected for the program, you’ll have round-the-clock access to dedicated support from our management team, access to a catalogue of 20+ workshops (both online and offline), follow-up tracks with our experts on various topics and a library of 80+ business support deals from our partners (such as AWS, Hubspot, Notion etc.) to support your business activity.  

This helps you to pass important milestones on your road to success:

• Product-readiness - reach a fully functioning solution
• Market-readiness – you prove that there is a sufficient market for your solutions. Ideally by presenting your (first) paying customers.
• Growth-readiness – as a founder and entrepreneur, you acquire the necessary skills and know-how to build your startup into a success. And to install the processes that ensure your long-term growth.
• Investor-readiness – you have access to a number of relevant funding sources to fuel your further growth.

Yes! As long as your idea fits our investment scope and you have (or plan to have) a legal entity in Italy we will be welcome to review your application!

If your company is selected for an investment from our committee that means you will have the opportunity to access our acceleration program!

Anytime. We review investment applications all year round.

Yes, all of the program communications and workshops will be in English.

Yes, you can still apply.

• Startups from Europe, the US and Canada need to show a link with Italy, such as a subsidiary in Italy or a collaboration with an Italian research institute.
• Startups from other regions need to set up an Italian legal entity, such as a branch, before we can invest. You don’t need to move your headquarters to Italy.

Founders from outside the EU need a work permit, and therefore a temporary residence permit, to set up a business in Italy. We’re proudly recognized by the Italian government as an accredited accelerator, which makes it easier for foreign founders to obtain their permit.

Your application will be evaluated by:

• the imec.istart team‍
• our fund partners Pariter Partners and Cassa Depositi e Prestiti

Yes! If you are not selected it doesn’t mean we are not interested in your technology or product! As long as you believe you are keep improving your development stage and value proposition feel free to let us know and we will be happy to review again your case!

We usually accept between seven and twelve startups per year. But we refuse to tie ourselves to a fixed number. It’s a lot more important to select those startups that can really benefit from our program.

Our support starts as soon as you’ve signed your contract.

No, but you must be able to come to our office in Milan for mandatory meetings such as quarterly acceleration boards and workshops. This amounts to an average of 1 week per quarter.

Yes, by preparing you for and introducing you to our network of Italian and international investors: business angels, VC funds, corporates, banks, crowdfunding platforms, ...

On top of that, we put you in the spotlight during the Investors Days that we organize twice a year for an international investor audience. And obviously, we’ll try to get you on stage at other events that are swarming with investors.

You apply for the investment. In Italy, our investment and our acceleration program are two separate things, and you can’t apply for the program directly.

Here’s how it works:

1. You apply for investment. You can send us your application anytime, as we review applications all year round.
2. We decide whether to invest. We review your startup in a due diligence process. Not every application leads to an investment.
3. If we invest, you get weekly support. Every startup we invest in gets a one-hour call with our team every week, plus hands-on help with your startup behind the scenes.
4. We may invite you to the acceleration program. After the investment, we look at which portfolio companies would benefit most from the program, based on their stage and needs. Those startups get an invitation to join.
5. You decide whether to join. The program is optional. If you join, you get 12 to 18 months of more intensive support, including a dedicated coach, tailored workshops and an academy program, fundraising guidance and access to 80+ partner deals. If you decline, you keep our investment and weekly support.