Plug and Play to Work with EIT Digital for the Building of Strong European Deep Tech Ecosystems

BARCELONA, SPAIN, March 3, 2023 - Plug and Play Tech Center and EIT Digital signed earlier this month a Letter of Intent that outlines the common objectives of the two partners to support the European digital transformation by building new digital ecosystems and promoting digital education and skills, innovation infrastructure, and the creation of high-quality jobs. The collaboration between the two organizations will focus on developing synergies to support digital transformation and serve the needs of the European digital community.

EIT Digital interim CEO Federico Menna and Plug and Play Managing Director & Co-Head EMEA Seena Amidi.

"We are thrilled to work with EIT Digital in our common goal to support the European digital transformation. With Plug and Play's almost 20 years of experience in tech innovation and EIT Digital's track record in driving Europe's digital agenda, I am confident that this collaboration will help build new digital ecosystems, promote digital literacy, and create new opportunities in Europe. Together, we will leverage our synergies and capabilities to support the digital transformation and drive growth and innovation for the European economy," said Seena Amidi, Managing Director and Co-Head of EMEA in Plug and Play.

The collaboration will cover areas such as supporting digital innovation ecosystems and capabilities, community building, supporting inclusiveness and gender balance in digital, innovation for the European digital economy, and other areas identified by common agreement on a case-by-case basis. Plug and Play and EIT Digital intend to support each other by sharing business opportunities, best practices, lessons learned, and results from projects and programs. Their joint effort includes engaging with stakeholders and digital public service providers to achieve their main objective.

"This relationship builds on the complementary strengths of EIT Digital and Plug and Play. It has a fantastic potential to reinforce Europe's innovative digital ecosystems and foster inclusive, fair, and sustainable growth of a strong digital Europe," said EIT Digital's interim CEO Federico Menna.

By working together with EIT Digital, Plug and Play initiates new connections and relationships with digital public service providers and other stakeholders, which can enhance its reputation and visibility in the European market. With this strategic agreement, Plug and Play will strengthen its position as a leading player in the global innovation ecosystem. Overall, the partnership promotes Europe's digital transformation and a stronger and more competitive digital economy.

About EIT Digital

EIT Digital embodies the future of innovation by mobilizing a pan-European multi-stakeholder open-innovation ecosystem of top European corporations, SMEs, startups, universities and research institutes, where students, researchers, engineers, business developers and investors address the technology, talent, skills, business and capital needs of digital entrepreneurship. EIT Digital builds the next generation of digital ventures, digital products and services, and breeds digital entrepreneurial talent, helping business and entrepreneurs to be at the frontier of digital innovation by providing them with technology, talent, and growth support. EIT Digital answers specific innovation needs by, for example, finding the right partners to bring technology to the market, supporting the scale-up of digital technology ventures, attracting talent and developing their digital knowledge and skills.

About Plug and Play

Plug and Play is the leading innovation platform, connecting startups, corporations, venture capital firms, universities, and government agencies. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, we're present in 50+ locations across 5 continents. We offer corporate innovation programs and help our corporate partners in every stage of their innovation journey, from education to execution. We also organize startup acceleration programs and have built an in-house VC to drive innovation across multiple industries where we've invested in hundreds of successful companies, including Dropbox, Guardant Health, Honey, Lending Club, N26, PayPal, and Rappi. For more information, visit www.plugandplaytechcenter.com.