Scotland’s premier tech investor conference will see company founders pitch for investment from seed level to over £2 million. EIE, which is run by the Bayes Centre in partnership with the DDI (Data-Driven Innovation) initiative, is a year-round programme highlighted by a day of pitching to investors from across the globe.

This year, EIE21 takes place on Thursday 10th June and will be delivered in a virtual format.

EIE has supported over 500 tech startups since 2008 who have collectively raised around £750m from seed through to Series A and later stage funding - with Current Health (who secured a £9m Series A round in December 2019), FanDuel (Scotland’s first billion dollar-valued tech startup or ‘unicorn’), Celtic Renewables (who have raised over £33m since 2011), Amiqus, Two Big Ears (acquired by Facebook in 2016), Speech Graphics, pureLiFi (backed by Singapore sovereign fund Temasek) and mLed among EIE alumnus companies.

The sector categories for EIE21 are: AI and Data Science; Energy, Climate and Cleantech; Digital Health and Medtech; Fintech and Cybersecurity; Smart Cities and Mobility; Robotics and Autonomy; Internet of Things, and; Creative Design and Media Tech. In 2021, EIE also has a ‘Wildcard’ category for the first time.

Featured companies include: satellite data specialist Earth Blox; OnGen, a tech platform that helps companies cut energy costs and carbon emissions; University of Edinburgh spin-out Net AI whose AI-driven analytics aim to revolutionise the management of virtual mobile networks, and; Oceanium, a startup developing sustainably-farmed seaweed into plant-based foods and packaging.

Steve Ewing, director of entrepreneurship at Bayes Centre and EIE21 lead, said: “We are excited to see so many fascinating companies and products underpinned by both innovation and ambition at this year’s EIE, companies who are aiming to solve real-world problems and meet some of the biggest challenges facing our societies in 2021 and the years ahead.”

Michael Rovatsos, Professor of AI, Deputy Vice Principal of Research and Director of the Bayes Centre at the University of Edinburgh, added: “Bayes has already established itself as a beacon in an evolving landscape of data science and artificial intelligence, and it’s our mission to remain on the frontier of academia and industry working in a collaborative way. Entrepreneurship is one of the core pillars of Bayes’ strategy to boost the university’s impact across the city and region, and the EIE programme is central to this overall approach, demonstrating our commitment to support the wider tech startup ecosystem in Scotland.”

The full list of companies selected for EIE21 are: AiM; Bendi; Beta Bugs; BLK Global; Boxergy, Bridgeweave; Crack Map; Earth Blox; Danu Robotics; Data Innovation.AI; Decblue; DTIME; GoBubble; iLoF; Innovatium; Intelligent Reality; Ionburst; iOPt; Libereat; Looper; Nebu-Flow; Net AI; NIQS Technology; Nomad Energy; Oceanium; OnGen; Open Banking Reporting; REOptimize Systems; theo Health: Transwap Technologies; UrbanTide, and; Voicekey.