• The Coordination Committee will evaluate all applications and select the startups that best fit the evaluation criteria defined above and the desired technologies.
• During this period, potentially selectable teams may be asked to provide additional information.

• The Venture Client companies will evaluate the pre-selected startups in pitching interviews according to the previously defined evaluation criteria.
• The finalist startups with the highest score will move on to phase 3.

• During this phase, the finalist startups and our Venture Client partners will meet to define the scope of the smart industry project, reach a collaboration agreement and determine the scope of a contract.
• SPRI will provide the necessary assistance to the finalist startups to establish direct contact with the partners.
• In order to simplify the legal terms of the agreement, BIND will provide a standard contract template. However, both parties are free to draft additional clauses in the contract and establish the terms of their working relationship.
• Startups that receive a contract with one or more of our industry Venture Client partner companies will join BIND.

Once the pre-selection process is completed in October, BIND will contact the pre-selected companies to coordinate the second phase interviews.

Unsuccessful applicants will also be informed that they are not continuing in the process. When the second phase interviews have been concluded, the BIND team will contact the shortlisted companies to coordinate a meeting between the startup and the Venture Client or industrial partner companies so that they can start defining and outlining the joint project, which will be developed during the 24-week acceleration cycle.

Yes, and it goes beyond that. Acceleration is one of the services offered by BIND Corporate to support the market launch of startups. After eight editions held to date, this successful program connects promising startups with leading companies in smart industry, clean energy and sustainability, health and food, offering contracts worth up to 150,000 euros. The company will retain all equity, and there is no cost to participate in the program. For 24 weeks, we offer training, support services, networking activities, access to public funding and private investors, as well as high-level mentoring and a real application project to implement your solutions.

The Venture Client or corporate partners will provide each of the selected startups with the opportunity to develop a real Intelligent Industry, Clean Energy & Sustainability, Health Tech or Food Tech project. During this phase, meetings will be held between the finalist startups and the interested Venture Client companies in order to define the scope of the project and sign a collaboration agreement or contract. In order to simplify the legal terms of the agreement, the BIND program will provide a standard contract template. However, both parties will be free to draft other clauses in the contract. Startups will have the legal support of the Program to formalize the agreement.

Although the final amount and conditions of the possible contract between the Venture Client company and the startup will be agreed by both parties depending on the scope and complexity of the project, the program establishes an indicative minimum value of 25,000 euros (VAT not included).

The BIND open innovation platform connects startups with established industry leaders to provide solutions to their internal digital transformation challenges. BIND promotes interaction and collaboration with disruptive startups as an effective source of innovation that favors the digital transformation of large companies. It is a win-win approach by leveraging the knowledge and agility of startups with the expertise and resources of large companies.

The Venture Client approach means that large companies, like our 70 corporate clients, hire startups for real projects in smart industry, clean energy and sustainability, health and food. It is an approach that allows the startup to maintain full equity in their company and gain important reference clients as they implement and scale their solutions. Both startups and corporate companies get real benefits and results.

BIND Corporate offers high quality training and advice provided by professionals with extensive experience in open innovation, Industry 4.0, sales, investment and startup development. The goal of the training program is to push startups on business acceleration issues as they work on their collaborative smart industry projects.

BIND’s partner companies are constantly looking for new concepts, innovative ideas and early stage startups that can help them overcome their challenges in Industry 4.0. The benefit they get is to be able to interact with the best entrepreneurial talent in the world and develop innovative projects in an agile way and within a framework of controlled risks and costs.

This program does not accept early stage or development stage projects. BIND is aimed at incorporated startups less than 8 years old that have completed their technological development and are ready to launch their product or service to the market.

• To apply, startups must fill out the application form, which will be active from July 3 to September 5, 2025.
• Each team must submit a video in which the founders present their startup. Other accompanying documentation providing additional information (demos, presentations, etc.) will also be considered.
• Applications must be submitted in English, using the application form available on the website https://bind.spri.eus/

Nothing. Thanks to the public-private model we have developed, participation is free of charge. Venture Client companies finance the development of your project with no equity taken and startups maintain all intellectual property.

10th edition of the BIND Corporate program:

• International Call for Applicants / July 3, 2025
• Application Deadline / September 5, 2025
• Startup selection process / September 2025 – January 2026
• Start of the Acceleration Program / February 2026
• Acceleration and project development / February 2026 – July 2026
• BIND Demo Day  / July 2, 2026

The BIND program’s mentors advise participants and help them reach their full potential. They are renowned international professionals who put their knowledge, professional experience and vision at the service of the startups to help them develop and evolve quickly and efficiently. The team of mentors will guide the participating startups through each stage of their business model, marketing strategy, networking, etc. in order to secure funding, investment or new customers.

At the beginning of July each year we hold the BIND Demo Day event. It is an innovation showcase to share the results of collaborative projects developed within the framework of the platform. Investors, corporate companies, startups and industry influencers attend to see what advanced technologies are being implemented. It is a great networking opportunity providing visibility and credibility to each startup.

Key dates: 10th edition Demo Day – July 2, 2026

The 2026 edition will have a hybrid online and face-to-face format.

Kick-off, workshops and mentoring sessions will be held online, and face-to-face attendance will be required during 1 immersion week and the Demo Day event.

The face-to-face sessions will be held in the Basque Country (Spain) and all events will take place in the Madrid CET/CEST time zone.

BIND encourages participating startups to spend as much time as possible in the Basque Country (Spain) in order to get the most out of the program and enhance their immersion and development in the local industrial ecosystem. To learn more about the Basque Industry Ecosystem, visit the website where the main business and sectorial data is shown.

The documentation of each startup will only be available to the Venture Clients who are part of the selection jury and the BIND coordination team. All documentation is protected from unauthorized access.

BIND has been designed and is funded by the Basque Government and the Department for Industry, Energy Transition and Sustainability, through the Basque Business Development Agency SPRI Group.

BIND collaborates with the main industrial companies in the region, which act as Venture Clients, and receives the support of the HAZI Foundation and the three Provincial Councils of the Basque Autonomous Community.

Yes, the relationship can continue. When the project concludes, the relationship between the startups and the Venture Client companies will be maintained or not depending on the needs and motivations that may arise between both parties and that are formalized privately between them. Currently, 60% of the startups participating in BIND maintain their contract with the company one year after their participation in our program.

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to contact the BIND coordination team at info@bindplatform.com. We are here to help!

BIND is a public-private initiative, an open innovation platform that promotes interaction and collaboration between disruptive startups and innovative companies. BIND has an annual acceleration program, BIND Corporate, that connects startups with technological solutions with large corporations in the smart industry, clean and sustainable energy, health and food industries. In addition, the open innovation platform provides services to large companies in their digital transformation process.

We accept startups from around the world that propose the use of new technologies applicable to the industrial, clean and sustainable energy, health and food sectors. The technologies of interest varies from issue to issue, but some of the main areas are: AI, IIoT, collaborative robotics, virtual and augmented reality, machine vision systems, Big Data and advanced analytics, cybersecurity, nanotechnology, new materials, additive manufacturing, smart energy, clean technologies, bio-based solutions, positioning systems and many more.

If your company has already passed the product development phase and has recently launched a solution based on digital transformation technologies, now is the time to participate in BIND.

The program is in English, so at least one of the team members is required to have the necessary language skills.

Yes, startups must be legally established, have completed their technological development and be ready to launch or have recently entered the market.

No. Startups from all over the world can participate.

The participating startups are pre-selected according to the fulfillment of requirements and potential of the solutions by the BIND Coordination Committee and chosen by our 70 Venture Client or partner companies looking to collaborate and implement new technologies. Those startups that pass the selection process and sign a contract with at least one of the Venture Client companies will participate in BIND Corporate.