EC awards €1.8M to these 15 European startups to increase online trust with blockchain

The European Commission’s NGI TrustChain initiative has announced the awarding of an additional €1.8M in grant funding to 15 European startups. These funds aim to combat online misinformation and false identity using blockchain-based technologies. 

Each startup will receive up to €117K in grant funding to support their solutions. Selected from a competitive pool of 162 applicants, the 15 startups represent 10 different European countries. 

This is the third cohort of the NGI TrustChain Project, which has become increasingly critical due to the rising prevalence of political, social, and military conflicts impacting online spaces. Since its inception, NGI TrustChain has provided more than €4.6M in funding to 43 companies.

Driving innovation to safeguard democracy

Yuting Jiang, CEO of grant recipient ZKorum (one of the Trustchain startup grant recipients), says, “We’re working with TrustChain to depolarise the online social landscape so democracy has breathing room for inclusive discussion. Trustchain will help with the adoption of our polling and discussion tools, as well as our user and privacy-friendly identity verification platform.”

Dr. Muttukrishnan Rajarajan, Professor and Director of the Institute of Cyber Security at City, University of London, adds, “Misinformation, hate speech and online harm in democracy is a pressing issue – nearly half of the world’s population are voting in national elections this year.”

“Trustchain startups are working to use blockchain, identity, privacy and interoperable decentralised technologies so that the internet ecosystem can give the public confidence in online activities.”

Introducing the latest grant recipients

The TrustChain startup grant recipients include:

• ZKorum (France): Develops open-source solutions to rehumanise and depolarise the online social landscape.
• Metabio PC (Greece): Designs and implements IT solutions for the life sciences sector.
• Compellio (Luxembourg): Bridges the gap between Web2 and Web3 computing.
• Forkbomb BV (Netherlands): Provides cryptography, identity, and blockchain interoperability solutions.
• ENISMARO (Italy): Offers end-to-end food production tracking for transparency and consumer trust.
• Arsys Internet (Spain): Creates a data aggregation platform to incentivise data sharing.
• Acurraent UG (Germany): Supports SMEs in restructuring, digitising, and expanding.
• In Trade 4 You (Italy): Facilitates international trade access for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises.
• QX by Qpick (Poland): Enhances customer experiences with a blockchain-powered travel wallet and digital ID.
• Digital Democracy World (Sweden): Promotes effective democratic organization.
• Pavlos Efraimidis (Greece): Develops FLORA, an ovulation tracking app using Federated Learning.
• City and Me doo Nis (Serbia): Provides digital support for interactive and sustainable communities.
• Gheorghe Asachi Tech, University Iasi (Romania): Offers an open-source platform for developing ideas and projects.
• SecureOpinion (United Kingdom): Creates secure, privacy-preserving public opinion sharing solutions.
• Neuron AI (Greece): Develops AI solutions for the EU and global markets.

Empowering trusted online spaces

Founded in 2013, F6S is a growth network supporting over five million founders and businesses globally. It connects users with growth opportunities, including corporate partnerships, accelerator programmes, investors, grants, and new talent.

Reaching 3,800 markets, F6S serves businesses across North America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, South America, and Africa. It also provides resources such as R&D and accounting services to alleviate the stress of running a startup.

Sean Kane, co-founder and Chair of the F6S startup network, says, “It’s not surprising that only 6 in 10 of us trust online information – fake and deceptive information is everywhere. These 15 latest grants will help top new European blockchain and identity startups empower trusted discussion in European digital public spaces.”