A startup from Bilbao FAN wins the second edition of EIT FAN and gets the prize of 100.000 euros.

The European programme EIT Food Accelerator Network (FAN) celebrated the final “Venture Summit” of its second edition by awarding Odd.Bot Robotics.

During the programme 414 candidates from 51 different countries, applied for a vacancy and only 60 start-ups had the chance to take part in FAN. These start-ups haven been attending an accelerator programme in 6 european cities for four months: Bilbao (Spain), Munich (Germany), Lausana (Switzerland), Cambridge (United Kingdom), Haifa (Israel) and Helsinki (Finland) . Between the cities mentioned, Bilbao was the place that succeeded the most. Indeed,  this year’s winner comes from this FAN: Odd.Bot. Although the company was originated in Netherlands, nowadays, the head office of the South of Europe is situated in Bilbao.

The winner was awarded with two prizes: on the one hand, Odd.Bot won a prize of 100.000 euros and, on the other hand, it achieved a direct entry to the agrifood sector with important connections to the market. Odd. Bot has developed a robot called Weeb Whacker. Weed Whacker is an intelligent and sustainable solution for weeding as it reduces or erases any use of herbicides while increasing productivity.

Bilbao brings another finalist

The final hosted 10 startups: one German, Turkish and Scottish, two Portuguese and Dutch and three Spanish. Nanomik Biotechnolgy, which has its origins in Turkey, was the other finalist that came from Bilbao FAN. This startups has developed and produced microencapsulated bio-pesticides based on plants in order to help the farming supply chain. Their first product is called Mikoks, which is a natural preservative for grapes and tomatoes that reduces food waste and increases efficiency.