At the close of 2024, EIT Digital continues to lead as the European Union’s foremost multi-stakeholder collaboration platform for digital technologies. Our mission remains steadfast: to mobilize and deploy both private and public funding in support of the EU’s highest priorities in innovation and digital skills, namely the New European Innovation Agenda and the 2030 Digital Compass.
Today, EIT Digital collaborates with over 350 partners across Europe and beyond. We have successfully mobilized more than €1.5 billion in venture capital and engaged over 500,000 learners through our massive open online courses (MOOCs) since the start of our operations in 2010. Our support has empowered more than 500 startups, and we now operate 23 offices in 15 countries, including a strategic hub in Silicon Valley. Our investor network includes over 1,000 stakeholders, and our ecosystem encompasses more than 4,000 talents.
In 2024, we expanded our regional presence by opening a new office in Athens (Greece) and Bolzano (Italy). We also secured our Supervisory Board approval for new locations in Košice (Slovakia) and Riga (Latvia), with nearly ten additional sites in the pipeline. This growth underscores our commitment to building a sustainable, EU-wide innovation ecosystem.
Flagship Achievements
Our innovation and education programmes continued to deliver strong value in 2024. Student participation in our education initiatives grew, and our Master School saw a record number of graduates. We expanded our investment portfolio with new equity positions, and several recently supported scaleups successfully closed funding rounds in 2024.
We secured 20 EU and national project proposals in 2024, bringing in €120 million in funding-surpassing our 2023 results. Since 2022, we have mobilized over €270 million in EU and national funding, an eightfold increase over the latest Business Plans. Our proposal success rate stands at an impressive 32% with EIT Digital being recognised as one of the most active and successful players in the Digital Europe Programme.
We are also increasing our collaborations with the European Commission Directorates-General and Agencies on innovation, education and ecosystem orchestration programmes, including a pioneering upskilling project focused on Artificial Intelligence and digital transformation with the EIT and the European Union Agency Network (EUAN). In addition, we are proud to be the first private organization featured on the Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP).
The EIT Digital Master School has grown from 14 to 24 universities between 2022 and 2025, with commitments to welcome three more institutions in 2026. We recorded a 38% year-over-year increase in student intake, reinforcing our belief that innovation is inseparable from education.
In 2024, we expanded our portfolio of EIT-labelled education programmes to five, covering education, skills, and entrepreneurship. The EIT Label serves as a mark of quality and a valuable marketing asset in an increasingly competitive global education landscape.
2024 also marked the end of the term for our Chairperson of the Supervisory Board, Linnar Viik after having served six years as a EIT Digital Supervisory Board member and its Chairperson. I extend my deepest gratitude to Linnar for his unwavering commitment, professionalism, and strong guidance throughout all the years: EIT Digital is now on a strong and steady growth trajectory.
On June 4, 2024, the EIT Digital Annual General Assembly elected Richard Benjamins as Linnar’s successor. Richard's expertise and leadership will undoubtedly propel us forward. His deep understanding of the digital landscape and commitment to ethical AI make him the ideal choice to guide EIT Digital into its next phase of growth.
Looking Ahead
As our current Strategic Innovation Agenda 2022–2024 concludes at the end of the year, 2025 will serve as a transition year toward our next agenda covering 2026–2030. Work for the new strategy has been initiated by the Supervisory Board.
Following our successful transition into the post-Year-15 phase, we signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) in August 2024 with our parent organization, the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT). This MoC is a cornerstone for reinforcing the strategic alignment and long-term partnership between EIT Digital and the EIT, ensuring continued impact across Europe’s innovation ecosystem and enabling us to remain an active member of the EIT Community.
Aligned with the MoC, EIT Digital will undergo a rebranding process in 2025, alongside the other two first-wave EIT KICs, EIT InnoEnergy and EIT Climate-KIC. This initiative will reinforce our identity as a leading multi-stakeholder platform for EU digital innovation and education. The new brand will be proposed at the Annual General Assembly in June and launched later in the year.
This transition marks a pivotal moment for EIT Digital as we remain focused on expanding our pan-European network of corporates, universities, SMEs, TTOs, RTOs, growing our regional footprint, and supporting EU policy priorities through innovation and entrepreneurial education.
I would like to sincerely thank all our members, partners, customers, students, and stakeholders-as well as the dedicated EIT Digital team-for a successful and impactful 2024. I look forward to deepening and expanding our collaboration in 2025 and beyond.
Federico Menna
CEO
EIT Digital IVZW
