Big Booster Startups Ready to Take In Boston Boot Camp February 8th-12th

LYON, FRANCE--(Marketwired - Jan 27, 2016) - Big Booster, the first non-profit international accelerator program between Lyon and Boston for startups in health, digital, and global impact, is bringing twenty program winners to Boston to take part in a boot camp run by MassChallenge.

There is a natural partnership between Boston and Lyon. Both Boston and Lyon are worldwide hubs with strong innovation ecosystems. Just as Boston is an entry point to the North American market, Lyon is a point of access to the European market. And both cities are committed to supporting international entrepreneurship. The city of Boston and the Greater Lyon Metropole have agreed to develop bilateral collaboration on issues including economic, cultural, academic and social policy.

To celebrate collaboration between these two cities, and to further position both centers as leaders in the startup sector, Big Booster is bringing twenty promising startups to take part in the boot camp at MassChallenge: Biosfer Teslab SL; Breezometer; Cyleone; Diabeloop; Echy; ENOVAP; INNAVIRVAX; IZICREA; MaaT Pharma; Marioway Srl; METAFORA Biosystems; Neolys Diagnostics; NOVADISCOVERY; Smart & Blue; SPIKE-X; SteadXP; Tilkee; uConekt Inc.; Wair; Ween sas. These startups were chosen at the Big Booster contest in Lyon and have already benefited from coaching through the Big Booster boot camp there.

The MassChallenge boot camp will provide unmatched access to connect with US advisors, customers and sponsors. It is also the next step in the Big Booster program which will wrap up with a top ten finale April 13^th and 14^th, where three startups winners will receive prizes of 100,000 euro. 

Big Booster aims to become the largest European program for early-stage startup companies with international ambition, and is backed by a group of iconic experts and industrial leaders.

Members of the press are invited to meet with spokespeople from Big Booster. To arrange an interview please contact Dalyce Semko Suanez at (403)869-3259.

The partners of the project:
This program will be supported by: Lyon Métropole, Rhône-Alpes Region, City of Boston, MassChallenge, University of Lyon, Axeleo, BPI France, Capgemini, La Banque Postale, EDF, GL Events, Keolis, Klesia, Sanofi, Veolia, ...

Find out more: www.bigbooster.org

Lyon and Boston: global leaders in the fields of biotech, cleantech and digital:

Lyon

•  59,000 jobs in the life sciences, 42,000 jobs in digital, 78,000 jobs in environment technologies
•  Renowned competitiveness clusters and centers of excellence: Lyon Biopôle, Axelera, Imaginove, ...
•  144,500 higher education students, nearly 13,000 researchers

In 2013, some 15,000 businesses were created in the local area

Boston

• 127,000 jobs in the field of health and social services, 82,000 jobs in technical and scientific sectors
• World's 6^th best ecosystem for startups, according to the 2012 Startup ecosystem report
• 3 development agencies for key sectors: Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, Massachusetts Clean Energy Center

World-class universities such as MIT and Harvard.