A prestigious jury of VCs and tech entrepreneurs selected Circu Li-ion as the most promising startup during the final round of Startup World Cup in Luxembourg.
Organized worldwide by Pegasus Tech Ventures and facilitated locally by EY Luxembourg, the competition unfolded on 13 June during a decisive pitching competition hosted in EY’s premises.
In the next round taking place in Silicon Valley, Circu Li-ion’s co-founder will be facing more than 70 worldwide competitors to potentially win a US$1 million prize in investment. The company will also be given the opportunity through selected events to meet and exchange with the US startup ecosystem.
A prestigious jury
The jury was composed of Christophe Bianco (Managing Partner of Excellium Services), Fabrice Testa (serial tech entrepreneur), Jean-Michel Ludwig (Director at Luxinnovation), Marzio Schena (CEO of ANote Music, winner of last year’s Startup World Cup who made it into the top 10 best startups worldwide), Pascal Bouvier (Managing Partner of MiddleGame Ventures), Patrizia Luchetta (Partner at Kavedon Kapital), Raoul Mulheims (CEO of Finologee).
All of them based their evaluation on the following criteria: the solution itself, problem-solving ability, market and traction, competitive advantage, business case, implications in terms of societal, economic, and environmental impacts, strength of the team, overall pitch and presentation.
Ten finalists
The ten finalists who had been selected among all applicants by a collaborative committee two weeks ago were well prepared to pitch thanks to a coaching and rehearsal session organized by the House of Startups prior to the event.
Another highlight of the evening was the keynote speech delivered by Bill Reichert, Partner at Pegasus Tech Ventures and one of Silicon Valleys’ most renown venture capitalists who flew in from San Francisco. His inspiring speech full of anecdotes about Silicon Valley’s ecosystem was also there to advise startups on how to overcome clichés to convince the most influential VCs and investors.
About the winner
Circu Li-ion was co-founded in 2021 by Antoine Welter and Dr Xavier Kohll. It is a European cleantech start-up aiming to maximize the lifecycle of each lithium-ion cell by developing solutions to create an ecosystem of reuse for lithium batteries on an industrial scale. The business works toward the upcycling of a large numbers of batteries, giving them a second life thanks to a fully automated procedure, result of a universal disassembly method saving up to 48% CO2 emissions.
About Startup World Cup
Organized worldwide by Pegasus Tech Ventures, the Startup World Cup is a global competition with the aim of bridging startup ecosystems together. Talented entrepreneurs are encouraged to battle until the finals in Silicon Valley, where the winning company will receive a US$1 million prize in investment and the opportunity to connect with peer entrepreneurs, investors and the wider startup ecosystem in the USA. EY has the honor to host the Luxembourg and greater region finale each year.
