Cyprus Seeds has released its latest newsletter, recapping a series of milestones and partnerships that underline its growing role in advancing research-based innovation in Cyprus.

In March 2025, the organisation was recognised by the Financial Times as “One of Europe’s Leading Startup Hubs,” ranking 104 out of 3,000 European entries.

It became the first organisation from Cyprus to be included in the list, a distinction hailed as a milestone for the country’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Further recognition came in May 2025 when the Cypriot Diaspora honoured Cyprus Seeds with an award in the Startups and Innovation category.

During June and July, Cyprus Seeds welcomed Harvard undergraduate Finn Tondro as an intern. “I will miss Cyprus and Cyprus Seeds,” he said in a farewell video before departing.

Alongside the operation of the fourth cycle of its Grant Programme, Cyprus Seeds is preparing to enter the third year of its collaboration with the Phaethon Centre of Excellence.

The initiative will lay the groundwork for the establishment of the Phaethon Innovation Hub. To support these efforts, the organisation plans to double its team from three to six members by the end of 2025.

Cyprus Seeds has also intensified its role in Cyprus’ innovation ecosystem through networking activities.

It organised two panel discussions at the 2025 Reflect Festival, connected alumni and new teams with industry stakeholders such as Novartis Cyprus and Titan Cement Group, and hosted an international event on technology transfer under the theme “From University to Market: The Role of Technology Transfer.”

A partnership with ConceptionX, the United Kingdom’s leading PhD deeptech venture programme, is giving Cyprus Seeds’ fourth cohort additional momentum.

Through virtual and in-person sessions on customer discovery, pitching, investment readiness, and intellectual property management, six projects are accelerating their path towards commercialisation.

Among these is RustAlert, a project that began when Dr Andreas Christofe crossed the Rio-Antirio Bridge in Greece in 2017 and envisioned a smarter way to detect corrosion in concrete. Now developed at the Eratosthenes Centre of Excellence and Cyprus University of Technology, RustAlert has patented a non-invasive tool that reduces inspection costs by up to 40 per cent. Supported by Cyprus Seeds, the team is advancing a prototype and seeking global partners.

Another success story is InvasiCell, developed at the University of Cyprus. This live-cell platform recreates the tumour microenvironment and has shown strong predictive power in cancer models.

Selected for the second and third cycles of Cyprus Seeds’ programme, it has filed multiple patents and is now in talks with Idylle Labs in France for a licensing agreement.

“These stories reflect the heart of Cyprus Seeds’ mission—to nurture research-based ventures and help them thrive beyond academia,” said managing director Maria Markidou Georgiadou.

Finally, Cyprus Seeds credited its loyal donors for enabling its work and welcomed new supporters to join its mission of nurturing the brightest Cypriot minds.