Euskadi has a strong scientific and technological base, capable of generating advanced knowledge in highly complex fields. To translate that knowledge into business activity, it is essential to establish mechanisms that support its entry into the market, especially in the case of deep tech, where technical complexity and maturation times are greater.
Generating knowledge does not automatically mean generating a company.
The real challenge appears in the transition: the moment when a technological asset is no longer purely research but has not yet become a fully-fledged business project. It is in this intermediate stage that many high-potential opportunities require structure, method, and support to progress.
Basque Tek Ventures operates precisely at this point.
The initiative operates directly in this intermediate space, guiding the transfer of technology towards the market.
Basque Tek Ventures is an initiative led by SPRI, in coordination with BRTA, the network of BICs in Euskadi, and Gestión de Capital Riesgo del País Vasco, designed to structure the creation of new technology-based companies from deep tech assets developed in scientific and technological environments. In this edition, the framework has been expanded to include other actors in the Basque Science, Technology, and Innovation Network, including BERC centers.
High-tech projects concentrate a significant potential impact on employment, revenue, internationalization, and investment attraction. At the same time, they face greater challenges in materializing as businesses.
These challenges do not stem from technological quality, but from the complexity of the process that connects the scientific asset with the market.
Deep tech initiatives combine technological ambition with business rigor. Their cycles are longer, technical uncertainty is higher, and perceived risk complicates early talent and investment attraction. Without a specific framework, many of these opportunities stall in intermediate valorization stages.
Basque Tek Ventures provides structure and continuity at this friction point.
Basque Tek Ventures does not operate as a one-off grant or a conventional accelerator.
Its approach follows a venture-building logic adapted to advanced technologies in early stages.
Advancing a deep tech project requires an integrated approach to market opportunity, team configuration, and resource availability in the early stages, when risk is highest and decisions are structural. Without this approach, many technological initiatives struggle to reach a viable business structure.
The model is based on mentored support, in which the initiative plays an active role in configuring and launching new companies. It does not merely observe the project’s evolution but intervenes at key moments in its development.
The process includes identifying and valuing the technological asset, defining the business roadmap, assembling the founding team, and preparing access to clients and investment until consolidation as an operational company.
This path is supported by a specific funding instrument: the technology transfer fund managed by Gestión de Capital Riesgo del País Vasco, which invests in and participates in new companies to facilitate their passage through the so-called “valley of death,” the period of greatest risk and uncertainty in the life of these emerging companies.
The initiative is realized through an active portfolio of deep tech projects addressing real challenges in areas such as advanced industry, digitalization, health, mobility, and new materials. These initiatives tangibly demonstrate the transformation of knowledge into business.
The progress of these projects requires profiles with experience, leadership, and high technical specialization. For this reason, Basque Tek Ventures facilitates connections between early-stage initiatives and talent capable of assuming strategic responsibilities at decisive moments, helping to build strong teams for business development.
Basque Tek Ventures establishes a common working environment for the different actors involved in creating deep tech companies: members of the Basque Science, Technology, and Innovation Network, entrepreneurs interested in leading new advanced technology initiatives, and companies and investors looking for high-potential opportunities.
Each profile finds a distinct point of entry within the same operational framework, aimed at transforming technological assets into companies with industrial vocation.
Developing deep tech companies requires experienced, leadership-capable, and highly specialized profiles. For this reason, when founding teams consider it necessary, the program facilitates the dissemination of talent needs linked to specific projects.
Through its own channels, professional opportunities in early-stage tech startups are shared, connecting advanced projects with individuals capable of leading their business development at key moments.
The transition from technological asset to company constitutes one of the most complex phases of the innovation process. Basque Tek Ventures provides structure, continuity, and guidance throughout this journey, contributing to a more competitive business ecosystem aligned with industrial challenges.
You can consult active projects and the opportunities linked to the initiative in their respective technical sheets and follow their progress through the usual channels: the Basque company’s blog, subscription to communications, and social media channels
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