Ten startups that have spent recent months in Plug and Play’s first acceleration programme in Cyprus will present their work to investors, corporates and the wider tech community in Limassol next week. The Batch 1 Expo takes place at ETKO on Wednesday, 11 November 2026, from 5pm, and marks the end of the programme’s first cohort.
Programme funding and corporate partners
Plug and Play launched its open innovation platform in Cyprus in 2026. It is funded by the Republic of Cyprus, the Deputy Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy and the Research and Innovation Foundation (RIF), with corporate partners ASBIS, Tototheo Global, Mastercard and ECOMMBX.
According to Plug and Play, Cyprus’s tech and innovation ecosystem has grown rapidly in recent years, and the organisation sees potential for the island to become a recognised name in the EMEA region and beyond.
How the Plug and Play model works
Plug and Play says its work in Cyprus goes beyond connecting startups with the ecosystem. It also works directly with companies on business growth, challenges and strategy. As in its other locations worldwide, it rests on three pillars:
- Acceleration programmes: run with the government to support local startups and strengthen the wider ecosystem. Participants receive mentoring, access to events, introductions to Plug and Play’s global venture capital network and visibility with corporate partners.
- Corporate innovation: helping corporations address internal challenges by working with startups, running innovation workshops or setting up in-house venture capital units.
- Venture capital and investments: investing in local and international startups with strong potential.
The organisation says this approach helps local tech companies grow faster and makes it easier for international companies to enter the Eastern Mediterranean.
The ten startups in the first cohort
The first cohort brought together companies from a range of industries:
- EleniAI: an autonomous conversational agent built for the real estate sector. It uses proprietary, domain-specific large language models to revive, screen and nurture dormant property leads, helping agencies capture missed revenue and lower overhead costs.
- qubehub.ai: an AI-driven B2B sales copilot, multi-channel CRM and white-label agent portal. It helps property developers and large-scale builders manage sales workflows, automate agent payouts and handle international buyers across multiple regions.
- Neura Energy: a zero-CAPEX energy demand management SaaS platform for commercial buildings and hotels. By analysing ambient thermal mass and weather data, it shapes cooling loads to reduce commercial electricity costs by up to 19%.
- Fewton: an early revenue stage predictive analytics and energy optimisation platform for hospitality chains. It connects to existing building management systems, identifies operational waste and forecasts consumption trends to reduce utility costs.
- Blend: a mobile-first workforce scheduling and team management platform for frontline workers in restaurants, hospitality and retail. It replaces fragmented messaging with a structured shift-swapping tool and shift-level data capture.
- Cleedee: an automated procurement and applicant tracking system (ATS) for high-turnover hospitality roles. It speeds up background screening, automates candidate matching and lets hiring managers fill frontline staff shortages in real time.
- Digital Fox: a guest-led checkout and payment platform that connects directly to restaurant point-of-sale (POS) systems. Diners can scan QR codes, split bills instantly and pay by mobile without staff involvement.
- Modelroom: a generative AI media operating system for performance marketing teams and mobile game publishers. It creates and tests narrative video ads at scale and reallocates budgets based on predictive return on investment (ROI) models.
- Sprouty: an AI-powered parenting assistant app that gives families personalised insights into child development. It analyses family data profiles to provide behavioural context and actionable milestones.
- EMBIO Diagnostics: a commercial-stage environmental monitoring platform that combines custom IoT sensors with cloud analytics. It gives enterprise managers real-time visibility into indoor air quality, building safety and resource efficiency across properties.
Expo programme and speakers
The Expo will open with remarks from the Presidential Office and the Deputy Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digital Policy, followed by pitches from all ten startups. Further speakers include:
- Theodoros Loukaidis, Director General, Research and Innovation Foundation (RIF)
- Serhei Kostevitch, CEO, ASBIS
- Georgia Pitta, GCFO, ECOMMBX
- Theodoros Hadjistyllis, Director, Country Lead (Cyprus), Mastercard
- Andreas Panayi, Co-founder, Kinisis Ventures
- Andrey Ivashentsev, General Manager, CYGMA
- Sascha Karimpour, Partner and Managing Director, Plug and Play
- Filippos Kyprianou, Director, Plug and Play Cyprus
The event is open to entrepreneurs, founders, corporates, investors and anyone interested in technology. Along with the local community, the organisers expect guests from abroad to travel to Limassol for the event.
Attending the Expo
Invitations are available through Eventbrite at cyprusexpo.eventbrite.com. For more information, contact cyprus@pnptc.com.
