XO Group ApS

EU Legislative Interests

We at XO engage with and support European Union policies and strategies that strengthen innovation ecosystems, foster entrepreneurship, and promote cross-border collaboration among startups, investors, and institutions. Our interest representation is grounded in highlighting the needs and potential of early-stage, high-growth companies and the broader innovation ecosystem, particularly in relation to digital transformation, green transition, skills development, and regional cohesion. While XO is not directly involved in formal interest representation, we align our work with a number of strategic EU initiatives, frameworks, and proposals that shape the environment in which innovation and entrepreneurship take place. These include: The New European Innovation Agenda (COM(2022) 332 final) We actively support the goals of this agenda, particularly regarding scaling up deep tech innovation, improving access to finance, and enhancing innovation ecosystems across the EU. Our platform helps identify and elevate startup success stories, benchmark innovation activity across regions, and promote greater visibility of EU-based innovators globally. Horizon Europe (Regulation (EU) 2021/695) As a key funding programme for research and innovation, Horizon Europe sets strategic direction for European innovation. Our competitions, thematic categories, and pan-European events are aligned with many of its pillars, such as tackling global challenges and fostering excellence in science and innovation ecosystems. Digital Europe Programme (Regulation (EU) 2021/694) We support the aims of the Digital Europe Programme, particularly in its focus on digital skills, the development of digital capacity in SMEs and startups, and the deployment of advanced technologies such as AI and cybersecurity. We reflect these priorities in award categories, thematic events, and partnerships. Single Market Programme (Regulation (EU) 2021/690) Through our activities, we contribute to the goals of improving the functioning of the Single Market by supporting startups’ access to capital, visibility, and networks across borders. We support the free flow of innovation and entrepreneurial talent throughout the EU. European Innovation Council and European Innovation Ecosystems Work Programme 2023–2024 As the EIC focuses on scaling up high-risk, high-impact innovations and supporting deep tech startups, we complement its mission through ecosystem engagement and visibility. GSA contributes to building the culture, networks, and public awareness needed to support disruptive innovation. European Skills Agenda (COM(2020) 274 final) We support its goals by promoting entrepreneurial and digital skills through our community and competitions, which elevate young founders and technology-driven initiatives. We particularly value the agenda’s emphasis on upskilling, reskilling, and aligning skills with labor market needs in innovation sectors. Green Deal Industrial Plan (COM(2023) 62 final) As part of our award categories and partnerships, we emphasize cleantech, circular economy, and green innovation. We aim to give visibility to startups aligned with the objectives of the EU Green Deal and the transition toward a sustainable economy. XO seeks to support and amplify the EU’s vision for a united, sustainable, and innovation-driven Europe by promoting visibility, collaboration, and ecosystem development. While we are not engaged in direct advocacy on specific legal texts, our activities serve to complement and reinforce the policy goals embedded in these initiatives. We remain engaged with relevant stakeholders through both formal and informal channels in support of policy goals that foster a dynamic, inclusive, and resilient European innovation landscape.

Communication Activities

While our formal engagement with EU institutions is at an early stage, we have initiated targeted outreach related to several EU policy frameworks, including Horizon Europe, the European Innovation Council Work Programme, the European Skills Agenda, and the Green Deal Industrial Plan. Notably, we have confirmed a virtual meeting with the Director-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs to explore synergies between our work and the EU’s strategic innovation priorities. XO Group, through its flagship initiative the Global Startup Awards (GSA), carries out a broad range of communication activities that contribute to advancing the EU’s innovation agenda. These include campaigns and outreach efforts that support cross-border ecosystem engagement, inclusive entrepreneurship, and visibility for emerging innovation talent. GSA’s structured competition model runs across national, regional, and global levels in 154 countries, including all EU member states and partner countries and acts as a high-impact platform aligned with the EU’s key themes such as digital transformation, deep tech, regional development, and skills advancement. We are currently working to organize an EU-wide finale event that will bring together outstanding innovation actors from across Europe. This initiative is designed to celebrate European innovation excellence, foster dialogue across ecosystems, and promote solutions aligned with the Union’s shared values and policy goals. In this context, we are planning vertical categories (awards) that reflect relevant EU priority areas such as green tech, health innovation, cybersecurity, and digital education, ideally in cooperation with EU institutions. Our broader communication work includes pan-European engagement through storytelling formats, innovation data sharing, and ecosystem visibility campaigns. These activities aim to strengthen regional cohesion, connect innovation actors, and contribute to the formation of more integrated and resilient ecosystems aligned with EU ambitions. The GSA platform is modular and collaborative, offering a scalable infrastructure that can support the European Union’s efforts in innovation diplomacy, startup engagement, and regional development. Our long-term vision is to position Europe as a global leader in innovation while supporting more inclusive, interconnected, and competitive ecosystems. While we are not currently members of any EU-supported forums or platforms, we have initiated direct dialogue with EU institutions and intend to deepen our engagement as our activities grow.

Interests Represented

Promotes their own interests or the collective interests of their members

Member Of

At this stage, XO Group and its affiliated initiatives are not formal members of any EU-level associations, federations, or structured networks. However, we are actively coordinating with relevant Danish EU-facing bodies in relation to developments within the innovation ecosystem, both nationally and at the EU level. This coordination helps ensure that our activities, initiatives, and strategic direction remain aligned with key European priorities and upcoming opportunities across innovation, entrepreneurship, and ecosystem development. In addition, our CEO, serves as a advisory board member for startups and entrepreneurship under DI - Dansk Industri (Confederation of Danish Industry), Denmark’s largest employers’ and business organisation. DI represents over 20,000 private companies and plays a central role in public-private dialogue, national policy development, and EU-level representation through BusinessEurope and other channels. Our CEO's board membership provides valuable insight into policy trends, innovation strategy, and SME engagement at both national and European levels. While we are not yet formally associated with EU-specific umbrella organisations, we are in the process of strengthening our institutional relationships and intend to join relevant associations and networks that support Europe’s startup and innovation agenda. These include platforms and initiatives connected to Startup Europe, the European Innovation Council, Enterprise Europe Network (EEN), and Horizon Europe missions, among others. In parallel, we continue to work informally with a broad network of ecosystem stakeholders; including innovation hubs, accelerators, local authorities, and corporate partners, through our initiatives such as Global Startup Awards, XO Company, and XO Association. These collaborations, while not yet formalised through EU network memberships, have strong alignment with the objectives of EU-supported frameworks focused on deep tech, green transition, digital entrepreneurship, and skills development. Our broader ambition is to contribute constructively to Europe’s innovation landscape by participating in structured forums, sharing insights from our global competition and ecosystem activities, and supporting strategic alignment between grassroots entrepreneurial efforts and EU policy frameworks.

Organisation Members

To provide full transparency regarding our organizational structure and the scope of our activities, the following section outlines the key entities operating under XO Group. XO Group serves as the umbrella organization for a constellation of strategically aligned initiatives that work together to build, scale, and connect innovation ecosystems across Europe and globally. Each entity contributes a distinct perspective and set of capabilities, while operating in close coordination to achieve shared objectives in support of inclusive innovation, cross-border collaboration, and public-private partnership development. This integrated structure allows us to effectively engage with stakeholders across different sectors, geographies, and levels of governance, while ensuring agility and alignment with broader policy frameworks including those of the European Union. The entities under XO Group contribute collectively to ecosystem development, talent discovery, capacity building, and systems-level change. In the following paragraphs, we will introduce each of the four core components of our group organization: Global Startup Awards, XO Company, GSA Ventures, and XO Association. Each plays a unique role in our operational model, yet all are united by a common mission to foster sustainable, inclusive, and innovation-driven futures. XO Group – Overview of Structure and Affiliated Entities Website: https://www.xo-group.co/ XO Group is a Danish-founded innovation platform company focused on building, scaling, and connecting inclusive, impact-driven innovation ecosystems across Europe and globally. As an umbrella organization, XO Group oversees a strategic portfolio of affiliated initiatives that work together to identify emerging talent, build cross-sector partnerships, accelerate sustainable entrepreneurship, and align with public policy goals especially those set out by the European Union in areas such as innovation, skills development, green and digital transitions, regional cohesion, and ecosystem coordination. The group comprises four core entities that function both independently and collaboratively under the XO Group structure: Global Startup Awards, XO Company, GSA Ventures, and XO Association. Together, these initiatives provide a comprehensive, multi-dimensional approach to ecosystem building; spanning visibility, capacity-building, strategy, and systems change. Below is a description of each affiliated entity and its contribution to our mission and to the broader EU innovation and entrepreneurship landscape. 1. Global Startup Awards (GSA) Website: https://www.globalstartupawards.com/ Global Startup Awards is XO Group’s flagship initiative and the world’s largest independent startup ecosystem competition. Active in 154 countries across 19 global regions including full coverage of all EU member states and EU-associated countries GSA identifies, connects, and elevates high-impact startups, founders, and ecosystem enablers. Its primary mission is to make innovation visible, inclusive, and scalable across borders. GSA operates through a national, regional, and global competition model that culminates in showcase events where top-performing startups and innovation actors are recognized across vertical categories. These categories reflect emerging priorities aligned with EU strategies including GreenTech, EdTech, HealthTech, FinTech, Cybersecurity, and more. The competition’s structure provides a robust, repeatable mechanism for sourcing innovation talent, benchmarking progress, and amplifying impact. GSA also produces ecosystem data, facilitates partnerships, and creates media campaigns that promote startups and their role in solving societal and economic challenges. It has proven to be a highly effective vehicle for identifying trends, creating cross-border cooperation, and supporting policy alignment through grassroots innovation discovery. Looking forward, GSA is developing plans for an EU-wide Grand Finale event that will showcase the most promising startup talent from all EU member states and partner countries. This event will focus on uniting Europe’s innovation landscape by celebrating and scaling its most promising entrepreneurial solutions in close collaboration with European institutions. Categories and thematic focus areas will be shaped to align with EU policies and funding priorities, such as those under Horizon Europe, the Digital Europe Programme, and the European Innovation Council. We envision this event as a platform for joint visibility, partnership-building, and strategic alignment with European institutions. 2. XO Company Website: https://www.xo.company/ XO Company is the strategic consultancy arm of XO Group. It works across public and private sectors to design, implement, and scale innovation programs. XO Company provides advisory services to governments, corporations, cities, and institutions looking to activate or improve their engagement with innovation ecosystems. Its work includes program design, stakeholder mapping, innovation strategy, foresight, workshop facilitation, and ecosystem development always through a systems-thinking lens. Through this, XO Company supports both the implementation and localization of broader innovation policies, such as those under the New European Innovation Agenda or Smart Specialisation Strategies (RIS3). XO Company also collaborates with embassies, funding agencies, and ecosystem intermediaries to co-create programs that promote entrepreneurship, regional cohesion, and innovation diplomacy. The company serves as an interface between strategy and implementation helping institutional partners translate innovation goals into operational models, including competitions, accelerators, and innovation hubs. As part of XO Group’s broader mission, XO Company supports the realization of GSA’s insights by creating targeted policy and programmatic engagements based on ecosystem trends observed across regions. Its work strengthens institutional capacity and aligns innovation efforts with public value and EU funding frameworks. 3. GSA Ventures Website: https://www.globalstartupawards.com/gsa-ventures GSA Ventures is XO Group’s venture-facing initiative, created to support the investment readiness and international scaling of high-potential startups emerging from the Global Startup Awards pipeline. While GSA identifies and elevates talent, GSA Ventures helps convert that visibility into growth and long-term impact. It does so by offering capacity-building, connections to investment networks, pitch training, market access support, and business development resources for selected startups. Its main goal is to bridge the gap between early-stage recognition and scalable success, a challenge that remains central to the EU's innovation ecosystem. GSA Ventures also facilitates dialogue between investors, corporates, and policymakers to ensure that ecosystem gaps (e.g. access to funding, regulatory navigation, cross-border expansion) are better understood and addressed. Its work is aligned with EU ambitions to make Europe a global leader in deep tech, scale-up support, and innovation financing, as outlined in the Scale-Up Europe report, Horizon Europe objectives, and the Startup Nations Standard. In the future, GSA Ventures aims to collaborate with EU programs supporting equity finance, venture building, and public-private partnerships that improve startup success rates across the Union. 4. XO Association: Website: https://www.xoassociation.org/ XO Association is the non-profit initiative within XO Group. It was created out of a systemic critique of the barriers that many entrepreneurs face including access, representation, and fragmentation in the innovation system. Its mission is to bridge gaps between sectors, communities, and policy frameworks by creating more inclusive and responsive spaces for innovation. XO Association focuses on innovation diplomacy, public-private partnership building, and inclusive entrepreneurship. It operates as a platform for cross-sector dialogue, social innovation programs, and convening initiatives that align with European values such as cohesion, sustainability, democracy, and equality. Through its programs, XO Association fosters initiatives that reflect and support the European Pillar of Social Rights, the European Skills Agenda, and efforts to improve civic participation in economic transitions. It also aims to develop a policy feedback loop by working with marginalized communities and underrepresented founders whose insights and lived experiences often go unheard in innovation policymaking. XO Association serves as the bridge between policy and community helping align top-down EU frameworks with bottom-up entrepreneurial energy, particularly in regions or sectors where ecosystem development is still emerging. Internal Governance and Collaboration: All four entities GSA, XO Company, GSA Ventures, and XO Association operate under the XO Group legal and governance framework. This allows for strategic coherence, data integration, and cross-collaboration. The teams are co-located or virtually linked, and they share operational resources, aligned strategic goals, and unified communication structures. The group operates with strong ethical principles of transparency, inclusion, and accountability. While each initiative has its own focus and methods, all share a commitment to building innovation ecosystems that are: - Inclusive and representative of Europe’s diversity - Strongly aligned with the EU’s digital and green transitions - Designed to bridge local, regional, and global innovation communities The group’s communication activities, data insights, competition structure, and network engagement provide meaningful and complementary support to the EU’s policy goals particularly in relation to visibility, cross-border cooperation, regional development, skills growth, innovation diplomacy, and scaling deep tech. XO Group’s structure provides a unique, modular, and integrated platform for ecosystem engagement at both grassroots and institutional levels. Each affiliated entity plays a distinct role while supporting the shared mission to empower innovators, align with EU values, and strengthen Europe’s position as a global innovation leader.

Additional Information

The declared cost reflects our current early-stage engagement with EU institutions. While our EU interest representation efforts are growing, they are still limited in scope and do not yet involve high levels of travel, membership fees, or dedicated EU office operations. Our estimated cost is based primarily on partial staff time and low-overhead coordination efforts. Global Startup Awards (GSA) has previously taken part in two EU-funded Erasmus+ projects focused on vocational education and innovation: DigiVET (Project No. 2020-1-HU01-KA226-VET-094128) - aimed at supporting digital transformation in vocational education and training through cross-sector collaboration and creative tech solutions. Vet to the Future (Project No. 2022-1-HU01-KA220-VET-000090188) - focused on equipping young learners and educators with practical knowledge about artificial intelligence and its relevance to the future of work. Both of these projects were delivered in partnership with multiple European organizations, and all funding received was allocated exclusively to the activities outlined in the project frameworks. Importantly, these projects have concluded, and the funding does not contribute to GSA’s current or recent operating costs. We mention them here for full transparency to acknowledge our past participation in EU-funded initiatives, while also declaring that we are not receiving EU operating support during the financial years covered by this application (2024 and 2025). These projects were meaningful to us and were valuable to advancing EU collaboration, digital innovation, and vocational education. Our current focus goes beyond the scope of these initiatives. We aim to engage more deeply with EU-level efforts supporting ecosystem development, innovation diplomacy, and capacity building. We are particularly interested in contributing to EU missions on entrepreneurship, startup support, and cross-border innovation, where we believe our organization can add strong value.