StarTech Announces Winners of the Fifth Cycle – Half a Million Dollars for 12 Serbian Innovations
The StarTech program has awarded a total of USD 500,000 to 12 outstanding domestic innovations offering solutions to key social and industrial challenges – ranging from food safety and cybersecurity to smart transport, sustainable beekeeping, and digital health.
The eight-million-dollar project was launched five years ago by Philip Morris and NALED in cooperation with the Government of Serbia, with the aim of supporting innovation development and the digital transformation of small and medium-sized enterprises in Serbia. At the closing ceremony, grant checks of up to USD 50,000 were presented to the winners by Mihailo Jovanović, Director of the Office for IT and eGovernment; Tamara Milovanović, General Manager of Philip Morris International for Southeast Europe; and Violeta Jovanović, Executive Director of NALED.
“The strength of StarTech lies not only in financial support, but in the people, knowledge, and network we are building together. To take the next step forward, we also need an ambitious regulatory framework. That is why we will soon present the third edition of the Innovation Grey Book – a practical tool for decision-makers, with clear recommendations on how to remove barriers for our innovators. The solutions we propose are the result of dialogue with startups, researchers, the academic community, and sectoral associations,” emphasized Violeta Jovanović.
The awarded solutions cover a wide range of innovations: from an application that helps people with disabilities navigate the city and skin regeneration technologies, to an AI platform for risk assessment in the automotive industry. They also include an advanced X-ray solution for detecting contaminated food, an organic treatment against the varroa mite in beekeeping, and a digital inventory management tool for the hospitality sector. Among the winners are also a business assistant for small companies, a platform that automates GDPR compliance, a smart parking reservation app, an AI system for detecting cyber threats through gamification, a comprehensive management tool for transport companies, and a digital fitness platform designed for the 45–65 age group.
“The fact that we are now marking a jubilee – five years of StarTech – is further proof that Philip Morris always takes a long-term approach, whether in business or in the communities where we operate. When it comes to our business, we have invested nearly USD 15 billion in science and began developing new products over 20 years ago to achieve our long-term vision of a smoke-free future. The same applies to StarTech. When we designed the program, our focus was not only on providing financial support to good ideas, but on developing and strengthening the innovation ecosystem in which those ideas can survive and grow,” said Tamara Milovanović.
“In recent years, the state has made significant investments in digital infrastructure, creating a favorable environment and stimulating the development of the ICT sector. From the State Data Center in Kragujevac, whose capacities we plan to expand, and the construction of the Innovation District – unique in the region and home to the first National Information Security Center – to Ložionica, a magnificent creative and digital center that is becoming a hub for innovators and creators of new achievements,” said Mihailo Jovanović. He added that exports of ICT services in Serbia reached EUR 3.33 billion in the first nine months of 2025, marking a 12% increase and a 13.2% growth in surplus compared to the same period in 2024.
Speaking about the National Artificial Intelligence Platform, Jovanović noted that the supercomputer is currently used by more than 80 entities, including 40 from the academic community and 40 startup companies, with over 450 user accounts in total.
Grant recipients include the teams Bioheal and Peasy, as well as the companies Clean Code Solutions, Digital Leather, Digital Radiography Technologies, Eco Hive, Eyestock, Lexelerate, Gama Point, The Cyber Protect, Wersirius, and Younger.
Over the past five years, StarTech has supported 106 innovative projects – 47 developing physical products, 55 delivering advanced software solutions, and as many as 38 leveraging artificial intelligence and machine learning. Program beneficiaries have achieved significant international success, bringing their solutions to markets in more than 29 countries worldwide.
Photos: iDook media
