Terms & Conditions

These Founder Submission Terms (“Terms”) govern the submission of startup applications and materials through the ILUMINA platform operated by ILUMINA AI OÜ, an Estonian private limited company (OÜ), registered under number 17272671, with registered office at Ahtri tn 12
, Kesklinna linnaosa, Tallinn, Harju maakond, 15551, Estonia (“ILUMINA”, “we”, “us”).

By submitting information through the ILUMINA platform, you (“Founder”, “you”) agree to these Terms.

If you do not agree, do not submit an application.

1. Purpose of the Platform

ILUMINA provides a digital platform that enables startups to:

Submit structured applications to investors;
Participate in ILUMINA-affiliated programs, initiatives, or events;
Receive AI-assisted analytical processing of submitted information.

For the purposes of these Terms:

“Investor” means venture capital funds, angel investors, corporate venture arms, family offices, investment committees, accelerators, or similar funding entities using the ILUMINA platform.

“Program Partner” means any accelerator, event organizer, innovation program, corporate partner, or affiliated initiative in which the Founder voluntarily participates through ILUMINA.

ILUMINA acts solely as a technology provider facilitating structured intake and evaluation support.

ILUMINA is not:

A financial advisor
An investment advisor
A broker or intermediary
A decision-maker regarding funding outcomes

2. Eligibility and Representations

By submitting an application, you represent and warrant that:

You are authorized to submit the startup’s information;
All submitted information is accurate, complete, and not misleading;
You have the right to upload and share any pitch deck or materials submitted;
Submission does not violate confidentiality obligations or third-party rights;
The materials do not infringe intellectual property rights.

You remain solely responsible for the accuracy and legality of your submission.

3. Founder Ownership of Materials

You retain full ownership of all submitted materials, including but not limited to:

Pitch decks
Business plans
Financial projections
Logos, trademarks, and brand materials
Proprietary business information

ILUMINA does not claim ownership of your intellectual property.

4. License Granted to ILUMINA

By submitting an application, you grant ILUMINA a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to:

Store your submission materials;
Process and analyze them using automated and AI-assisted systems;
Generate summaries, structured outputs, rankings, and evaluation indicators;
Share your submission as described in Section 5 below.

This license is granted solely for the purpose of operating, improving, and maintaining the ILUMINA platform.

5. Controlled Sharing of Data

Your submission will be made visible only to:

The Investor to which you apply through the ILUMINA platform; and/or
Any Program Partner in which you voluntarily choose to participate, register, or submit an application.

ILUMINA does not disclose your identifiable submission to other Investors or third parties unless:

You explicitly apply to them; or
You actively opt into a Program Partner activity where such sharing is necessary for participation.

Certain programs or events may require sharing submissions with evaluators, mentors, judges, or corporate partners involved in that activity. Such sharing will occur only in connection with your voluntary participation.

6. AI-Assisted Evaluation Disclosure

You acknowledge and agree that:

ILUMINA uses automated systems, including artificial intelligence models, to generate scoring outputs, structured summaries, and analytical indicators;
These outputs are generated based on the information you submit and the evaluation criteria configured by the relevant Investor or Program Partner;
AI outputs are probabilistic and may contain inaccuracies, biases, or limitations inherent in automated systems.

7. No Investment Advice – No Guarantee of Outcome

ILUMINA does not provide investment advice, financial advice, or funding guarantees.

Any score, ranking, summary, or analytical output generated through the platform:

Is non-binding;
Is provided solely for informational and decision-support purposes;
Does not constitute a final evaluation or recommendation;
Does not guarantee review, shortlisting, selection, or funding.

All decisions remain entirely at the discretion of the relevant Investor or Program Partner.

ILUMINA shall not be liable for:

Rejection of your application;
Lack of response from an Investor or Program Partner;
Investment decisions made by any Investor;
Any perceived reputational or commercial impact resulting from platform outputs.

8. Dependence on Input Data

You acknowledge that:

AI-generated outputs depend materially on the completeness and accuracy of submitted information;
Inaccurate, incomplete, or misleading information may materially affect scoring and evaluation results.

ILUMINA assumes no responsibility for consequences arising from incorrect or incomplete data submitted by you.

9. Platform Improvement and Model Training

ILUMINA may use submission data in anonymized, aggregated, and de-identified form to:

Improve AI scoring models;
Enhance platform performance;
Conduct benchmarking and analytical research.

ILUMINA does not use identifiable pitch decks or confidential business information to train models for disclosure to other startups or Investors.

No identifiable founder data is shared between Investors without your action or consent.

10. Confidentiality and Security

ILUMINA applies reasonable technical and organizational safeguards to protect submitted materials.

However, you acknowledge that:

No digital platform can guarantee absolute security;
Submission of materials via the internet inherently carries risk.

Investors and Program Partners receiving your submission are independently responsible for handling your information in accordance with their own policies.

11. Data Protection

ILUMINA processes personal data in accordance with its Privacy Policy.

Depending on context:

ILUMINA may act as a data controller (for platform operations and events);
ILUMINA may act as a data processor on behalf of an Investor.

For further details, please consult the Privacy Policy.

12. Removal and Deletion Requests

You may request deletion of your submission and personal data at any time by contacting: data@ilumina.co

Deletion requests will be handled in accordance with applicable data protection laws.

Deletion may not retroactively affect decisions already made by an Investor or Program Partner prior to the request.

13. Prohibited Conduct

You may not:

Submit fraudulent or misleading information;
Upload content infringing third-party rights;
Attempt to manipulate scoring systems;
Reverse engineer, probe, or test platform vulnerabilities;
Use the platform for unlawful purposes.

ILUMINA reserves the right to suspend or block access in cases of abuse.

14. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law:

ILUMINA shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, consequential, reputational, or financial damages arising from:

Use of the platform;
AI-generated outputs;
Investor evaluation outcomes;
Participation in events or programs;
Loss of business opportunity.

ILUMINA’s total liability, if any, shall be limited to EUR 100.

Nothing in these Terms excludes liability where exclusion is prohibited by law.

15. Amendments

ILUMINA may update these Terms periodically. Continued use of the platform constitutes acceptance of updated Terms.

16. Governing Law and Jurisdiction

These Terms are governed by the laws of Estonia.

Any dispute arising in connection with these Terms shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Estonia.