ZUMA INNOVATION SL

Their core work

ZUMA Innovation is a Basque Country-based SME developing advanced mechanical and electronic transmission systems for bicycles. Their core work focuses on improving how bicycles shift gears — from traditional drivetrain optimization to electronic and automatic shifting mechanisms. They progressed from early feasibility studies (SME Instrument Phase 1) to a fully funded product development effort (Phase 2), indicating a company moving from concept to market-ready bicycle components.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

ZUMA began in 2016 with broad bicycle transmission R&D (EVOTRANS) and briefly explored e-bike energy recovery (LONGRIDER, 2018). By 2020, their focus sharpened significantly toward electronic and automatic shifting systems built around a proprietary segmented chainring concept (SEGSEQ). The progression shows a company that tested multiple bicycle innovation directions early on, then committed resources to a specific, well-defined product line in gear shifting technology.

ZUMA is converging on smart bicycle drivetrain components — expect continued development of electronic shifting and potentially integration with connected cycling platforms.

How they like to work

ZUMA operates exclusively as a solo coordinator through the SME Instrument, with zero consortium partners across all three projects. This is typical of product-focused SMEs using Phase 1/Phase 2 funding to develop proprietary technology. Working with ZUMA would mean engaging a small, focused team that owns and drives its own R&D agenda rather than contributing to large multi-partner consortia.

ZUMA has no recorded consortium partners in H2020, as all three projects were single-beneficiary SME Instrument grants. Their collaboration network within EU-funded research is essentially nonexistent based on available data.

What sets them apart

ZUMA occupies an unusual niche in the H2020 landscape: a dedicated bicycle drivetrain innovator with deep, repeated investment in a single product domain. While most transport-sector SMEs in EU funding pursue automotive or logistics topics, ZUMA's exclusive focus on bicycle transmission — particularly their segmented chainring for automatic shifting — makes them highly specialized. For anyone working in cycling technology, micro-mobility components, or smart sport equipment, they bring focused domain expertise that generalist engineering firms cannot match.

Highlights from their portfolio

• SEGSEQ
  Their breakthrough project — EUR 1.2M SME Instrument Phase 2 funding for a segmented chainring enabling sequential automatic shifting, representing the commercialization stage of their technology.
• EVOTRANS
  The origin project that established ZUMA's bicycle transmission focus in 2016, validating the initial concept through SME Instrument Phase 1.