COVID-X will bridge the collaboration divide between eHealth solution providers -with emphasis on lean startups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)-, and the healthcare professional system to fight COVID-19. The purpose is to boost an end-to-end agile validation programme of cutting-edge technology in three real-world clinical scenarios, located in hotspots of the pandemic: Italy, Spain and Sweden. The project will fast-track value streams between the two poles under consideration: 1) attract, invest and empower a community of European eHealth SMEs –the beneficiaries of an acceleration program, selected by open calls- that will provide market-ready fast, cost-effective and easily deployable sampling, screening, diagnostic and prognostic systems and/or data-driven services and tools, already certified with -or close to receive- the CE marking (type 1 of the call); 2) actively involve some of the most relevant hospitals of Europe that have the resources, critical mass and ambition to scale-up their capabilities in the COVID-19 response; thanks to the support of an innovative data sandbox, released as an in-house asset of COVID-X, to facilitate access easily, uniformly and securely to various health data sources, and providing data services including Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based decision support systems, data security, visual analytics and intuitive dashboards capabilities. The project will invest dedicated efforts to enforce data privacy and security, ethical compliance and user acceptance. Besides a solid consortium to access world class startups/SMEs, deliver highly valuable technological & business services, provide an innovative data Sandbox with AI capabilities for COVID related services and access 3 piloting sites, COVID-X targets to attract +155 applications and select 31 to undertake through the COVID-X Programme, investing a total of €4.0mil in high impact solution providers.