A new EIC Accelerator cohort with substantial requests and mixed instruments

The European Innovation Council selected 61 start-ups and SMEs for support following its latest EIC Accelerator evaluation. The group emerged from 121 proposals that reached the interview stage. The selected companies represent 17 EU and associated countries, with Germany, Spain, France and Sweden accounting for the largest shares. According to the agency, 28% of the companies have women in top leadership positions including CEO, CTO or CSO.

The total proposed support for this round amounts to €467 million. Most awardees will receive blended finance that is a package combining grants with equity capital provided via the EIC Fund. Others are earmarked for grant-only or equity-only support. The Commission expects most grant agreements to be signed within three months, while equity investments will proceed case by case depending on company strategy and the outcome of due diligence.

What the money covers and how to read the numbers

The €467 million headline figure reflects requested amounts. Final allocations can change during grant preparation and equity negotiations. Under Horizon Europe, the grant component of the EIC Accelerator can reach up to €2.5 million, while the equity component typically ranges from €0.5 million to €10 million. The Commission notes an average equity ticket of €3.72 million per company for investment components under Horizon Europe. Higher equity amounts are possible under the parallel STEP Scale Up scheme which can go up to €30 million for select scale ups.

Process and timelines across the EIC Accelerator

The EIC Accelerator runs a continuous application system with proposals grouped into monthly batches. Short proposals are assessed within roughly 4 to 6 weeks from the start of the batch evaluation. Companies that meet the criteria of excellence, impact and high risk are invited to submit a full proposal. Full proposals are batched six times per year and successful applicants are invited to interviews with an EIC jury. The agency targets three months to conclude most grant agreements after selection. Equity processes typically take longer due to due diligence and co-investor alignment.

Seals and second chances: quality labels for non-funded proposals

A further 60 applications judged positively but not funded in this round receive a Seal of Excellence. This is a quality label intended to help applicants seek alternative support from national or regional programmes. In practice, uptake depends on each country’s willingness and budget to back Seal holders. Separately, all 23 companies that reached interview stage under the five current EIC Accelerator challenges receive a STEP Seal that flags alignment with the Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform objectives and can facilitate access to complementary EU financing streams.

What is being funded: examples and sector signals

This round spans quantum, health, clean tech, advanced manufacturing and space applications. The agency highlighted several examples which illustrate the breadth of themes considered strategic for Europe. These include near-term industrial tools like defect inspection for quantum chips, health innovations ranging from fertility to preterm birth diagnostics, and environmental sensors for PFAS detection.

Geography and diversity

Winners come from 17 EU and associated countries with Germany, Spain, France and Sweden most represented. The explicit share of associated countries in the final tally is not disclosed here. The share of women-led companies stands at 28% which aligns with but remains slightly below the EIC’s broader ambition to increase female leadership across funded portfolios. Sustained progress will depend on both pipeline development and selection practices at each stage.

Benefits beyond the cheque and who can access them

All funded projects gain access to the EIC’s Business Acceleration Services. These include investor outreach, corporate matchmaking, procurement support and coaching. The EIC also signals that STEP Seal holders can tap into selected BAS offerings. The EIC positions these services as a way to speed market entry and catalyse private funding, though the intensity and impact of support vary by company and sector.

Context and caveats: what to watch in this cohort

The Commission highlights that EIC Fund participation often crowds in private capital by a factor of three or more. That ratio is an aggregate outcome and may not materialise uniformly for each company in the present cohort. Equity timelines and closing certainty depend on due diligence findings and market appetite for co-investment. Past cycles of the EIC Fund experienced operational bottlenecks that have since been addressed, but equity deployment remains more complex than grants. The Seal of Excellence is useful as a quality marker, yet national and regional uptake remains heterogeneous and budget constrained in several Member States. Finally, the distribution of awards across sectors and geographies responds to the specific pipeline of applicants and EIC challenge tracks and does not alone indicate systematic coverage of all strategic gaps in Europe’s deep tech landscape.

How this round fits EU innovation policy

The EIC is one of the largest public investors in European deep tech under Horizon Europe. Its 2026 work programme opens more than €1.4 billion in opportunities across strategic technologies and scale-up instruments. The EIC Fund, capitalised with more than €4 billion, is designed to bridge public and private finance through patient equity. The STEP platform overlays this with a focus on critical technologies and mobilises multiple EU programmes and advisory services to reduce the scale-up gap. Together, these initiatives are intended to bolster European competitiveness in areas like AI, quantum, semiconductors, clean tech, space and health.

Next steps, labels and where to find details

Grant preparation begins immediately for most selected companies. Equity processes will proceed based on each company’s development plan, investor interest and the EIC Fund’s due diligence. The Commission published a list of the selected companies for the relevant cut-off, with standard caveats that selection is not a final funding commitment until agreements are signed. Applicants not selected in this round can continue to apply on a rolling basis with monthly batch evaluations and periodic full-proposal cut-offs. Companies holding a Seal of Excellence or STEP Seal should engage national and EU contacts promptly, as access to alternative funding often depends on timing and local programme calendars.