EIC Accelerator March 2024 cut-off: who got funded and what it means

The European Innovation Council announced on 15 July 2024 that 68 deep tech start-ups and small and medium sized enterprises were selected for funding following the EIC Accelerator cut-off held in March. The selection followed a competitive process that began with 969 companies submitting full proposals. A jury of experienced investors and entrepreneurs interviewed 347 applicants and selected the final 68 awardees.

Scale of the award and how the money is structured

Together the 68 selected companies will receive an estimated total of €411 million. That headline number is split into two components. Up to €165 million is reserved for direct grant financing and an estimated €245 million is expected to be delivered as equity via the EIC Fund. The equity figure is an estimate based on average investments historically made by the EIC Fund after due diligence rather than the amounts that companies requested.

Profiles from the funded cohort

The EIC highlighted three representative companies among the 68 selected. These examples show the programme’s focus on deep tech across sectors including space, biotech and cross-border data services.

Latitude, France. A Reims based company developing the Zephyr micro‑launcher. Latitude positions itself as an end‑to‑end space access provider for small satellites and aims for high cadence launches from multiple spaceports. Claims of becoming a world leader are typical of early stage space companies but will depend on technical validation, safe flight records and a competitive cost model.

VAXDYN, Spain. A biotech start‑up developing a novel vaccine platform targeting antimicrobial resistant infections. AMR is widely recognised as a public health priority and platforms that can accelerate vaccine development attract investor and public sector attention. As with all platform claims, success will hinge on preclinical and clinical results and regulatory pathways.

Mifundo, Estonia. A cross‑border AI and data platform designed to allow passporting of credit histories via a single API. Cross-border financial data portability is technically and legally complex given differences in credit systems, data protection rules and anti‑fraud controls. An API layer can simplify integration but scaling will require industry partnerships and compliance solutions.

Geography, diversity and the ‘widening’ dimension

The 68 funded companies come from 17 countries. The EIC notes that five proposals were from countries classified under the widening agenda, a policy strand aiming to support innovation in Member States with historically lower R&D intensity or fewer high‑growth firms. Twenty one percent of the selected companies are women‑led.

The gender share is measurable progress in transparency but still below policy targets cited elsewhere in the EIC ecosystem. The limited country spread is worth noting given that the Accelerator is an EU programme and that access to the scheme depends on both the quality of applications and existing innovation ecosystems in different Member States.

Follow up, delivery schedule and Seal of Excellence

According to the EIC, most companies will receive their grant financing within three months. Decisions on equity investments follow company needs and the outcome of due diligence by the EIC Fund and its partners. The EIC also awarded Seals of Excellence to a further 273 positively assessed applications for which there was not enough funding available. The Seal of Excellence acts as a quality label intended to help these companies find alternative funding sources including Recovery and Resilience Funds and European Regional Development Funds.

Process notes and the role of Fast Track and Plug In schemes

The EIC Accelerator evaluation process has a short application stage followed by a full proposal phase and interviews. For the March cut‑off the jury interviewed 347 teams before selecting 68 awardees. The March session saw an increase in projects coming through the Plug In scheme. Plug In lets certified national or regional programmes submit projects from their portfolios directly to the EIC Accelerator full application stage. Fast Track performs a similar role for projects coming from certain Horizon Europe or Horizon 2020 initiatives. These channels are designed to funnel already assessed projects into the EIC pipeline but they also raise questions about how different selection routes affect success rates.

Companies may submit ideas to the EIC Accelerator at any time and the EIC says it evaluates initial submissions within six to eight weeks. Since the EIC launch in 2021 more than 12,000 start‑ups have submitted ideas. The programme offers grants up to €2.5 million plus equity investments through the EIC Fund typically ranging from €0.5 million to €15 million or more depending on due diligence and co‑investment partners. Business Acceleration Services are also provided to link beneficiaries with coaches, corporates, investors and other ecosystem actors.

What to watch and a cautious perspective

The EIC Accelerator is one of the highest profile EU instruments for scaling deep tech but the programme’s impact depends on follow‑through. Key things to monitor include how quickly grant funds are disbursed, the proportion of estimated equity that is actually invested after due diligence, and how much private co‑investment the EIC Fund is able to mobilise for this cohort.

The EIC’s stated co‑investment multiplier of more than three times is an important performance signal but it is an average that depends on market conditions and the commercial attractiveness of each company. The equity amount cited in the announcement is explicitly an estimate derived from past EIC Fund investments rather than a guaranteed commitment per company.

Geographic concentration and the modest share of women‑led companies suggest persistent inequalities across EU innovation ecosystems. The Plug In and Fast Track channels can help widen participation by routing locally vetted projects into EIC processes. Still, the effectiveness of that approach will depend on execution, the capacity of national programmes to certify projects and the follow‑on financing environment at regional level.

Bottom line

The March 2024 EIC Accelerator cut‑off delivered significant support to 68 deep tech companies and produced a sizeable pipeline of Seal of Excellence recipients. The funding mix of grants plus EIC Fund equity reflects a strategic approach to share risk between public and private investors. Implementation and transparency around disbursement, due diligence outcomes and co‑investment will determine whether this announcement translates into durable scaleup success across the EU innovation landscape.