EIC Accelerator round selects 71 companies in most competitive cut-off to date
- ›The EIC Accelerator selected 71 companies from 1,211 proposals in its most competitive round so far.
- ›Selected companies will receive up to €161 million in grants and an estimated €226 million in equity through the EIC Fund.
- ›Seventy nine percent of beneficiaries were offered blended finance combining grant and equity, while 10 companies chose grant only and 5 opted for equity only.
- ›A further 330 proposals passed the jury assessment but lacked available funding and received a Seal of Excellence to help seek alternative finance.
- ›Notable beneficiaries include Brineworks, MOA Biotech, SICSAI and EnduroSat, spanning climate tech, food biotech, robotics AI and space communications.
EIC Accelerator round selects 71 companies in most competitive cut-off to date
The European Innovation Council announced on 17 February 2025 that 71 start-ups and SMEs were chosen for funding after the October 2024 cut-off of the EIC Accelerator. The cohort was selected from 1,211 submitted proposals. Of those, 431 teams were invited to jury interviews. The agency calls this the most competitive Accelerator round since the scheme launched under Horizon Europe.
Numbers at a glance
| Metric | Value | Notes |
| Proposals submitted | 1,211 | October 2024 cut-off |
| Invited to jury interviews | 431 | About 36 percent of submissions |
| Companies selected for funding | 71 | Final awardees from this cut-off |
| Maximum combined grant funding | Up to €161 million | Grant component across the 71 companies |
| Estimated equity investments | Approximately €226 million | Estimate based on EIC Fund historical average investment per company of €3.72 million under Horizon Europe |
| Blended finance recipients | 79 percent (about 56 companies) | Combined grant and equity offers |
| Grant only | 10 companies | |
| Equity only | 5 companies | |
| Applications awarded Seal of Excellence | 330 | Positive jury assessment but insufficient available funding |
What the awards cover and how funds are structured
The EIC Accelerator mixes non-dilutive grant funding with direct equity investment. Grants are intended to de-risk technology development while equity through the EIC Fund is intended to finance scale up. The press notice states the selected companies will collectively receive up to €161 million in grants and roughly €226 million in equity. That equity figure is an estimate based on the EIC Fund's track record and not the amounts requested by each company. The EIC Fund is the investment arm of the EIC and acts as a co-investor to attract further private finance.
Profiles and sectors represented
The selected companies span climate and environmental technologies, food and bioeconomy, advanced AI and robotics, and space systems. The EIC highlighted four examples, each tackling distinct market and technical challenges:
Process, timelines and additional support
Most grant payments are expected to be disbursed within three months of the announcement. Equity investments follow separate investment decisions by the EIC Fund and may be timed according to the company’s urgency and milestones. Companies that meet EIC criteria but missed out on funding were awarded a Seal of Excellence. That recognition is intended to help them find alternative support from national or regional instruments including Recovery and Resilience Funds and the European Regional Development Fund.
Eligibility, offers and evolving instruments
The standard EIC Accelerator product blends up to €2.5 million in grants with equity investments through the EIC Fund. Under Horizon Europe, equity investments historically ranged from €0.5 million to €15 million, with the practical upper limit reduced to €10 million from 2025 in some communications. A new instrument launched in 2024 and highlighted in EIC materials is the STEP Scale Up scheme. STEP targets much larger rounds with equity only investments of €10 to €30 million to catalyze financing rounds of €50 to €150 million or more for strategic technologies.
Diversity, geography and wider distributional questions
The EIC said the winners are spread across 16 countries and that 21 percent of the selected companies are led by women in CEO CSO or CTO roles. By comparison the EIC itself references targets and public messaging which in other materials aim for higher proportions of woman‑led companies. The geographic spread across 16 countries suggests participation from multiple member states but also implies concentration in a subset of the EU. These patterns matter for claims about the EIC's contribution to building a truly pan‑European deep tech ecosystem.
What to watch and some caveats
The EIC is a major public instrument for European deep tech finance. Its combination of grants, acceleration services and direct equity is an important tool to bridge early risk. However there are reasons for cautious interpretation of impact claims. First, the equity totals cited for this round are estimates based on historical average investments and not firm commitments to each company. Second, co‑investment multipliers that the EIC reports depend on market conditions and on successful syndication. Third, a Seal of Excellence helps firms seek follow on finance but it does not guarantee funding. Finally, distribution across countries and founder demographics continues to be uneven which affects the policy goals of spreading innovation capacity across the Union.
For founders and investors the practical takeaways are that blended offers remain the dominant product of the Accelerator, that equity decisions may be paced to fit company needs, and that the STEP Scale Up channel exists for firms targeting larger, strategic rounds. For policy watchers the cycle is a reminder that public venture capital can catalyze private capital but cannot fully substitute for mature venture ecosystems.
Next steps and how to apply
Companies can submit EIC Accelerator proposals continuously and the evaluation process typically takes six to eight weeks from submission to initial decision. The EIC invited a set of companies to full proposals following initial screenings. The EIC 2025 work programme set a next full proposal cut-off in March 2025. All successful companies also receive Business Acceleration Services that include coaching mentoring investor introductions and access to ecosystem actors.
Practical contact points and further reading
The EIC and its implementing agency EISMEA publish details on calls applications and timelines on their websites. The EIC Fund provides portfolio information and guidance on co‑investment. Applicants should consult the EIC work programme and STEP guidance notes for eligibility rules templates and timelines when preparing submissions.