EIC Accelerator selects 51 deep tech start ups for a combined €260 million package
- ›The European Innovation Council Accelerator selected 51 deep tech companies after a highly competitive round and committed a combined €260 million in grants and equity.
- ›139 of 551 full proposals reached interview stage and 51 were recommended for funding following jury assessment.
- ›Selected firms span 17 countries including three widening countries and almost 30 percent have a female CEO, CTO or CSO.
- ›The EIC will deliver grants within months and the EIC Fund will make equity decisions shortly, while 88 other high quality proposals received Seals of Excellence to help find alternative funding.
EIC Accelerator round awards financing and investments to 51 deep tech firms
The European Innovation Council Accelerator announced on 19 June 2023 that a new cohort of 51 start ups and small and medium sized enterprises have been recommended for funding. The selection follows a competitive process that began with 551 full proposals. One hundred and thirty nine companies were invited to pitch to juries made up of investors and entrepreneurs and 51 were recommended for a combined package of grant and equity investments totalling about €260 million.
How the selection unfolded
The EIC selection process for the Accelerator mixes fast initial screening with a jury interview stage. Proposals that pass a first remote evaluation are invited to prepare full applications for a regular cut off date. Those shortlisted then face interviews with juries of external investors and experienced entrepreneurs. For this cut off 551 full proposals were submitted, 139 companies were interviewed and 51 were recommended for funding.
Money, timing and what beneficiaries receive
The 51 recommended companies will together receive roughly €260 million in a mix of grant financing and equity investments. The grant component is administered through the EIC Accelerator grants mechanism and equity investments are provided via the EIC Fund. According to the Commission, successful applicants should receive grant payments within the next two to three months and the first investment decisions from the EIC Fund were expected within around two months of announcement. Final funding remains conditional on grant preparation and any investment due diligence and contractual steps.
Geography, diversity and programme channels
The 51 companies come from 17 countries and the selection includes firms from three so called widening countries. The Commission highlights that almost 30 percent of recommended companies have a female CEO, CTO or CSO. The round also shows the ongoing interaction between the EIC and national or other EU innovation channels via Plug In and Fast Track routes, which aim to increase coordination along the funding pipeline.
Examples of selected projects
The EIC press note named several illustrative projects across different sectors. These are presented here with concise explanation of the technologies and practical uses. The list is indicative of the type of deep tech the EIC targets rather than a full portfolio.
| Company | Country | Project / Acronym | Short description |
| Subra a/s | Denmark | SUBRACABLE | A project to make superconducting power grids a feasible solution for Europe. Superconducting cables aim to transmit electricity with minimal losses and higher capacity than conventional lines. |
| Twinsity GmbH | Germany | Twinspect | An AI based, automated inspection tool that aims to complete safety inspections of large critical infrastructure in under five minutes. Use cases include bridges, dams and offshore oil and gas platforms. |
| SGPR.tech | Poland | WIDMO cities | A spectral ground penetrating radar solution intended to provide complete subsurface information for urban areas. The company claims deeper penetration and high resolution subsurface imaging. |
| Cephalgo | France | ADAPTE | A system for continuous emotion recognition tailored to psychiatry that aims to support real time patient monitoring and assessment. |
| Mu-G Knowledge Management BV | Netherlands | PATS | An automated insect control platform for greenhouses intended to detect and eliminate pests without pesticides through monitoring systems and targeted interventions. |
What the EIC Accelerator offers and how applicants reach it
The EIC Accelerator combines grant support, equity investments via the EIC Fund and a suite of business acceleration services. Grants are typically up to €2.5 million to cover development, validation and scale up activities. Equity investments managed through the EIC Fund can complement grants and range from smaller amounts up to multimillion euro rounds. All beneficiaries are offered business acceleration services such as coaching, mentoring and access to investors, corporates and ecosystem actors.
Context and critical considerations
The EIC Accelerator is one of the EU's highest profile instruments for late stage deep tech translation. The combination of grants and equity is designed to reduce development risk and make firms more attractive to follow on investors. The announcement shows continued demand for such public risk capital, with hundreds of proposals for a relatively small number of awards.
A few points to keep in mind. First, selection for recommendation is not equivalent to a final transfer of funds. Grant payments depend on grant preparation and signature and equity investments require additional due diligence and contractual steps through the EIC Fund. Second, Seals of Excellence can improve access to other public financing but they do not guarantee follow on resources and firms often still face a gap to scale up. Third, coordination channels such as Plug In and Fast Track aim to funnel national or programme nominated companies to the EIC, which can help but also raises questions about screening standards and capacity at national levels to prepare mature proposals.
Finally, while headline amounts and counts attract attention, long term impact depends on whether companies use the financing to reach reliable commercial traction, attract private follow on investors and scale sustainably. Public investors can reduce risk but they are not a substitute for the customer adoption, regulatory approvals or industrial partnerships that deep tech scale ups typically need.
What to watch next
Watch for the follow up announcements that finalise grant agreements and the first EIC Fund investment decisions in the weeks after this announcement. Observers should also track how many Seal of Excellence recipients secure alternative funding, and whether Plug In and Fast Track routes increase the success rate of companies nominated by national or partner programmes.