EIC Accelerator selects 75 deep tech start-ups for nearly €400 million in grants and equity
- ›The European Innovation Council selected 75 companies from the June 2022 cut-off to receive close to €400 million in a mix of grants and equity.
- ›Selection followed a competitive process with 232 interviewees drawn from more than 1,000 applications, and many companies requested blended finance.
- ›The EIC Fund is now operational after restructuring and an external fund manager appointment, unlocking equity investments alongside grants.
- ›A separate October 2022 cut-off drew 1,092 full proposals requesting €6.3 billion, signalling persistently strong demand for EIC support.
- ›The initiative includes non-financial support such as Business Acceleration Services and the Seal of Excellence to help unsuccessful but high-quality applicants find alternative funding.
EIC Accelerator picks 75 deep tech start-ups for combined grants and equity
On 14 October 2022 the European Innovation Council announced that 75 start-ups were selected from the June cut-off of the EIC Accelerator. Together these companies will receive close to €400 million through a mix of direct grants and equity investments. The equity component will be channelled through the EIC Fund which, after a period of restructuring, is now operational with an external fund manager in place.
The selection was the result of a competitive process. More than 1,000 applications were received for the cut-off and 232 companies advanced to interviews with juries composed of experienced investors and entrepreneurs. The 75 selected firms span 21 countries and about 20 percent are led by female CEOs. The Commission highlighted the strong demand for EIC equity by noting that most selected companies had requested blended finance or grant-first options.
Numbers and timing
Key figures from the announcement show both demand and the scale of the EIC offer. The 75 selected companies will share roughly €400 million. For the October 2022 cut-off, which closed on 5 October, 1,092 full proposals had been submitted, requesting a combined total of approximately €6.3 billion, of which around €4.06 billion was for equity. Most October applicants opted for blended finance or a grant-first route, with some 900 companies choosing one of those options. Proposals came from 37 countries including 15 from so called widening countries that are improving their research and innovation performance.
How the EIC Accelerator and EIC Fund work
The EIC Accelerator combines upfront grants with public equity investments for high-risk, high-impact deep tech companies. Grants can go up to €2.5 million. Equity investments are managed through the EIC Fund and typically range from €0.5 million to €15 million or more. Beyond financing, beneficiaries receive Business Acceleration Services to connect them to mentors, corporates, investors and other ecosystem actors.
Selected projects, with examples
The EIC highlighted several projects from the selection to illustrate the range of technologies supported. Examples include robotics components, biodiversity monitoring, AI-driven medical screening, industrial predictive maintenance and a new ultrasound approach for osteoporosis diagnosis.
| Company | Country | Technology or focus | Noted funding route |
| IMSystems / Archimedes Drive | Netherlands | Traction-based, zero-backlash speed reducer for advanced robotics | Blended finance |
| BEEODIVERSITY / BeeOimpact | Belgium | Using bee ecosystems to collect biodiversity data and metrics | Blended finance |
| Oivi / iScan | Norway | Automated retinal scans for early detection of diabetic eye disease using AI | Grant and cloud service support |
| Neuron Soundware | Czechia | AI and IoT sound analysis for early machine failure detection | Blended finance |
| Porous GmbH | Germany | 3D ultrasound solution to measure cortical bone microstructure for osteoporosis diagnosis | Blended finance |
Selection process, Seal of Excellence and follow up
Applications are submitted continuously in short form and those meeting threshold criteria are invited to prepare full proposals for a regular cut-off. For the June cut-off, more than 1,000 full applications produced 232 interviewees and 75 selections. For proposals that pass remote evaluation and an EIC jury assessment but are not funded due to budget limits, the EIC awards a Seal of Excellence. This certificate is intended to help companies attract alternative finance by signalling the quality of the proposal and by permitting, with consent, sharing of contact data with other funding bodies.
Context and caveats
The EIC Accelerator is one of the most visible EU instruments aimed at deep tech scale up. Since launch in March 2021 the scheme has attracted thousands of expressions of interest and full proposals. That scale reflects both the gap in European late-stage deep tech financing and the attractiveness of a combined grant and equity offering.
But there are operational and governance trade offs to be managed. The EIC Fund required restructuring and an external fund manager before equity investments could be rolled out at scale. That delay led to slower-than-intended delivery for companies selected in 2021. The Commission has signalled steps to accelerate grant payments and investment decisions, yet the timeline for equity commitments depends on the Fund manager, due diligence capacity and co-investor appetite.
There is also a policy gap between signalling and impact. High numbers of applications and large notional funding requests show demand, but conversion of selections into sustainable commercial outcomes will require patient capital, strong follow-on private investment, and robust support for regulatory and clinical steps in health and deep tech sectors.
What this means for the European innovation ecosystem
The EIC Accelerator fills a recognised need for a public actor willing to take higher technology risk. For Europe to increase its share of global deep tech scale ups, public instruments need to be delivered quickly and predictably. The EIC’s combination of grants, equity and acceleration services is an important tool, but success will depend on implementation speed, co-investment leverage and the EIC Fund’s ability to catalyse private capital rather than displace it.
The October 2022 cut-off figures underline strong and growing demand. That will keep pressure on the EIC to process applications in a timely manner and to demonstrate that financed projects progress to meaningful commercial milestones. The Commission also flagged diversity goals, noting female CEO participation at 20 percent in the June selections and expressing a desire to raise that level in future rounds.
Next steps and expectations
Companies selected in June will generally receive grant payments in the following two to three months, and the EIC Fund's first new investment decisions under the restructured model were expected in the following year. The October 2022 tranche of proposals is being evaluated and promising applicants will be invited to pitch in front of investor juries with selection decisions anticipated in the second half of December 2022.
For teams and investors tracking the EIC pipeline, important items to follow are the EIC Fund investment guidelines, announcements from the external fund manager about term sheet cadence, and data on co-investment leverage which will indicate whether public equity catalyses significant private follow-on funding.
Definitions and practical notes
Overall, the latest EIC Accelerator round demonstrates continued developer and investor interest in deep tech across Europe. The reshaped EIC Fund and the appointment of an external manager clear important administrative hurdles, but the programme's ultimate effect on European scale up performance will depend on how quickly and consistently grants and equity are deployed and on the extent to which private capital is mobilised alongside public funds.