EIC Impact Report 2023: Portfolio Nears €70 Billion as EU Deep-Tech Investing Scales Up
- ›The European Innovation Council reports an overall portfolio value of almost €70 billion, up about €20 billion in two years.
- ›In 2023 the EIC Fund closed over 100 deep‑tech investments worth roughly €1.2 billion and reports levering about €3.5 of additional funding per euro invested.
- ›EIC‑backed companies show rapid short‑term growth with average employment up 35 percent and revenue up 68 percent in the first two years after support.
- ›The report highlights more than 150 companies valued over €100 million, including 8 privately valued above €1 billion, and records €12 billion in follow‑on investment attracted.
- ›The findings cover the Horizon Europe EIC portfolio since 2021 and place those results in the context of the full EIC portfolio going back to 2014 and the 2018–2020 pilot.
EIC Impact Report 2023: portfolio scale and the policy story
The European Innovation Council (EIC) released its Impact Report 2023, presenting a snapshot of outputs and financial milestones from the EIC programmes. The report frames the EIC as a rapidly maturing European investor in deep tech. Key headline figures grabbed attention: an overall portfolio value of almost €70 billion, more than 100 equity investments concluded by the EIC Fund in 2023 worth around €1.2 billion and claims of mobilising roughly €3.5 in additional private and public investment for each euro invested by the EIC Fund.
What the report claims and what the numbers mean
The Impact Report focuses on the 'Horizon Europe EIC portfolio' of instruments managed under Horizon Europe since 2021. That includes about 500 start‑ups, 275 advanced research projects and 140 projects that aim to commercialise research outputs, with the analysis covering call outcomes up to the end of 2023. The report also situates these Horizon Europe figures within a longer run 'full EIC portfolio' that includes pilot phase projects from 2018 to 2020 and earlier SME Instrument and FET projects going back to 2014.
| Metric | Number / Value | Notes |
| Reported total portfolio value | Almost €70 billion | Includes Horizon Europe portfolio plus pilot and predecessor projects |
| Increase in portfolio value (last two years) | +€20 billion | Reported by the EIC between roughly 2021–2023 window |
| EIC Fund investments in 2023 | Over 100 investments; ~€1.2 billion | Investment agreements concluded in 2023 |
| Leverage reported | €3.5 of additional investment per €1 invested | Aggregate crowding‑in ratio reported by the EIC Fund |
| Follow‑on investment attracted | Over €12 billion | From venture capital, corporates, national promotional banks |
| Number of 'centaurs' (>€100m) | Over 150 | Valuation thresholds typically reflect private round valuations |
| Companies >€500m | 15 | |
| Unicorns (>€1bn) | 8 | |
| Average employment growth (first 2 years after support) | 35% | |
| Average revenue growth (first 2 years after support) | 68% | |
| Unique innovations from research projects | 1,686 | From EIC Pathfinder and predecessors |
| Signed matches to corporates/procurers/investors | Over 125 deals | EIC Business Acceleration Services and matchmaking activities |
Core programmes and institutional setup behind the numbers
The EIC is an EU instrument embedded in Horizon Europe and implemented through the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA). It combines grant instruments and an equity investment arm, the EIC Fund. The EIC Fund was established under private law with the European Commission as shareholder and the European Investment Bank acting as investment adviser. The Fund targets deep‑tech companies across stages from seed through growth, taking minority equity stakes and aiming to crowd in private capital.
The EIC ecosystem also includes a Trusted Investor Network of private investors who co‑invest alongside the EIC Fund, Programme Managers who curate thematic portfolios, and EIC Business Acceleration Services which organise corporate match‑making, procurement support and coaching for awardees.
Additional programme data and disclosures
The EIC publishes other operational figures across its web properties and data hub. For Horizon Europe only, the EIC Data Hub shows around €3.6 billion in grant funding and approximately €1.15 billion in disclosed equity investment, a cumulated figure of about €4.75 billion. The Data Hub notes that equity totals do not fully appear because not all funded innovators consent to disclose their equity figures. Separately the EIC Fund profiles show roughly 279 invested portfolio companies across 25 countries and published investment agreements of more than €1.4 billion when combining pilot and Horizon Europe phases.
How the EIC measures impact and where to be cautious
The report assembles a range of indicators familiar from venture and public innovation reporting: portfolio valuations, employment and revenue growth, follow‑on capital inflows, number of innovations or patents, and signed commercial or procurement deals. These are useful but require cautious interpretation. The EIC report is upfront about scope and that the Horizon Europe portfolio focus is projects since 2021 with the 'full portfolio' including earlier phases. Still, the high‑level narrative links EIC support to later commercial success in a way that can understate selection effects and attribution challenges.
What the figures imply for EU industrial policy and the innovation ecosystem
The EIC is positioning itself as a bridge between EU research funding and private capital for deep tech. The report documents material capital flows, accelerating company growth and an expanding set of services to help startups scale internationally and engage with corporates and public buyers. That matters for Europe’s ambitions in semiconductors, quantum, biotech and other strategic areas. Policy questions remain about scale, coherence and additionality.
Selected other figures from the EIC ecosystem (context)
| Item | Value / Detail |
| EIC programme headline budget | €10 billion (Horizon Europe component as reported) |
| EIC Fund capitalisation | Multiple billions; Fund reported >€4 billion in communications |
| EIC Fund portfolio companies (reported) | 279+ across 25 countries |
| EIC Fund investment agreements to date (pilot + full) | More than €1.4 billion signed |
| EIC Data Hub (Horizon Europe only) | Grants €3.6 billion; disclosed equity €1.15 billion; cumulated €4.75 billion |
| Trusted Investor Network | 111 investors representing over €300 billion AUM, per EIC published materials |
| Business Acceleration Services impacts since 2021 | +20,000 one‑to‑one meetings; 595 deals signed; investor outreach results in hundreds of millions of euros raised per EIC communications |
Commissioner comment
The report quotes Iliana Ivanova, Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth saying, 'The European Innovation Council (EIC) has emerged as a game‑changer in supporting deep tech innovation in Europe. This Impact Report shows how the EIC supports the growth of high potential startups while at the same time building a European community of deep tech investors. This is crucial to ensuring the future of our companies and strengthening EU leadership in critical technologies.'
Bottom line and what to watch
The EIC Impact Report 2023 collects a dense list of achievements and financial aggregates that underline Europe's intention to back deep‑tech champions. The raw numbers demonstrate capital mobilisation and some notable scaling outcomes. At the same time readers should treat portfolio valuations, short‑term growth averages and follow‑on totals as headline indicators that require deeper, transparent analysis to establish long term industrial outcomes and net additionality.
Practical items to follow in future reporting include: clearer methodologies for valuation aggregation and attribution analyses, full disclosure rates for equity invested, longitudinal survival rates and exits, geographic and sectoral distribution of support, and independent evaluations of the EIC's role versus parallel national or private programmes. These data will be necessary to judge whether headline portfolio metrics translate to sustained industrial capacity and strategic sovereignty in critical technologies.