A targeted support call to professionalise late-stage scale-ups

The European Innovation Council has opened a new Horizon Europe Coordination and Support Action titled EIC Scaling Club 2.0 under the procedure identifier HORIZON-EIC-2026-BAS-02-SCLATEUP. The action aims to give EIC awardees and other eligible companies access to specialised, pan-European services intended to improve investment readiness, operational excellence, market access and talent acquisition. The call explicitly builds on the methodologies and networks of the incumbent EIC Scaling Club and is framed as deepening and expanding that effort rather than reinventing it.

The Commission expects the selected contractor to deliver a curated package of growth services to a minimum cohort of 70 deep tech companies that are ready for Series B or larger funding rounds and that credibly demonstrate high growth potential and the capacity to become global leaders or unicorns. At least half of this cohort must come from the EIC portfolio, with a primary focus on EIC Fund investees, while the remainder should be sourced from similar national or associated country programmes.

What the call funds and what it expects

This is not a grant scheme for startups. It is a single Coordination and Support Action to procure one Europe-wide service provider or consortium to operate the Scaling Club platform and deliver tailored support. The contractor must leverage the existing Scaling Club model and networks and demonstrate the capacity to reach and serve top-tier late-stage European deep tech firms across regions and sectors with gender-balanced participation.

Services to be delivered

The contractor must assemble and operate a high-calibre platform that connects selected companies with investors, corporates, procurers and peers and that demonstrably improves late-stage financing and commercial outcomes. The proposed package should include bespoke learning and networking activities, targeted visibility and curated outreach. The call lists five core support lines: strengthening investment readiness, strengthening operational excellence, facilitating outreach to new customers and markets in the EU and abroad, facilitating access to late-stage financing, and facilitating access to talent.

Cohort composition and selection logic

The Scaling Club 2.0 contractor will identify and serve at least 70 companies that are already operating at a scale-up stage with plans for larger follow-on rounds. Companies should be positioned in fields the Commission considers strategic for technological autonomy including AI, advanced materials, quantum, biotech, robotics and space and energy and decarbonisation. At least 35 companies must be drawn from the EIC pipeline with an emphasis on the EIC Fund portfolio, while the remainder should be sourced from comparable national and associated country programmes. The cohort is expected to reflect geographical diversity across EU and Horizon Europe associated countries and achieve a balanced representation of women-led companies.

How this fits into the EIC support architecture

The Scaling Club is part of the EIC Business Acceleration Services offer that complements direct grants and investments. The current EIC Scaling Club describes itself as a curated community for 120 European deep tech scale-ups linked to more than 400 ecosystem actors that include investors, corporates, mentors, agencies and media. It runs in-person and online roadshows to generate visibility and deal flow. Scaling Club 2.0 is intended to build on this model and expand it to a new cohort, rather than starting from zero.

Timeline, eligibility and submission

Applications must be submitted electronically via the EU Funding and Tenders Portal by 25 June 2026 at 17:00 CET. The funding rate is 100 percent of eligible costs. The Commission expects to fund one project with an indicative budget of €4 million. Proposals must demonstrate the ability to operate across Europe, to leverage existing networks and the methodologies of the current EIC Scaling Club and to deliver measurable outcomes across investment readiness, financing access, commercial traction and talent acquisition.

What success would look like, and the measurement gap

The call emphasises raising the visibility of selected companies and the European scale-up scene and facilitating outreach to new customers, partners and markets. It also highlights improved operational excellence and investment readiness. However, the notice does not specify target KPIs such as the number or volume of late-stage rounds catalysed, conversion rates from roadshows to term sheets, or quantified hiring outcomes. Given the ambition to serve at least 70 companies with a €4 million budget, applicants should clarify how they will prioritise resources, track outcomes across diverse geographies and sectors and avoid spreading services too thin to move Series B and later rounds meaningfully.

Overlap and complementarity with existing networks

The EIC ecosystem already features Business Acceleration Services, the Trusted Investor Network, the EIC Fund co-investment platform and multiple European and national scale-up initiatives, including the EIT KICs, Enterprise Europe Network nodes and new calls for European startup and scaleup hubs. The Scaling Club 2.0 contractor will need to show real added value beyond generic matchmaking and avoid duplicating services. Clear routes to collaborate with EIT KICs, national agencies and clusters and mechanisms to channel founders efficiently through complementary pipelines will be key.

Strategic framing: deep tech and technological autonomy

The thematic scope aligns with policy language on EU technological sovereignty, notably AI, quantum, advanced materials, biotech, robotics, space and energy and decarbonisation. That mirrors the emphasis of the EIC Work Programme and the Commission’s Competitive Compass for the EU. The intent is to put scarce late-stage support behind companies that can anchor critical technology value chains in Europe. In practice, late-stage financing is still structurally constrained in the EU compared to the US, which raises the bar for the CSA contractor to convert visibility into capital and customers, not just events and content.

Key terms and context

Equity and inclusion requirements

Proposals must ensure geographical spread across EU Member States and Horizon Europe associated countries. The portfolio should also show gender balance with a meaningful share of women-led companies. Applicants should describe outreach and selection processes that reach beyond the usual hubs to avoid reinforcing concentration effects in a handful of ecosystems.

Practical next steps

Potential applicants are consortia or organisations capable of pan-European delivery, with proven ties to investors and corporate innovation teams and with a track record in late-stage scaling. Proposals should detail recruitment pipelines, selection criteria for companies, service menus differentiated by company maturity, and a KPI framework that ties activities to concrete financing, commercial and hiring outcomes. Startups do not apply to this call. Instead, late-stage companies interested in participating should monitor the Scaling Club channels and future calls for expressions of interest once an implementer is in place.

Activities and visibility to date

These roadshows illustrate the Club’s emphasis on curated visibility at established European tech events. The 2.0 contractor is expected to deepen and diversify this programming, including non-obvious geographies and sector-specific buyer networks where deep tech adoption decisions are actually made.

Risks, safeguards and governance

As a service action, Scaling Club 2.0 does not itself deploy capital, so investment-related economic security safeguards that the EIC Fund applies are not directly in scope. Standard Horizon Europe compliance still applies including eligibility, procurement and data protection. Given the reliance on personal data for matchmaking and roadshows, applicants should outline GDPR-compliant data handling and clear consent mechanisms. As with all EU-funded actions, suspected fraud or irregularities can be reported to OLAF via its Fraud Notification System.

Analytical view: ambition versus resources

A €4 million CSA to support at least 70 late-stage deep tech firms implies a lean per-company budget once platform costs, staffing and event programming are covered. If services default to generic coaching and public events, the impact on Series B and later rounds may prove limited. Focused pipelines into concrete late-stage investors, corporate buyers and public procurers and sector-specific regulatory and industrialisation guidance will likely determine whether this programme materially advances scale-up outcomes. Applicants should avoid vanity metrics and instead propose auditable KPIs across capital raised, qualified enterprise pilots signed, first-of-a-kind deployments secured and senior technical hires made.