EIC Scaling Club partners reflect on joint efforts to scale up European deep-tech to global levels

Launched under the European Innovation Council's Business Acceleration Services, the EIC Scaling Club brings together a curated group of more than 120 European deep-tech scale-ups with investors, corporates, public agencies, mentors and media. The Club sets an explicit ambition to help a material share of its members grow into global market leaders. EIC Board President Michiel Scheffer says deep-tech is a core focus for the EIC because this is where market failure is most visible and funding is weakest. He adds that Europe also needs instruments at the member country level to support deep-tech more effectively.

Why the EIC and partners are focusing on deep-tech

Deep-tech covers companies building new hardware, advanced materials, specialised biotech, quantum and other science-driven technologies that require long development timelines and large upfront investment. The EIC and its partners argue that these ventures face acute market failures. Private capital markets often shun long timelines and high technical risk, while public grants alone will not deliver the sustained commercial scaling these companies require. That gap is the rationale for targeted acceleration services and curated networks that combine funding, corporate customers and operational expertise.

How the EIC Scaling Club is structured and what it aims to achieve

The Scaling Club is an EIC-funded, curated community formed as part of the EIC Business Acceleration Services. Members are selected from high-growth scale-ups that have benefited from EIC funding or other European and national innovation programmes. The Club convenes founders with investors, corporates, mentors and public stakeholders to tackle the operational, commercial and financing hurdles that prevent deep-tech firms from becoming global leaders.

Why partners participate: access, impact and ecosystem building

Partners join the Club for several reasons. Investors and corporates gain early access to promising deep-tech innovators. Public agencies and regional actors see participation as a way to channel growth into national or sectoral industrial strategies. Mentors join to share experience and help founders bridge the gap between lab and market. Media and communications partners amplify member visibility, which is often critical for attracting customers and investors.

Mentors: experience, credibility and practical deal-readiness support

Mentors play a crucial role in preparing deep-tech founders for the scrutiny of growth capital and large corporate customers. They focus on improving investor presentations, financial plans and fundraising readiness. Experienced mentors can accelerate the professionalisation of pitch decks and financial models, and they often open doors to investor and corporate networks that are otherwise difficult to access.

What the Club’s studies reveal about common challenges

The EIC Scaling Club and its research partners have published studies that identify recurring barriers in commercial, governance and investor-readiness areas. The reports are intended to provide evidence-based recommendations and practical actions that scale-ups and their stakeholders can adopt.

Key terms explained

What partners deliver in practice

Partners engage through mentoring, direct investment, corporate partnerships and visibility campaigns. Their practical contributions include coaching on investor decks, introducing procurement or pilot opportunities with corporates, co-investment, and media amplification. The Club also commissions studies and roadmaps to surface common challenges and recommended actions.

Accessing the Club’s resources and next steps for founders

The EIC Scaling Club publishes its reports and challenge roadmaps on its website. Founders, investors and other stakeholders can follow the Club on LinkedIn and X for updates. Companies interested in joining the Club should review the eligibility conditions and selection criteria on the EIC Scaling Club site. The Club is one element of the broader EIC Business Acceleration Services which link grant and equity funding with acceleration, procurement and investor readiness programmes.

A realistic appraisal and open questions

The Scaling Club aggregates useful resources and an active partner network. Its focus on board effectiveness, go-to-market discipline and deal readiness aligns with common investor concerns. The Club’s public reporting is valuable because it surfaces misalignments between founders and stakeholders and offers targeted remedies. At the same time, the ambition to produce many unicorns is ambitious and depends on macroeconomic cycles, the depth of late-stage capital in Europe, national industrial policies and the ability of scale-ups to execute complex commercialisation and manufacturing plans. Measuring long term impact will require transparent follow-up on member outcomes and careful separation between correlation and causation when attributing successes to the Club’s activities.

This coverage is based on interviews and materials published by the EIC Scaling Club and its partners. The Club includes mentors, corporates, investors, public agencies and media that contribute through mentoring, deals, corporate pilot opportunities and visibility. Readers should treat the Club’s impact claims with interest and cautious scrutiny and follow up on the primary reports for the underlying data and methodology. The EIC Scaling Club itself includes a disclaimer that materials are for knowledge sharing and do not represent the official view of the European Commission or other organisations.