EIC STEP Scale Up advances four companies toward up to €90 million in equity, but final investments hinge on due diligence
- ›Four companies are put forward for EIC STEP Scale Up investments totaling up to €90 million, pending EIC Fund due diligence.
- ›Selected firms span quantum software and AI, satellite launch, and cargo drones, underscoring the scheme’s broad scope.
- ›Each receives the STEP Seal to aid co-investment and access EIC Business Acceleration Services, but the label is not a funding guarantee.
- ›The scheme targets €10–30 million equity per company to catalyse €50–150 million rounds and address Europe’s scale-up finance gap.
Second STEP Scale Up cohort advances, with four companies moving to EIC Fund decisions
The European Commission has named a second group of companies that passed evaluation under the EIC Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform STEP Scale Up call. The four companies are being put forward for EIC Fund investment decisions for up to a combined €90 million in equity, subject to due diligence. All four receive the STEP Seal, a quality label intended to ease access to complementary or alternative financing and to unlock EIC Business Acceleration Services.
What the STEP Scale Up scheme offers and requires
STEP Scale Up is designed to fill Europe’s late-stage deep tech funding gap by providing large equity tickets and catalysing private co-investment. The scheme targets companies in digital and deep tech, clean and resource-efficient technologies including net-zero, and biotechnologies. Investments are equity-only and are managed by the EIC Fund. The call remains continuously open, with evaluation sessions every quarter.
| Feature | Detail | Notes |
| Investment size per company | €10–30 million | Equity only via the EIC Fund |
| Target round size | €50–150 million or more | EIC aims to crowd-in private capital |
| Pre-commitment from investor | At least 20% of target round | From a qualified investor using the EC template |
| Evaluation cadence | Quarterly | Call is continuously open |
| 2025 budget | €300 million | Projected growth to €900 million over 2025–2027 |
| Label | STEP Seal | Facilitates access to other funding and BAS services |
| Investment condition | Subject to due diligence | Final decision by the EIC Fund |
Who is moving forward and in which strategic domains
The four companies proposed for investment decisions reflect the platform’s breadth across strategic technologies relevant to European competitiveness and resilience. They include quantum software and AI, new space launch capabilities, and autonomous cargo aviation.
| Company | Country | Sector | Stated focus | Context and caveats |
| Multiverse Computing | Spain | Quantum/AI | AI model compression and quantum-inspired optimisation software | Positions itself as a major European quantum software provider. Efficiency gains in AI are a clear need, but performance claims require validation at scale and against open benchmarks. |
| HyImpulse Technologies | Germany | Space launch services | Hybrid paraffin-fuel propulsion for suborbital and small orbital launchers | Hybrid rockets offer safety and cost advantages on paper. Market entry depends on licensing, reliability proofs and securing recurring payload customers in a crowded European micro-launcher field. |
| Dronamics | Bulgaria, Ireland | Cargo drones | Long-range, middle-mile cargo drone operations Black Swan and droneports | Same-day regional cargo is an attractive niche. Certification, airspace integration, insurance and infrastructure costs are serious hurdles. Marketing claims on cost and readiness should be treated cautiously until operations scale under EASA-compliant approvals. |
| Classiq Technologies | Israel | Quantum software | Toolchain for quantum circuit design and compilation | Israel is associated to Horizon Europe, which makes the company eligible. The selection raises a practical point about sovereignty goals focusing on capabilities rather than company domicile. |
Selectivity and where the process stands
Out of 19 companies that submitted to this first batch, five were invited to interview by independent high-level experts, and four that met all criteria were put forward to the EIC Fund for investment decisions. This indicates a selective process and a still-maturing deal pipeline for very large European rounds.
| Metric | Number | Comment |
| Proposals submitted | 19 | First batch for this call |
| Invited to interview | 5 | Screened by independent experts |
| Put forward to EIC Fund | 4 | All subject to due diligence |
| Indicative equity for the group | Up to €90 million | Final amounts depend on EIC Fund decisions |
What the STEP Seal actually confers
The STEP Seal is intended as a quality signal to co-investors and public programmes. It does not commit EU capital in itself. Seal holders may access EIC Business Acceleration Services such as coaching, mentoring, partner networks and investor engagement. In practice, the label can help unlock blended finance across EU and national instruments but execution depends on each project’s traction and investor interest.
Context: Europe’s scale-up finance gap and the limits of public equity
The Commission frames STEP as a response to Europe’s chronic shortage of late-stage deep tech capital. European venture and growth funding remains small compared to the United States and China, and many EU-born scaleups seek larger tickets abroad or relocate. With €300 million earmarked for 2025 and a projected €900 million for 2025–2027, STEP is additive but modest relative to the multi-billion sums often required to scale hardware-heavy and infrastructure-intensive firms. The EIC Fund’s co-investment model helps crowd-in private capital, yet actual mobilisation depends on company quality, market timing and the presence of credible lead investors.
There are also policy tensions. STEP is about reducing strategic dependencies, yet eligibility extends to associated countries such as Israel through Horizon Europe. That may be pragmatic for capability building, but it complicates the political narrative around technological sovereignty if a portion of public equity ultimately supports non-EU domiciled firms.
Technology explainers
How STEP integrates with wider EU instruments
STEP is a cross-programme platform that directs funding and visibility to strategic technologies, drawing on instruments such as Horizon Europe, the Digital Europe Programme, the Innovation Fund and cohesion policy funds. The EIC STEP Scale Up scheme is the large-ticket equity component within that platform, delivered by the EIC Fund. The Fund has a multi-billion capital base and targets co-investment with private partners. Seal holders can also tap advisory and acceleration networks to improve investment readiness and partner access.
| Instrument | What it offers | Typical use |
| EIC STEP Scale Up | €10–30 million equity tickets | Catalyse €50–150 million rounds for strategic tech scaleups |
| EIC Business Acceleration Services | Coaching, mentoring, partner access | Market entry, partnerships, investor engagement |
| Other STEP-linked programmes | Grants, loans, guarantees across EU funds | Manufacturing, skills, demonstration and scale-out |
Next steps and what to watch
The four companies now enter EIC Fund due diligence. This process can adjust ticket sizes, pacing and conditions or ultimately decline investment. The call remains open continuously with quarterly evaluation cycles, so additional cohorts are expected. Key indicators to watch are co-investor quality, round sizes actually closed versus targets, and how quickly these firms achieve regulatory and commercial milestones that justify public equity at scale.