EIC Tech to Market Venture Building: Tech Demo Days and the push from lab to market

In July the EIC Tech to Market Venture Building Programme, an EIC Business Acceleration Service, ran the final Tech Demo Days in two thematic tracks. The events focused on Health and Biotech and on Quantum tech and Electronics. A total of 23 teams funded under EIC Pathfinder and EIC Transition presented their technologies to panels made up of market, technical and investment experts. The Tech Demo Days are the formal entry point to a structured venture building journey that the EIC offers to early-stage deep tech innovators.

How the Tech Demo Days work and who ran them

The Tech Demo Days are designed to surface commercially promising ideas from research projects and to expose teams to critical market-facing feedback early on. The sessions combined thematic exploration workshops with direct feedback from EIC programme managers and external experts. The events were organised with the collaboration of EIC Programme Managers Isabel Obieta and Samira Nik.

Project snapshots from beneficiaries

Two participants provided concrete examples of the kinds of deep tech entering the Programme. Both described substantial technical novelty but also the complex road ahead to reach customers or clinical deployment.

PULSE-COM: light-driven materials for movers and valves

Alessia Piccolo presented on behalf of PULSE-COM, an EIC Pathfinder project developing photomobile polymers. The team says it has created a next-generation photomobile polymer that activates and moves in response to sunlight. Proposed applications include solar cell movers and opto-valves and a new class of sensors and actuators. The project aims to change how devices are conceived in materials and mechatronics by embedding actuation directly into the material under ambient light stimulation.

HYPERSTIM: ultra-thin neural interfaces and virtual electrodes

Frederik Ceyssens represented HYPERSTIM, an EIC Pathfinder project that focuses on improving the resolution of electronic interfaces to the nervous system. Their approach combines a fabrication method for ultra-thin microelectrode arrays with an insertion method to place implants that are about as thin as a single cell. The team also develops advanced stimulation protocols that they describe as creating 'virtual electrodes', intended to produce spatial resolution that exceeds the number of physical electrodes present.

Both teams emphasised that the most valuable element of the Tech Demo Day stage was direct interaction with experts. Alessia said the expert advice helped make their activities more efficient and effective and that listening to other teams broadened their approach to market. Frederik noted that the exercise helped to polish their presentation and strategy and to practice communicating with both technical and financial interlocutors.

PULSE-COM and HYPERSTIM were accepted to the Programme's Opportunities' Exploration phase. That phase provides feasibility guidance from a multidisciplinary team with business insights and tailored recommendations for improvement.

Expert perspectives and practical advice

The event also included input from external advisors who work at the interface of technology, strategy and investment. Two of the advisers who commented were Marcel Quintana, Technology, Strategy and Innovation Advisor, and Sandrine Egron, Investment Director at 50 Partners Health. Both framed the Venture Building service as an important bridge from research to business.

Marcel argued that these programmes are particularly important in Europe to close the gap between academic research and commercially viable products and services. He described the EIC Tech to Market programme as comprehensive because it supplies training, mentoring and ecosystem connections as well as expert advice to shape project ideas and engage partners.

Sandrine emphasised the ecosystem role of such programmes and recommended early expert support for entrepreneurs. When asked for two practical pieces of advice for early-stage teams, each expert offered clear guidance.

What the Venture Building Programme delivers

The EIC Tech to Market Venture Building Programme is meant to help build start-ups from promising research results through a combination of discovery, validation and venture creation services. The Programme onboards EIC Pathfinder and EIC Transition beneficiaries and guides teams through four core phases. It also offers on-demand services managed proactively by EIC programme managers.

The Programme also ran calls for experts and entrepreneurs in residence to populate its mentorship and recruitment pools. At the time of the broader Programme documentation these applications were closed with plans to reopen in 2026.

Context and caveats for deep tech commercialisation in Europe

The EIC Tech to Market Venture Building Programme sits within a broader effort by the European Innovation Council and the European Commission to shorten the path from public research to commercial outcomes. Europe has strengthened funding instruments for deep tech but still faces challenges such as smaller later-stage venture capital pools relative to the United States, fragmented markets across member states, and complex regulatory and standards regimes for devices and therapeutics.

Programmes that pair technical teams with market experts can reduce risk and accelerate learning. They do not guarantee commercial success. For hardware, materials and medtech projects in particular the path to market is capital intensive and requires manufacturing scale, regulatory clearance and long customer sales cycles. Participants who receive helpful feedback still need follow-on funding, operational capacity and often additional domain expertise to turn demonstration prototypes into revenue generating products.

Next steps for teams and how to get help

PULSE-COM and HYPERSTIM advanced to the Opportunities' Exploration phase where they will receive feasibility guidance and recommendations from a team of business-savvy experts. For teams interested in engaging with the EIC Tech to Market services, the EIC Community helpdesk can be contacted and the correct subject selected to speed replies. The Venture Building and Entrepreneurship offerings are part of the EIC Business Acceleration Services portfolio.

A note on programme availability. The EIC Tech to Market Programme was documented as being paused and expected to resume activities in 2026. Prospective participants and experts should check the EIC and EIC Community webpages for the latest status before applying.

Concluding assessment

The Tech Demo Days format achieved its immediate goal of exposing early-stage teams to market scrutiny and mentoring. Participants reported clear benefits in improving pitch materials, market analysis and value proposition framing. External advisors reiterated familiar but critical points about user validation, team composition and the need for early tough decisions. The real test for the Venture Building pathway will be whether it can reliably convert improved commercial readiness into successful fundraises, industrial partnerships or customer wins. That will depend on follow-on financing, regulatory progress for clinical and device projects, and the programme's sustained ability to match deep tech teams with operational and commercial talent.

DISCLAIMER: The information presented here was prepared from EIC Community communications and interviews with programme participants and advisers. It is provided for information and knowledge sharing and does not represent the official view of the European Commission or any other organisation.