Opportunities' Exploration phase closes onboarding as EIC delivers feasibility reviews and FTOs

The EIC Tech to Market Venture Building Programme has completed onboarding the final group of 27 projects into its second phase, called Opportunities' Exploration. The phase is scheduled to produce 97 Feasibility Assessment Studies in total. To date, 34 Freedom to Operate reports have been delivered to EIC beneficiaries. The activities target EIC Pathfinder and Transition projects and pair them with outside experts to evaluate technical, team and business feasibility and to recommend next steps for venture building.

What the Opportunities' Exploration phase provided

The phase brought together 97 EIC-funded research projects with a roster of external specialists. The experts performed structured feasibility assessments that look beyond technical proof of concept. Their remit includes assessing whether the research can be translated into a viable product, whether the founding team has the skills to become a startup, and which business or market risks remain. The effort also produced Freedom to Operate reports for many teams. These are legal assessments that examine the intellectual property landscape around a technology and identify potential patent conflicts.

Voices from the experts: praise and constructive critique

The EIC spoke with two experts who have been advising project teams in the Opportunities' Exploration activities. Their feedback highlights strengths in Europe’s research base and recurring weaknesses that block commercial progress.

Kaija Pöysti said she was impressed with the level and variety of innovations and the research behind them. She observed that many projects provide a good technical basis for commercialisation but still need development on business aspects. She added that programmes like EIC T2M are important because they "bring the business aspect in at early enough stage."

Rocco Barone described the technologies he has seen as "very promising and fascinating" with strong technical development. At the same time he has repeatedly noticed shortcomings in "the composition of the teams as well as a marginal consideration of the commercial aspects."

Both experts offered practical advice for researchers considering entrepreneurship. Rocco urged patience and persistence and warned that product development and commercialisation are different from academic projects. He said, "the creation and commercialisation of a product is very different than an academic project, sometimes harder, and it requires several years of patience and hard work to succeed." Kaija emphasised that business building is an expertise in its own right and recommended valuing the guidance and networks these programmes provide. She also highlighted that interdisciplinary expert input is a strength of the Programme and that active participation by researchers improves outcomes.

What this means for researchers and teams

The Programme’s work is practical rather than celebratory. Feasibility studies and FTOs give teams specific gaps to address. Typical issues flagged by experts include the absence of business or commercial lead roles, unclear go to market pathways, immature IP strategies, and a tendency to treat commercialization as a downstream activity rather than as an integral part of project planning. Teams that act on expert recommendations will still need time and follow-on resources to scale.

Programme context, timing and next steps

The EIC Tech to Market Venture Building Programme is one strand of the EIC’s broader support to move innovations from Pathfinder and Transition research into the market. The Venture Building path follows four main phases: Tech Demo Days, Opportunities' Exploration, Team Creation, and Venture Support Services. Until December 2024 the Venture Building activities were implemented by external service providers contracted by the EIC. The Programme’s broader Tech to Market activities are currently paused and expected to resume in 2026.

The EIC notes that the Venture Building activities will conclude by the end of the year. That timing means teams who have engaged with the phase must secure follow-on support and make use of the recommendations quickly to sustain momentum.

Practical next steps and where to get help

Researchers interested in the Programme or needing more information are directed to the EIC Community platform. For specific enquiries the EIC Community helpdesk accepts messages where the subject can be set to "EIC T2M Venture Building Programme." Calls for experts and expressions of interest for entrepreneurs in residence had been open during the implementation period but are currently closed and expected to reopen in 2026.

Programmes like this reduce certain early stage risks but they do not remove the hard realities of commercialisation. Feasibility studies and FTOs are useful inputs. They are not guarantees of successful market entry. Continued investment, realistic timelines and a focus on team composition remain decisive factors for whether research turns into sustainable companies.

Disclaimer and closing note

The information in this article is based on EIC Community reporting and interviews with participating experts. It is provided for information and knowledge sharing and should not be interpreted as the official position of the European Commission. Readers should treat planned outputs and claimed strategic impacts as conditional on implementation, follow-on funding and market uptake.