Fifteen EIC-backed deep tech companies head to CES 2026 — what they will show and what to watch for

Brussels, December 5th 2025

Summary

›The European Innovation Council is sending 15 EIC-backed startups and scaleups to the EIC Pavilion at CES 2026 in Las Vegas, 6 to 9 January 2026.
›Selected firms receive a package of support from the EIC International Trade Fairs Programme 3.0 that includes a pavilion booth, business coaching, matchmaking and promotion.
›The delegation covers hardware, semiconductors, energy storage, embedded and edge AI, robotics security, medical prosthetics and fintech services.
›Pre-departure preparation included an online briefing on 4 December 2025 and further tailored coaching and one-to-one meetings will follow before and during CES.
›Company claims about performance and savings are presented as vendor statements and will need independent validation during pilots and commercial deployments.

Fifteen EIC-backed deep tech companies head to CES 2026

For the fourth consecutive year the European Innovation Council will host an EIC Pavilion at CES, the large international technology trade fair in Las Vegas. CES 2026 runs from 6 to 9 January 2026 and typically draws well over 100,000 attendees, including investors, corporates and international media. The EIC delegation consists of 15 EIC-supported startups and scaleups chosen through the EIC International Trade Fairs Programme 3.0. They will present a mix of hardware and software innovations spanning AI, semiconductors, clean energy, robotics security, medical devices and business services.

What the EIC provides and why it matters

Participation in CES through the EIC Pavilion is framed as an internationalisation accelerator. The EIC International Trade Fairs Programme 3.0 is a targeted support strand that runs 2024 to 2026 and selects EIC beneficiaries to attend major trade fairs in the EU, MENA region and the United States. For companies, the programme bundles exhibition space at the pavilion with practical services intended to increase the chance of commercial traction.

Company	Country	Sector / Short description
Alias Robotics	Spain	Robot cyber security tools and vulnerability research
Axiles Bionics	Belgium	Ankle-foot prostheses designed to restore natural gait
Embedl	Sweden	Edge AI model optimisation and deployment toolkit
FLASC	Netherlands	Modular offshore energy storage using hydro-pneumatic liquid piston technology
Invoier	Sweden	Open marketplace for invoice financing and factoring
Iris AI	Norway	AI development and operation platform for agentic RAG systems
Last Mile Semiconductor	Germany	NR+ based System on Chip for low-cost secure edge connectivity
Morphotonics	Netherlands	Large-area nanoimprinting for micro- and nanostructures
Multiverse Computing	Spain	Quantum-aware software for model compression and optimisation
ONiO	Norway	Power agnostic wireless microcontrollers built for energy harvesting
Simplicity Works	Spain	3D Bonding technology for seamless assembly in footwear and interiors
SiPearl	France	Rhea1 processor for HPC and AI inference to help reach exascale computing
Videantis	Germany	Scalable SoC platform and software for AI, computer vision and codecs
Video Systems	Italy	Ingenium AI Edge devices for industrial image acquisition and real-time processing
VSORA	France	High performance compute solutions claiming leading AI workload metrics

Selected company briefs and technical context

AI, data and model optimisation

Several companies in the delegation focus on AI tooling and model efficiency. These include Embedl, Iris AI and Multiverse Computing. Their offerings address distinct stages of AI productisation. Embedl targets optimising and compressing deep learning models for constrained edge devices. Iris AI provides a platform designed to build, orchestrate and operate so called agentic retrieval augmented generation workflows that combine LLMs with retrieval, orchestration and evaluation. Multiverse Computing markets algorithms and software that it says materially reduce model size and inference cost through advanced compression and optimisation techniques.

Agentic RAG systems:Agentic retrieval augmented generation describes workflows where large language models are combined with external knowledge retrieval, chaining of tools, and automated evaluation. The architecture is intended to improve factuality and task performance while allowing domain specific constraints. Platforms that promise 'agentic RAG as a service' usually provide connectors for document stores, monitoring and evaluation dashboards, and orchestration layers that control model calls and tool use.

Model compression and edge optimisation:Companies such as Embedl and Multiverse Computing apply quantisation, pruning, hardware aware neural architecture search and other techniques to reduce model size, latency and energy consumption. These methods can produce meaningful efficiency gains but often require careful validation to ensure that accuracy and robustness meet production requirements. Performance claims such as large inference speedups or energy savings should be examined under representative workloads and hardware.

Semiconductors and edge hardware

Hardware firms include Last Mile Semiconductor, SiPearl, Videantis, VSORA and ONiO. Their products span SoCs for edge connectivity, HPC processors, silicon-proven platforms for vision systems and ultra-low-power microcontrollers that aim to run on harvested energy. These technologies play complementary roles in edge computing stacks where energy budgets, security and integration costs decide adoption in industrial and consumer markets.

Energy harvesting microcontrollers:ONiO markets microcontrollers that operate over a wide range of power modes, including pure energy harvesting. Energy harvesting designs capture ambient energy sources such as RF, light or vibration. Running real workloads on harvested power is challenging because available power is intermittent and low. Achieving practical deployments requires robust power management, duty cycling and often application-level adaptation.

NR+ and the LM10XX SoC:Last Mile Semiconductor highlights NR+, a license free non-cellular 5G derivative targeted at IoT. NR+ aims to provide long range, low latency and multi device support without operator costs. The LM10XX SoC combines NR+ radio with a RISC-V MCU and cryptographic accelerators. New or variant radio standards may face regulatory and ecosystem adoption hurdles. Vendor claims of 'globally free' spectrum access depend on regional spectrum rules and coexistence with incumbent users.

Clean energy and storage

FLASC, a Netherlands company, presents a modular offshore storage solution that targets the mismatch between intermittent wind generation and onshore demand. The company describes an open-gas cycle hydro-pneumatic liquid piston system that uses the ocean as a heat sink. The approach is pitched as more sustainable and long-lived than large Li-ion battery farms for offshore co-location. Business case improvements are claimed such as 10 to 30 percent additional revenue for offshore wind projects and payback periods of five to seven years.

Hydro-pneumatic liquid piston storage:A hydro-pneumatic liquid piston device stores energy by compressing a gas using a liquid column. Near-isothermal operation improves round-trip efficiency and using seawater as a natural heat sink reduces thermal management needs. The technology is modular so power and energy can be decoupled. Compared to batteries this approach could have longer calendar life and reduced degradation. Practical deployment requires demonstration of operational reliability in harsh offshore conditions and clear maintenance models.

Robotics, industrial vision and safety

The delegation includes companies working on robot security, industrial vision and process automation. Alias Robotics focuses on robot vulnerability discovery and protection. Video Systems and Videantis deliver AI-enabled vision systems and SoC platforms for industrial image acquisition and real-time processing. Morphotonics supplies large-area nanoimprinting for precise micro- and nanostructures that target next generation displays and augmented reality glasses.

Large-area nanoimprinting:Nanoimprinting uses a patterned mold to stamp nano-scale features into a substrate at scale. Large-area nanoimprinting aims to make micro- and nanostructured surfaces cost effective for mass production of optics and displays. For applications such as AR optics and advanced screens critical factors are pattern fidelity, throughput and contamination control. Claims of 'global leadership' require review of capacity, customer adoption and repeatable manufacturing yields.

Health, mobility and industrial assembly

Medical and mobility innovations in the pavilion include Axiles Bionics with ankle-foot prostheses that seek to restore natural walking and posture. Simplicity Works markets 3D Bonding, a material assembly technique aimed at footwear and automotive interiors. These products target ergonomic and manufacturing gains but adoption in regulated sectors normally depends on clinical evidence, safety approvals and integration with supply chains.

Financial services and marketplaces

Invoier is an invoice financing marketplace co-founded with links to KTH and funded in part by EU programmes. It offers real time auctioning of invoices to multiple financiers and additional services such as risk engines and automated collections. Invoice marketplaces can improve cash flow for SMEs but competing finance providers and regulatory compliance around KYC and anti money laundering procedures are operationally demanding.

Invoice marketplace mechanics:Invoier matches seller invoices with competing financing offers from a pool of buyers. The platform claims sellers get paid within 24 hours and that prices average 97 to 99 percent of invoice face value. Market health depends on liquidity from financiers, transparent pricing and robust credit risk assessment. Sellers are still exposed to collection risk unless the marketplace provides non recourse options at a relevant price.

Practical prep and scheduled support

The 15 companies joined an online pre-departure briefing on 4 December 2025 with EIC representatives and market experts. The session covered trade fair opportunities and matchmaking strategies. Ahead of CES the firms will get personalised coaching on messaging, pitch refinement and tailored investor and corporate one-on-one meetings. The EIC programme emphasises follow up to convert leads into pilots or commercial contracts.

EIC materials related to the event are available through the EIC Community platform. The EIC ITF 3.0 scheme remains selective and is open to EIC beneficiaries preparing to scale internationally. For questions about the programme the EIC Community Helpdesk can be used with the category 'EVENT – EIC ITF Programme – CES 2026'.

What to watch for and critical caveats

CES is a high visibility environment. That visibility can convert into partners and investors but success depends on pre event outreach, realistic pilot plans and post trade fair follow up. Many vendor claims about efficiency gains, energy savings and performance are based on lab or controlled demonstrations. Companies that sell hardware must address supply chain readiness, certification and service models. Software vendors need to show reproducible benchmarks on representative workloads and consider data governance and security when offering enterprise AI services.

From a policy perspective the EIC participation shows continued public sector support for commercialisation of EU deep tech. The ITF 3.0 programme aims to de risk market entry for SMEs. Observers should expect announcements and demos during CES but also look for evidence of customer traction, signed pilots and independent validation before accepting headline performance claims.

How to follow or get in touch

The EIC Community platform carries updates about the pavilion and the companies involved. EIC beneficiaries and external stakeholders can use the EIC Community Helpdesk to ask questions. The official EIC disclaimer notes that shared information is for knowledge sharing and does not represent the formal position of the European Commission. The EIC Business Acceleration Services newsletter can provide ongoing updates on open calls and events.

If you plan to attend CES 2026 look for the EIC Pavilion and use the pavilion as a first step. Expect to validate technical claims with on site demos and arrange follow up meetings for proof of concept discussions.

Downloads and administrative notes

The original EIC article links to CES 2026 promotional materials and brochures through the EIC Community media library. The EIC provides contact routes for help and guidance via its Community Helpdesk. The programme is part of EIC ITF 3.0 which runs through 2026 and complements other EIC internationalisation support activities.

Disclaimer. The technical descriptions and performance metrics in this article are drawn from company statements made in the context of EIC promotion materials and company websites. Independent verification and due diligence are recommended before any commercial or investment decision.

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