What the EIC Scaling Club offers and why scale-ups join

Launched by the European Innovation Council the EIC Scaling Club gathers a curated community of leading European deep-tech scale-ups with the stated ambition to help some of them grow into world class companies. The programme brings together companies, investors corporate innovators and other industry stakeholders to accelerate commercialisation and market expansion. Membership is selective and designed to complement existing EIC financing instruments with networking coaching mentoring and access to investor and corporate ecosystems.

Membership is organised into market opportunity groups covering domains such as Digital Security and Trust Next-Gen Computing Renewable Energies and Smart Mobility. The Club profile on EIC platforms names roughly 100 to 120 deep-tech scale-ups across cohorts and market groups. Several member companies have also received EIC funding through instruments such as the EIC Accelerator.

Direct feedback from five member companies

.lumen — Romania, Next-Gen Computing

.lumen builds assistive 'glasses for the blind' that replicate the main features of a guide dog. Founder and CEO Cornel Amariei describes the Club launch event as a high-energy networking moment where practical mentoring already started. He recalls an optimistic remark at the launch that 20 percent of Club members could become unicorns and says he intends for his company to be in that group. He highlights hands-on mentoring and practical homework as immediate benefits and points out that a potential business opportunity emerged directly from the launch event.

bound4blue — Spain, Renewable Energies

bound4blue develops the eSAIL wind propulsion system for ships to reduce fuel costs and emissions. Head of Marketing Dana Camps says networking and learning are the two main reasons the company joined the Club. She emphasises the value of meeting 'great people' and the need to learn during the scaling process.

ThreatMark — Czech Republic, Digital Security and Trust

ThreatMark provides fraud prevention for digital banking channels. Co-founder and CEO Michal Tresner says visibility motivated their joining. He notes the importance of spreading their message and that the Ignition Forum connected them with other founders and potential investors though he is cautious about which contacts will turn into concrete business opportunities.

Aerones — Latvia, Renewable Energies

Aerones is a leader in robotics for wind turbine inspection maintenance and repairs. Chief of Staff Endijs Bernics credits the Ignition Forum with opening doors to the Club’s investor and customer networks. He says these connections are paving the way for future commercial partnerships and potential investment supporting Aerones’ growth.

Sweetch Energy — France, Renewable Energies

Sweetch Energy is developing osmotic power as a renewable energy source. Co-founder and CEO Nicolas Heuzé describes the Club as a resourceful community that helps identify collaborators and partners. He frames the Club as valuable for finding the strong partnerships a technically ambitious deployment project requires and raises the strategic question of how Europe can become the deployment hub for such technologies.

What members say they gain and what to treat with caution

Member testimonies emphasise a handful of repeatable benefits. Visibility helps with market awareness and media coverage. Access to curated investor introductions accelerates fundraising conversations. Tailored mentoring provides practical next steps for commercialisation. In-person events produce immediate networking outcomes including early business leads. At the same time Club membership is an enabler not a guarantee. Selection into a curated network raises a company’s signal in front of investors and partners yet reaching unicorn scale depends on many factors outside a community programme. These include the ability to close significant follow-on funding negotiate commercial contracts scale manufacturing navigate regulation and execute on customer adoption at pace.

How the Club fits into the broader EIC and EU innovation ecosystem

The EIC Scaling Club sits alongside EIC grants and equity investment programmes. The European Innovation Council has multiple tools including grants under Horizon Europe accelerator grants and an EIC Fund that provides patient capital for high risk deep-tech companies. The Club is intended as a complementary platform focused on business acceleration visibility and matchmaking rather than direct capital deployment. It also produces outputs such as market and challenge roadmaps aimed at addressing go-to-market obstacles scaleups report including fundraising readiness and customer access.

Implications for founders investors and policymakers

For founders the Club is a clear source of curated contacts and practical support. For investors the Club reduces discovery costs by surfacing scaleups that passed EIC curation criteria. For policymakers the Club demonstrates how accompaniment can amplify the impact of grant and equity instruments but it also underlines a persistent challenge. Many deep-tech scaleups need significant growth capital and longer timelines than typical venture cycles. Filling that funding and deployment gap remains a task for public and private players together.

The EIC Scaling Club encourages following its members on LinkedIn and X and subscribing to the programme newsletter for updates. The original communications include a disclaimer that the information is for knowledge sharing and not the official position of the European Commission or other organisations.