What the European Innovation Council impact report 2021 says and what it means for EU deep tech
- ›During its pilot phase up to 2020 the EIC supported about 5,500 start ups and SMEs and reports a portfolio valuation near EUR 50 billion.
- ›EIC-backed companies attracted an estimated EUR 9.6 billion in follow on investment and the portfolio included 91 companies valued over EUR 100 million and 2 valued above EUR 1 billion.
- ›The EIC Fund, set up in 2020, began full operations in early 2021 and made investment decisions on 137 companies worth about EUR 600 million, with the first 24 direct equity investments drawing co-investments of EUR 395 million.
- ›EIC activity spans breakthrough research to commercial scaling through instruments such as Pathfinder, Transition and Accelerator and reports more than 800 innovations emerging from supported projects.
- ›Headline figures require careful interpretation because of attribution, timing and methodological limits and because leverage ratios are based on an early set of investments.
EIC impact report 2021 in context
The European Innovation Council published an impact report in late 2021 covering the pilot phase of the EIC up to 2020. The report presents aggregate performance indicators intended to show the pilot's contribution to Europe’s deep tech ecosystem. The data mix grant and equity activity, research and commercialisation support, and early investments that predate the EIC’s full operation under Horizon Europe. The fully fledged EIC was launched in March 2021 as a flagship instrument within Horizon Europe with the aim of identifying, developing and scaling game changing technologies in the EU.
Key numbers reported from the pilot phase (to 2020)
The report highlights a set of headline figures that are useful for tracing scale and reach but that need a cautious reading. The main figures published for the pilot period up to 2020 are collected and explained below.
| Indicator | Reported value | Notes |
| Start ups and SMEs supported | 5,500 | Covers support across EIC pilot instruments up to 2020 |
| Follow on investment crowded in | EUR 9.6 billion | Primarily from venture capital, plus corporates and national promotional banks |
| Portfolio valuation | Around EUR 50 billion | Aggregate private valuations of EIC-backed companies as reported |
| Companies > EUR 100 million (centaurs) | 91 | Definition used is company valuation above EUR 100 million |
| Companies > EUR 1 billion (unicorns) | 2 | Count at time of report |
| Female CEOs among 2020 awardees | Over 20% | About double the earlier level reported by the EIC |
| EIC Fund investment decisions (first half 2021) | 137 companies, EUR 600 million | EIC Fund entered full operations in first six months of 2021 |
| Co-investment attracted for first 24 direct equity investments | EUR 395 million | About 2.7 times the EIC Fund investment for that subset |
| Innovations from EIC supported research projects | Over 800 | Most projects include SMEs or commercial partners |
| EIC Transition funding in 2021 | EUR 100 million | Aimed at pulling proofs of concept from ERC and EIC toward commercial ventures |
| EIC Accelerator portfolio addressing at least one SDG (by 2020) | 90.5% | Shows alignment with Sustainable Development Goals |
| Start ups awarded in 2020 with COVID, Green Deal, digital focus | 218 total; 72 COVID; >=64 Green Deal; >=40 digital | Counts reported for thematic focus among 2020 awardees |
What the numbers mean and how to read them
The report bundles different activities across time. Grants, equity, coaching, and ecosystem services are aggregated to measure 'support'. Aggregating these items is a legitimate way to summarise a programme but it mixes stages and types of support that have very different implications for long term scale up outcomes.
EIC activities behind the figures
The EIC pilot combined several instruments to move technologies from lab to market. Key strands included: Pathfinder for high risk breakthrough research, Transition to pull proofs of concept towards market readiness, and the Accelerator for blended grants and investments to scale companies. The EIC also provides business acceleration services such as coaching, mentoring and access to networks. Programme managers within the EIC actively shepherd promising technologies into spin outs, IP strategies or collaborations.
Sectoral and policy alignments
The report positions the EIC as contributing to policy priorities such as health, the Green Deal and the digital transition. It states that over 90 percent of Accelerator portfolio companies address at least one Sustainable Development Goal. For the 218 companies awarded in 2020 the EIC identified contributions to COVID response, green technologies and digital solutions. This alignment helps justify EIC support within broader EU strategic agendas.
Who implements and manages EIC activity
Operational management of EIC programmes and certain services is handled by the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency, EISMEA. The EIC Fund is a separate investment arm created to provide equity to scaleups and co-invest with private investors. In early 2021 the EIC Fund moved into full operational mode and began making investment decisions.
Implications for the EU innovation ecosystem
The figures indicate that targeted public support can help surface deep tech projects and can act as a signal to private capital. The EIC's blended instrument approach is specifically intended to address Europe’s historic funding gap between early research grants and large scale private growth capital. If co-investment ratios scale beyond early pilots, the EIC Fund could become an important part of Europe’s growth capital architecture. The focus on coaching, follow up and programme management recognises that funding alone is not sufficient for scaling complex technologies.
But challenges remain. Scaling systemic success across the EU requires strong follow-on private capital markets, serial founders, larger risk tolerant funds and supportive public policies on market creation. The EIC can help but it cannot, by itself, create a fully fledged venture ecosystem where it is weak or absent. Outcomes such as unicorn creation and portfolio valuations are influenced by global market cycles and by national policies that affect talent and capital flows.
Methodological caveats and data limitations
The impact report is transparent about covering the EIC pilot up to 2020. That matters because several institutional changes followed the pilot, including the formal launch under Horizon Europe in March 2021 and the operational scale up of the EIC Fund. Readers should bear in mind that:
Downloadable documents and provenance
The EIC published the Impact Report 2021 and an accompanying EIC key achievements factsheet on 23 and 24 November 2021. Those documents supply the primary numbers used in this analysis. Agency websites and formal communications provide background on EIC instruments, the EIC Fund and EISMEA responsibilities.
Conclusions
The EIC impact report 2021 offers a useful snapshot of reach and early market signals during the pilot phase. It documents activity across research, transition and scaling instruments, and it signals progress on gender balance among awardees. The EIC Fund’s early deal activity points to an ability to attract co investors, but leverage metrics rely on a small initial set of deals. The larger question for policy makers is whether the EIC combined with complementary reforms to capital markets, talent mobility and industrial policy can sustainably close Europe’s deep tech scale up gap. The EIC contributes important building blocks but it is not a silver bullet.
Selected glossary
Further reading and contacts
Primary source materials are the EIC Impact Report 2021 and the EIC key achievements factsheet published by the European Commission and EISMEA. For operational details and calls the EIC and EISMEA websites and the Funding and Tenders Portal provide up to date documents and contact points.