Created and scaled in Europe – European Innovation Council – Impact Report 2026

Europe is becoming the global destination for building and scaling deep tech. With world-class talent, the strength of the Single Market, increasing access to capital and improving conditions for entrepreneurship, Europe is creating the foundations for the next generation of global technology leaders. This EIC Impact Report reflects that momentum.

The EIC Fund, the investment arm of the European Innovation Council (EIC), has become a catalyst for deep tech investment across Europe. It has invested in around 350 start-ups and SMEs and mobilised close to €5 billion in co-investment.

In the past year alone, three portfolio companies in AI and quantum technologies achieved unicorn valuations. The strength of the EIC pipeline across clean tech, healthcare and digital technologies shows that Europe’s innovation potential is only beginning to unfold.

Bringing these breakthroughs to market faster will be critical to addressing Europe’s major challenges, including energy resilience and technological leadership. To capture the full economic and strategic value of these innovations in Europe, we must also strengthen growth and late-stage financing.

This is why we are launching the new €5 billion Scaleup Europe Fund. With the capacity to invest hundreds of millions of euros into single companies, it will help Europe’s next generation of champions scale globally while remaining anchored in Europe.

Finance alone is not enough. The European Startup and Scaleup Strategy, the EIC and the Scaleup Europe Fund are supported by broader measures to reduce regulatory barriers, attract talent, commercialise research, and connect Europe’s leading innovation ecosystems.

For instance, EU Inc. - a pan-European legal status enabling companies to operate across the Single Market under one simplified framework - will help start-ups scale faster and compete globally. Together, these initiatives are shaping a more founder-friendly Europe.

With this report, I invite you to explore the EIC’s achievements and see how Europe is building the next generation of global deep tech champions.

Ekaterina Zaharieva.

European Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This report provides an overview of the impacts delivered by the innovators funded by the European Innovation Council (EIC), a €10 billion programme of the European Union launched in 2021 to identify, support and scale up breakthrough technologies and deep tech start-ups.

Since its launch in 2021, the EIC has attracted applications from tens of thousands of innovators, and strategically allocated more than €6.5 billion in grant and equity support to over:

In quantum and semiconductor technologies:

In artificial intelligence:

In space technologies:

The first cohort of companies receiving grant and equity support also saw nearly 120% higher sales, and over 90% higher wage and employment growth in the two years following selection.

The integrated set of EIC instruments is also creating a strong pipeline of innovations with:

In energy generation and storage:

As the investment arm of the EIC, the EIC Fund has become one of the largest deep tech investors in Europe, with a portfolio of nearly 350 companies (including 117 from the EIC pilot in 2019-20), mobilising over €5 billion in co-investments from more than a thousand investors and leveraging €3.5 for each euro invested from the EU budget.

And the EIC has strengthened connections to the wider ecosystem and supported the best innovators from across Europe with:

In biotechnology and biomanufacturing: €475 million for areas including industrial biotechnology, agrifood biotech and healthcare biotech.

Within this, the agrifood biotech portfolio companies collectively raised over €1 billion in investments and accounted for 20% of investment in equivalent areas in 2025. Deals worth over €70 million were unlocked through participation in Trade Fairs in 2024/25, and over €20 million in tenders were secured through procurement support in 2024/25.

This makes the EIC one of the most important instruments for Europe’s future competitiveness and strategic autonomy, featuring strong portfolios of technologies and companies across a full range of critical technology areas.

THE EUROPEAN INNOVATION COUNCIL AT A GLANCE

The European Innovation Council (EIC) is a flagship initiative of the European Commission striving to turn disruptive European science into groundbreaking commercial propositions and accelerate the scale-up of game-changing innovations.

With a budget of over €10 billion under the Horizon Europe Programme (2021–2027), it seeks to position Europe as a global leader in the current wave of deep tech innovation, rooted in cutting edge science, technology and engineering.

The EIC provides integrated support at all stages of technological maturity for innovators across Europe and looks to ensure that we turn excellent European deep tech research into innovations and industrialise and deploy radical deep tech innovations at scale.

Support from idea generation by researchers through to their commercialisation and market entry by start-ups and SMEs is delivered through four core schemes.

Beyond financial support, the EIC fosters an innovative ecosystem that supports companies and projects with tailor-made Business Acceleration Services, including opportunities with corporates, public procurements, international partners, specialised expertise and infrastructures, to help increase the impact and likelihood of market entry and scaling.

The EIC has also developed a model of Programme Management, informed by best practice elsewhere including ARPA in the US. The approach leverages the scientific background, understanding of markets and networks of the Programme Managers to identify emerging trends and inform future activities.

A NOTE FROM

EIC BOARD PRESIDENT

MULTIVERSE COMPUTING — Pioneering the era of efficient & secure AI.

This annual report reflects vividly the maturation of the EIC in different dimensions. With its core instruments, Pathfinder, Transition, Accelerator and STEP, it has developed a substantial portfolio of nearly 1500 projects. Processes to apply, evaluate, award and manage have been improved and made faster.

Two major novelties launched in 2025 following advice from the EIC Board were a pre-Accelerator scheme to support earlier stage companies in Horizon Europe “widening countries” and the first funding rounds of the STEP scale up call for larger investments in strategically important companies, such as in quantum, AI and nuclear fusion.

The EIC Board set demanding targets for the EIC which in many areas have been reached or surpassed, including a leverage effect that each euro of European money attracts over one euro of additional investment. In several sectors, like space and quantum, the EIC is now a major investor shaping the European landscape.

KEY IMPACTS

SUPPORTING TECHNOLOGY BREAKTHROUGHS

The EIC Pathfinder, focused on support for groundbreaking research at low TRLs, has to date supported 476 early-stage high-risk, high-gain inter and transdisciplinary projects under Horizon Europe (2021–2025).

A mix of open (sector/technology agnostic) and challenge-based (targeted) calls ensure that the EIC is positioned at the forefront of developments in science and technology and can both identify and support technologies emerging from the science base that could create new value propositions and/or disrupt existing markets.

Access to EIC coaching, mentoring and networking to crystallise the potential of research results. Grants of up to €3–4 million for trans-national collaborative projects and possible follow-up funding through EIC Transition activities and EIC Accelerator.

REVISION IMPLANT — Giving vision back to the blind

A highly advanced micro-electrode technology allows thousands of electrodes to be implanted in the visual cortex of the brain, each as thin as a single cell. The implant is wirelessly linked with a headset that contains cameras and signal processing. Together, these will enable blind people to regain useful vision.

APRIL 2022 — Pathfinder Project. AUGUST 2023 — First proof-of-concept of artificial vision generated with novel electrode arrays in non-human primates. JUNE 2024 — First version of the human-sized electrode arrays.

JANUARY 2025 — EIC Transition granted. MARCH 2025 — Strategic collaboration with Cochlear, the world leader in cochlear implants. APRIL 2025 — First proof-of-concept of the active implantable stimulator.

OCTOBER 2025 — Regulatory approval filed in Hungary to start acute first-in-human testing. JANUARY 2026 — Awarded FDA Breakthrough Device Designation. FEBRUARY 2026 — New lab at Leuven Bio-Incubator.

The EIC Pathfinder and Transition grants have been invaluable to demonstrate our first proof-of-principle, to evolve from an early-stage technology company into a medical device manufacturer, and to get closer to the market. The European consortium combines the most experienced researchers from all over Europe.

According to independent analysis based on the Innovation Radar methodology, when including results from predecessor programmes under Horizon 2020, completed Pathfinder projects have delivered:

PRIMING THE NEXT GENERATION OF START-UPS

EIC Transition, introduced under Horizon Europe, provides a unique opportunity to turn excellent European deep tech research into innovations. It provides up to €2.5 million to enable innovative researchers, spinouts and SMEs to exploit promising deep tech research results, demonstrate and mature the technology and at the same time develop and refine their business plans for specific applications and look towards commercialisation.

The scheme has played a critical role in valorising the outputs of early-stage research supported under the EIC and other parts of the Framework Programme, including the European Research Council (ERC), with 2025 seeing the largest share of projects originating from Pillar II (and equivalents under Horizon 2020) of Horizon Europe.

ECHEMICLES — Electrolysis for a better tomorrow

Founded in 2022 thanks in part to ERC-funded research at the University of Szeged, eChemicles is scaling up a low-temperature CO₂ electrolyser and signed a strategic deal with Bosch Thin Metal Technologies in December 2024 to industrialise stack production.

It has developed a scalable low-temperature electrochemical technology that uses renewable energy to directly convert CO₂ into e-chemicals, such as carbon monoxide, ethylene, and other products. The Transition programme was instrumental for the lab-to-tech transition and to gain global visibility.

217 projects have been funded in the period 2021–25, with the majority involving a commercial partner. Nearly 100 ERC Proof of Concept projects are being accelerated into innovations, and over 40% of beneficiaries are startups and SMEs.

Innovation Radar data on completed Transition projects point to: 20 startups established with at least 10 others in the process of being established; over 10 beneficiaries have already raised capital and a further 35 plan to do so.

ACCELERATING DEEP TECH INNOVATION

The EIC Accelerator supports startups and SMEs that have the ambition and commitment to scale, but require substantial funding where the risks involved are too high for private investors alone to invest. Support is provided in the form of non-dilutive grant funding and dilutive direct investment, via the EIC Fund, in most cases in combination.

Single application for grant and equity. Supports deep tech ideas with potential to scale in global markets and covers all technology fields, with targeted funding also available to address particular challenges. Due diligence by EIB followed by investment decision by fund manager.

Grants of up to €2.5 million plus equity of up to €15 million. Access to Business Acceleration Services. Open to start-ups and SMEs.

Tracking the employment and revenue data available from over 1600 EIC-supported companies shows that in the two years following the start of EIC support, the companies achieve on average: 68% employment growth and 142% revenue growth.

A more detailed econometric analysis of the Accelerator cohorts of 2018–2021 measured material causal impacts of the EIC Accelerator on firm performance, with EIC Fund investee companies registering 119% higher sales, 91% higher wage bill and 94% higher employment post-treatment.

APISENSE SP. Z O.O. — Translating the language of bees into clear data

Apisense uses AI to translate the biological signals of bee colonies into actionable data, enabling early insight into colony health without disturbing the hive. By addressing pollinator decline, the project supports more sustainable agriculture, reduces colony losses, and contributes to global food security and ecosystem resilience.

Over 2,000 units have been manufactured for large-scale validation, and over 200 global cooperation agreements signed with research, academia, veterinarians and industry.

Third party data points to these companies collectively raising over €15.5 billion of investment, of which nearly €4 billion was raised in 2025. Compared to 2024, quantum and semiconductors, medical technologies and space technologies have seen material growth.

Investment into EIC companies following entry into the programme broken down by sector . Funding raised in rounds above €15 million (Series B and above) were also significantly higher.

R3 ROBOTICS S.A. [Formally known as: Circu Li-ion S.A.] — Repair. Reuse. Recycle. Powered by robotics

R3 Robotics industrialises the automated disassembly of electric vehicle systems, batteries, e-drives, power electronics and high-value components. By recovering up to 90% of materials for reuse, R3 turns end-of-life EVs from a waste and safety problem into a strategic resource for Europe’s circular economy and critical raw materials sovereignty.

OCTOBER 2022 — Selected for EIC Accelerator. 2023 — Karlsruhe facility operational; first industrial Disassembly-as-a-Service contracts. OCTOBER 2023 — €8.5 m Seed round closed. 2024 — Site expanded; Berlin satellite office grown; data library scaled.

2025 — Expansion of scope from batteries to broader EV components. 2026 — Rebrand to R3 Robotics; €20 m combined financing announced. The EIC Fund’s follow-on signalled long-term conviction, and the EIC network opened doors to corporates and OEMs across Europe.

VCs, corporates, CVCs and the public sector (including the EIC) have participated in a majority of these rounds. The portfolio now features three companies with unicorn valuations, and nine others with valuations above €500 million .

BUSINESS ACCELERATION SERVICES

The EIC’s Business Acceleration Services (BAS) ensures that financial support is only the beginning of the journey. All EIC-supported projects and companies have access to a range of services to boost their innovation and growth.

It connects beneficiaries with corporates, investors, buyers, accelerators and venture builders, among many others, while also equipping them with a unique set of mentoring and training opportunities, global partnerships, access to innovation ecosystems, and more.

MECAWARE — Next generation metal recycling

ORBIS by Mecaware enables the industrial deployment of a compact, sulphate-free battery recycling technology specifically designed for the European context. By reducing land, energy and chemical intensity, the process overcomes the main barriers of conventional recycling in Europe, while enabling local recovery of strategic battery metals.

2021 — Company creation. 2023 — EIC Seal of Excellence. 2024 — EIC Scaling Membership and €50 m of funding from French & EU grants, and equity. 2025 — Ecosystem partners, soft landing outside Europe, and EIC Community.

The EIC Scaling Club launched in 2024 aims to showcase Europe’s deep tech excellence with an exclusive curated community comprising over 100 high-growth European deep tech companies and key partners. Members have secured over €2.3 billion in investment since joining the club.

AQUAB NANOBUBBLE INNOVATIONS LTD

AquaB develops advanced low-energy nanobubble-generation systems that enhance gas-transfer efficiency in water, wastewater, and industrial and environmental processes. Following an EIC Accelerator grant in 2022, it is progressing international commercialisation through EIC-supported trade fairs and procurement services.

Deployments in demanding industrial environments, including Saudi Aramco, have provided strong industrial-grade data, strengthening AquaB’s positioning for conservative, capital-intensive sectors where reliability and long-term performance are critical.

SHANX MEDTECH

ShanX MedTech develops innovative solutions on in-vitro diagnostic platforms for antibiotic susceptibility testing (AST). With SPIN4EIC’s guidance, the company led a group that was awarded a contract of over €8 million from DG HERA and HADEA for a rapid point-of-care AST diagnostic medical device.

EIC FUND REPORT

The EIC Fund is the investment arm of the EIC, providing (quasi-) equity financing to successful EIC Accelerator companies. Since inception, the Fund has invested over €1.7 billion in nearly 350 companies across 26 countries. With a capitalisation of over €4 billion, it retains substantial capacity for new and follow-on investments.

2025 marked the most active year in the Fund’s history, with over €500 million invested in over 130 transactions with new portfolio companies and into existing companies via follow-on rounds, across all deep tech sectors.

Around half of all investments over the past two years have been follow-on investments supporting existing companies. The STEP compartment introduced in 2025 has strengthened the EIC Fund’s ability to back larger financing rounds, addressing persistent funding gaps in Europe’s deep-tech ecosystem, particularly at the scale-up stage.

CORPOWER OCEAN — Scaling novel wave energy technology into competitive utility-scale wave farms

CorPacks are building blocks laid out side-by-side to form utility-scale wave farms (hundreds of MW to GW). Blended EIC support helps standardise core WEC technology to scale into wave farms and develop the CorPack engineering package. EU Innovation Fund-backed projects will deploy a 15 MW wave farm off northern Portugal.

IQM QUANTUM COMPUTERS

IQM has become a market-leading provider in quantum computing technology and is set to go public with the valuation of over €1 billion. EIC support complemented private equity funding and revenues, and was available in a timely manner to support funding rounds in a capital-intensive business.

2018 — Company founded (Finland). 2019 — Seed round c. €10 m. 2020 — EIC Accelerator support and Series A over €35 m. 2021 — Deploys Finland’s first Quantum Computer. 2022 — Series A2 over €100 m. 2024 — Technology and production milestones. 2026 — Plans to go public.

Operating as a co-investor, the EIC Fund’s strong market reputation and deep-tech expertise are critical to its mission of crowding in private capital. Since inception, the Fund has co-invested with over 1000 VCs and CVCs alongside several hundred business angels and founders who have collectively co-invested over €5 billion. An EIC Trusted Investor Network with over 100 specialist deep tech investors has been created.

OTB VENTURES

OTB Ventures is a pan-European deep tech venture capital firm and member of the EIC Trusted Investors Network, investing at Seed and Series A in startups pioneering transformative technologies with a deliberate focus on dual-use technologies. Managing approximately €500 million across funds, OTB operates from Warsaw, Luxembourg and Amsterdam.

We co-invested with the EIC Fund because it has become one of the most important catalysts for ambitious European deep tech companies in strategic areas such as space, semiconductors, AI and novel computing. The network has expanded our deal flow, deepened relationships and created direct co-investment opportunities aligned with EIC priorities.

Amounts co-invested by investor type in €million. Over 80% of the deals catalysed by the EIC Fund involve at least one non-domestic investor with a majority involving cross-border flows of investment within Europe/countries associated to the programme.

Largest European co-investors by country (Invested amount, €m): UK 229; Italy 269; Netherlands 450; Germany 472; France 993.

PANAKÈS

Panakès Partners is a venture capital firm focused on delivering superior financial returns by backing game-changing life sciences companies across Europe and globally. Our experience with the EIC Fund has proven them to be an excellent syndicate partner, enabling more robust investment syndicates and substantial capital to reach value-inflection points and successful exits.

EIC PORTFOLIO

Since the beginning of Horizon Europe in 2021 over €6.5 billion has been strategically directed in the form of grant and equity support to: 476 EIC Pathfinder research projects on emerging technologies, involving over 2800 European and international partners; 217 EIC Transition projects; 808 start-ups and SMEs under the EIC Accelerator; 19 startups, SMEs and small mid-caps under STEP scaleup.

As in previous years, all projects have been mapped onto an EIC taxonomy comprised of 11 sectors (primaries), associated sub-sectors (secondaries) and specific technologies (tertiaries). Projects are assigned to one primary, at least one secondary and one tertiary within that category, and where appropriate, one other secondary and up to five other tertiaries.

DIGITAL, INDUSTRY AND SPACE

Advanced Manufacturing and Materials

Advanced manufacturing and materials are underpinning technologies that permeate the EIC portfolio from healthcare to energy applications. Grant and investments of over €450 million have been provided in support of advanced materials under Horizon Europe, with thematic calls on materials for energy storage, renewable energy sources and energy harvesting.

NANOWINGS — Super-aerodynamic coating

NanoWings began as a European effort to boost wind-energy production with a nanocoating that reduces ice adhesion and winter downtime. It created a surface technology that redefines airflow–solid interaction, lowering aerodynamic friction and improving lift, with potential impact across wind energy, aviation and transport.

Beyond funding, EIC provided strategic guidance, visibility and valuable support through BAS services, helping NanoWings accelerate development, strengthen partnerships and move closer to market deployment.

AI, Data & ICT

The EIC’s portfolio in this area has to date been dominated by the use and application of machine and deep learning. While adoption and use of AI has gained significant traction across the EU, EIC support has increasingly focused on six pillars of portfolio development following the appointment of a Programme Manager and targeted Challenges.

In 2025, this resulted in 12 startups and SMEs developing core AI being supported under the Accelerator. Early-stage research valorisation gained traction with the creation of 6 startups, two securing pre-seed funding and others at advanced stages, alongside several technology transfer partnerships.

INDEEP AI — Dialogic: a new protocol for precision communication

Dialogic, supported by EIC Transition following the ASTOUND Pathfinder project, is a “precision communication” protocol that reveals deception, hidden risks and tricks in documents. It addresses contract complexity in insurance that creates comprehension barriers and fuels social exclusion.

EIC support enabled Indeep AI to translate neuroscientific theory into a deployable solution, validating principles, iterating quickly as foundation models evolved, and delivering a platform for transparent, trustworthy human-AI communication.

IRIS.AI — Turning complex data into AI you can trust

Iris.ai gives high-stakes industries AI they can trust: agents that reason on verified expert knowledge, with every output traceable and governed. EIC grant and co-investment provided runway to scalable commercialisation and helped secure a lead investor for Series A.

MAY 2023 — EIC Grant. MAY 2024 — €8 million Series A. Q4 2024 — 4X revenues and large logos closing. MAY 2025 — New growth team and strategy launched; new market exploration.

Quantum, Advanced Computing & Semiconductors

Targeted support through Programme Managers for quantum and sustainable semiconductors has grown a strong portfolio. EIC portfolio companies raised four of the five largest quantum investment rounds in the EU, representing nearly 45% of all funding raised in the EU in 2025.

QUOBLY — High-performance, affordable quantum computers

Quobly pioneers quantum microelectronics, developing silicon-based quantum chips using proven semiconductor manufacturing processes and bridging quantum physics with semiconductor manufacturing. Scaling from prototype to 100-qubit demonstrator within industrial foundries, with commercial deployment and international expansion ahead.

SPINNCLOUD — Delivering ultra-low-energy AI infrastructure

SpiNNcloud’s platform, based on the SpiNNaker2 chip, uses a very large number of low-power processors for efficient AI workloads. EIC Transition and Accelerator support enabled transformation from research to a commercially viable product and rapid scaling as a European champion in energy-efficient AI computing.

Space

The EIC space portfolio features a diverse set of activities developed through targeted Challenge calls. The portfolio can be grouped into pillars: space debris sustainability; enabling space technologies; and earth observation and meteorology.

EIC portfolio companies attracted nearly 25% of investment raised in Europe in 2025, including four of the top ten companies raising the most investment in Europe.

ENDUROSAT AD — Space is closer than you think

The EnduroSat SD-IRS is the first fully integrated and low-cost satellite communication system delivering high-speed data downlink and autonomous inter-satellite connectivity. EIC backing improves credibility with EU institutions and accelerates offtakes and framework agreements.

GREEN

Agriculture and Food

The portfolio has evolved to address problems facing modern agriculture such as climate change, resource scarcity and soil degradation. Breakthrough solutions span climate resilient crops to precision fermentation, accounting for a majority of activity across technology maturities.

SOLMEYEA — Inspiring CO₂ circularity

Solmeyea scales its Hybrid Vertical Microalgae Fermentation platform to transform CO₂ into MEY, a non-GMO, white, functional microalgae protein for human consumption. By replacing resource-intensive proteins with carbon-negative ingredients, it supports food security and a resilient food system.

The current Accelerator portfolio in agrifood has collectively attracted about €1 billion in investments in 2025, accounting for over 20% of investment raised in Europe in equivalent areas.

Built Environment

The construction sector faces sustainability challenges and labour shortages amidst a wave of building growth. The EIC portfolio spans HVAC, CCUS (cement focus), NRMM and robotics, materials, circularity, digital twin and AI, components, infrastructure resilience and offsite fabrication.

HYPERION ROBOTICS — Cutting carbon and energy use from the ground up

Hyperion Robotics is scaling an automated platform for carbon-negative foundations using robotic 3D printing. EIC support provided capital, credibility and policy visibility, helping bridge innovation and industry for large-scale deployment.

Climate & Environmental Tech

The portfolio supports the transition to a circular, resource-efficient, fossil-free economy by repurposing waste, securing essential resources and reducing dependencies on complex, global supply chains. Areas include GHG abatement technologies, CCUS, environmental intelligence, resource valorisation, CRM alternatives, and waste & pollution management.

ANEMEL — Turning dirty water into clean hydrogen

EIC-funded ANEMEL explores methods to generate green hydrogen from low-quality water sources, such as seawater and wastewater. Highlights include record-breaking electrolyser performance, platinum-free catalysis, and membranes enabling electrolysis at pH 12.

Energy

The EIC covers the full span of energy technology from generation to storage and transmission. In 2025, a targeted initiative with the Euratom Research and Training Programme supported startups and SMEs advancing fusion reactor concepts and enabling technologies.

Four of the top ten European companies raising funding in nuclear (fission and fusion) are featured in the EIC portfolio, with two raising over €100m each in EIC-catalysed rounds. Three EIC beneficiaries are currently operating long-duration energy storage projects worldwide, including Energy Dome and Kraftblock.

DYNELECTRO APS — Clean hydrogen the world can afford

Dynelectro’s HiFiMet develops a 1 MW Dynamic Electrolyser Unit using patented AC:DC solid oxide electrolysis to produce low-cost green hydrogen. EIC support catalysed progress from prototypes toward MW-scale deployment, validating breakthrough potential and strengthening investor confidence.

MARCH 2024 — EIC Accelerator selection. JULY 2024 — €11 m scale-up financing. NOVEMBER 2024 — Partnership with SolydEra for 1 MW SOEC. NOVEMBER 2025 — 250 kW Hydrogen DEU validated. Commercial momentum includes a 1 MW Dutch agri-hydrogen project reaching FID.

Mobility

2025 featured the first targeted EIC mobility initiative, with strong support for drones. The Commission published an Action Plan on Drone and Counter Drone Security earlier this year . Dronamics was among the first cohort selected for STEP scaleup and participated in the EIC Drone Day in September 2025.

AVILOO GMBH — E-mobility battery health made visible

AVILOO democratises access to independent EV battery diagnostics, bringing clarity and trust to the used EV market. With the only manufacturer-independent battery quick test, buyers gain confidence and sellers present vehicles transparently to achieve fair value.

HEALTH

Health Biotechnology

The Cell and Gene Therapies portfolio features activity across the value chain and technology maturities. This globally competitive field requires investment at scale, across long development cycles, and speed in clinical translation.

The portfolio encompasses drug development, cellular therapies, diagnostics, biomarkers & precision medicine, tissue engineering, cryogenics, genetic engineering & synthetic biology, microbiome, and manufacturing optimisation.

NANOPHORIA S.R.L — Next-generation cardiovascular treatments via inhaled nano-in-micro technology

NanoPhoria develops innovative inhalable treatments for cardiovascular diseases via a lung-to-heart nano-in-micro peptide formulation, addressing heart failure with reduced ejection fraction. EIC funding accelerated clinical development, enabling a significant Series A and rapid progress toward first-in-human studies.

FEB 2022 — Company founded (CNR spin). MAY 2022 — €3.5 m seed. FEB 2025 — Selected for EIC support. MAY 2025 — €83.5 m Series A; JAN 2026 — second closing.

Medical Technology

Medical technologies are evolving at the intersection of digital technologies, advanced materials, biotechnology, AI-enabled systems and data-driven healthcare, enabling a transition towards predictive, personalised and continuously connected care.

Strategic pillars: advancing AI in healthcare (emphasis on medical imaging); enabling continuous and connected care (portable imaging, ambient and wearable sensing, edge-AI); fostering next-generation implants and brain technologies.

EIC portfolio companies in medical robotics accounted for nearly 40% of equity raised in Europe in 2025. Medical imaging has shown increasing maturity with several successful exits and acquisitions, reflecting demand for integrated enterprise imaging platforms and comprehensive clinical workflow solutions.

INBRAIN NEUROELECTRONICS — Graphene brain interfaces, from breakthrough science to clinical innovation impact

Inbrain develops a graphene-based BCI-Tx platform to decode and modulate the nervous system at micrometric scale, surpassing legacy metal electrodes. EIC support across Pathfinder, Transition and Accelerator accelerated translation toward intelligent, personalised neurotherapeutics.

2022 — Pathfinder. 2023 — Transition and Accelerator; FDA Breakthrough designation. 2024 — MHRA Approval and first patient implanted. 2025 — 4–8 patients; first acute large animal study. 2026 — Human trial completed successfully.

EIC IN THE ECOSYSTEM

SUPPORTING WOMEN INNOVATORS

The EIC actively promotes and supports the role of women entrepreneurs and researchers to boost Europe’s innovation capacity, including prioritisation of women CEOs invited to EIC Accelerator interviews.

Medical technologies account for the largest share of women-led companies (female CEO/CTO/CSO) selected for support under the EIC Accelerator, and the broader health sector accounts for over 50% of companies.

NANORDICA MEDICAL — First-in-class wound dressing for fast healing of chronic wounds

Nanordica Medical develops wound care products using PREMOTIV nanotechnology designed to prevent infection and support healing. EIC support helped bridge the clinical validation ‘valley of death’, accelerated regulatory progress and enabled a first venture capital round.

Women TechEU has to date: supported 340 companies across 33 countries; enabled nearly €250 million in follow-on funding; led to EIC Accelerator funding for 14 companies; created over 1500 jobs; and led to over 225 patents filed.

BOOSTING INNOVATION POTENTIAL ACROSS THE EU

An EIC pre-Accelerator call was launched with WIDERA in 2025 to boost early-stage deep tech startups in widening countries by enhancing business, investor and technology readiness to secure funding. Early ideas from 21 countries point to an exciting pipeline across all relevant sectors.