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EIC Accelerator

EIC grant, with equity on top or instead, for a single start-up or SME taking its own deep-tech innovation to market. It does not fund modernizing a company's IT.

At a glance

What it is worth
Up to €2,500,000of benefit per company
When you apply
Applications until 4 November 2026
Where it stands
Closes on 4 November 2026: only a few days left
Stacks with other aid
Stacking not stated
Which companies
Only SMEsThresholds per the EU SME definition
Money set aside
€634,000,000 in all, shared across every application
Who can apply
Single start-ups and SMEs, individuals intending to found one and small mid-caps (equity only), from EU Member States or Horizon Europe associated countries.
How to apply
Through the EIC portal: a short proposal at any time, then a full proposal at a cut-off, an interview and a pitch to the EIC Jury.
Who funds it
European Union · European Union
Official source
European Innovation Council (Horizon Europe) · Last checked: 25 September 2026

What it funds

The development and scale-up of a breakthrough innovation the company owns, at a technology readiness level between TRL 6 and 8. The grant is a lump sum, and beside it there can be an equity investment by the EIC Fund, even on its own; the entry shows the cap on the grant, and the equity is a separate quantity.

Requirements and what is left out

  • An SME modernizing its own IT or buying digital services: rebuilding the ERP, moving to the cloud, securing the network is not an innovation of its own to scale. For that, the European channel is the EDIH network.
  • Anyone who does not own the innovation: the EIC funds whoever creates it and takes it to market, not whoever buys it from a supplier.
  • Consortia: the applicant is a single company, or an individual intending to found one.
  • Small mid-caps, which can apply for equity only.
  • Anyone seated outside the EU Member States and the Horizon Europe associated countries. Applicants from the UK can receive the grant only.

How to apply

  1. Submit the short proposal: a 12-page form, a pitch deck and a three-minute video. It can be submitted at any time.
  2. If it passes, submit the 20-page full proposal by a cut-off.
  3. Attend the interview with the technology experts.
  4. Pitch the project to the EIC Jury.

What it builds

When an SME is weighing the EIC, the first thing I ask is where the innovation sits. If it is in the product it sells, I can work on the data platform or the model that takes it from prototype to production. If it is in how the company works, the right measure is another one, and I say so before anyone writes a proposal.

This entry is informational and is not advice: I do not handle grant applications, and before committing to a purchase it is worth reading the official source above or talking to whoever files the application.

Not sure where to start? Tell me what you want to solve and I will tell you what can be built, and which incentives cover it.

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