The EIC Accelerator funding (grant and equity, with blended financing option) by the European Commission (EC) and European Innovation Council (EIC) awards up to €2.5 million in grant and €10 million in equity financing per project (€12.5 million total) and is designed for startups and Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SME), often supported by professional writers, freelancers or consultants.

This article is part of a series that contains suggestions for the EIC and the EIC Board regarding various improvements to the evaluation process (see ChatEIC).

Block Divestments

The EIC provides funding to support European DeepTech, but the attractiveness of foreign investments, especially in later funding rounds, and the dominance of US markets remain a long-term issue in some cases. While the EIC cannot control what companies will end up doing since they have the right to do what is best for them, it can exert leverage through the grant.

Here are simple suggestions that can send a clear signal for what the EIC wants to accomplish, and these could be included in the Grant Agreement Contract:

Blocking Acquisitions

If a grant recipient is acquired by a non-EU (or non-associated country) entity within 10 years of receiving the grant, then the grant converts to a loan and must be paid back with interest.

Why? This change is effectively blocking the loss of EU DeepTech to other territories.

Considerations: VCs like exits, and this addition might deter them from co-investing with the EIC Fund or recommending the EIC grant entirely. Currently, companies are often pushed by VCs to apply for the EIC grant, so this might have an impact. While this is a potential downside, the EIC does absolutely not want buyouts to the US or China, so this might be the right strategy regardless of the potential side effects.

From a VC's perspective, this change would not necessarily close any exit windows since there are still many other ways to exit than through a US buyout (i.e., local buyout, IPO, secondaries). Additionally, if the valuations reach €1 billion, the small €2.5 million grant payback would be irrelevant to the foreign buyer since it would be below contractual fees for the acquisition process.

As a result, this rule could be very safe to integrate as a signal for what the EIC wants, and it can deter early-stage companies from divesting their IP instead of building in Europe. If a foreign acquisition is made regardless, the rule also returns the grant funding to the EIC, which means that it will never be a loss to the EIC or the EU DeepTech sector.

Other integrations: Mergers, SPACs, divesting IP, transferring technical and founding team, holding companies, etc.

Foreign Subsidiaries

If a grant recipient creates a (new) US or Chinese subsidiary within 2 years after the grant project has been completed, then the grant converts to a loan and must be paid back with interest.

Why? While the North American or Asian markets are important targets for all EIC Accelerator winners, the EIC would often prefer to see them be secondary markets after Europe. This is not always realistic since customers and revenues are often more available in the US, but the EIC could still try to send a signal that the companies should start with Europe before they scale in the US. Grant proposals also assess that aspect so including a formal rule makes sense.

Why this rule is risk-free: EIC Accelerator winners can still sell in these markets, can operate existing subsidiaries in the US or China, and can onboard distributors in these countries. The rule acts as a signal that an EIC Accelerator winner should not set up shop in another country right after completing the project for at least 2 years. Afterward, they are free to create subsidiaries in any country they like.

Why These Rules?

The EIC uses the equity investment as a leverage device (i.e., board seats, blocking divestments), but it neglects the leverage it has through the grants. No company wants “free money” to turn into a loan, so this is an underutilized leverage point that the EIC could easily integrate.

Funding Decisions

The EIC Jury might categorize interviewees into 4 general buckets: 

1. Interviewees who are rejected with clear red flags
2. Interviewees who are rejected with many flaws
3. Interviewees who are rejected with few flaws
4. Interviewees who are approved

Without understanding the full process of the selection, the suggestions will be brief:

Categories 1 and 4 are clear since these are definite rejections or approvals, respectively. Categories 2 and 3 are different since they have the vague stigma of flaws attached to them, which are quite subjective. Subjectivity is unavoidable in the EIC Jury since that is a feature rather than a bug (i.e., diverse backgrounds, different fields of expertise, etc.), but there should be a way to score the flaws against each other to create a fair ranking.

A way of accomplishing that could be to quantify the number of flaws and discuss their quality, since Jury members might weigh flaws differently.

Based on experience, every EIC Accelerator winner has flaws. If the Jury decides to fund them, then it just means that they found their flaws acceptable rather than deal breakers. But Jury members will find a certain flaw (i.e., inexperienced team) acceptable for one company but unacceptable for another, so there should be a way of reconciling that across all assessed companies.

The general problem is that the same flaw can be a problem for one company while it is not a problem for another. An inexperienced CEO with a confident and knowledgeable cadence will be perceived positively, while an inexperienced CEO who stutters himself into a dead end will not.

If the budget still allows for companies in categories 2 and 3 to be funded, then the Jury members can provide the reasons why companies should be funded and quantify the flaws that are real negatives, along with a weighting factor (i.e., 1, 2, 3).

This method is not perfect, but it aims to translate the subjective conviction of the individual Jury members into a quantified score that can be ranked in a fair manner.

Importantly, there should be no quota per panel where each panel has a minimum number of funding decisions to give. The final decision should be centralized at the end since it is about finding the best companies to be fair to the applicants and not to be fair to the Jury (i.e., by not making them only reject companies which can happen). 

Post Interview

Seal of Excellence (SoE)

This SoE certificate has been handed out for many years, and its meaning has changed over time. An SoE obtained in 2018 might not be of the same quality as an SoE obtained in 2025, but both are prominently displayed on company websites today.

Changing the SoE is not necessary, but it could be a good idea to attach an EIC Board recommendation to it. The SoE is supposed to be a signal for investors, but its meaning has changed too much, which renders it confusing at best.

An EIC Board recommendation, on the other hand, can be a single-page document, just like the SoE, that categorizes the company into a clear bucket with a timestamp attached to it.

One example of a category could be as follows: The EIC Board has thoroughly assessed this company and considers it to be highly attractive for private capital investments.

Resubmissions

Resubmitting a proposal 6 months after a rejection due to a small technicality is not ideal, as the effort of the initial evaluation will be lost, and the applicant must start from scratch. If the rejection was due to major red flags, then a resubmission is likewise unnecessary, especially if all Jury members feel that this company will never receive funding, no matter how hard it tries.

Red Flags

If the jury thinks that this company will never be funded (i.e., red flags), then the ESR should state a clear recommendation that honestly reflects this opinion:

“The applicant is free to resubmit their proposal, but the jury deems the chances of receiving funding to be very low. We advise the applicant to either apply with a different project or not to reapply.”

This recommendation should not be the default, of course, but it should be reserved for clear red flags that are just unfundable.

Rejection With Flaws

The jury should simply suggest a resubmission, but also indicate the nature of the flaws in a realistic manner. It should likewise justify why the applicant is sent back to the proposal stage, i.e.:

“The jury has identified critical flaws in the commercial and technical implementation of the project, which requires the applicant to revise the proposal before returning to the interview.”

Very Narrow Rejections

Narrow rejections are quite tricky since the budget will always be limited, and waiting for the next deadline might ruin the timing of the innovation. If there are only a small handful of applicants that are narrowly rejected (i.e., maybe just 2-6), but Jury members feel strongly about funding them, then there could be a second chance.

Maybe a remote follow-up interview of 30 minutes could be held on a single day, about 4 weeks after the interview, where applicants can report on the identified flaws and their mitigation.

This implementation does not fit too well into the current cut-off workflow of the EIC with a unified announcement, but having a Runners-Up announcement with a 6-week delay after the cut-off announcement could not be a bad marketing boost for the EIC in general, since it also generates publicity and gives more hope to applicants. It could be restricted to applicants with clear timing issues (i.e., waiting 6 months is too long), while the less urgent, narrow rejections will be invited directly to the next interview round.

These tips are not only useful for European startups, professional writers, consultants and Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SME) but are generally recommended when writing a business plan or investor documents.

Deadlines: Post-Horizon 2020, the EIC Accelerator accepts Step 1 submissions now while the deadlines for the full applications (Step 2) under Horizon Europe are listed below. The Step 1 applications must be submitted weeks in advance of Step 2. The next EIC Accelerator cut-off for Step 2 (full proposal) can be found here. After Brexit, UK companies can still apply to the EIC Accelerator under Horizon Europe albeit with non-dilutive grant applications only - thereby excluding equity-financing. Switzerland has resumed its participation in Horizon Europe and is now eligible for the EIC Accelerator.

Contact: You can reach out to us via this contact form to work with a professional consultant.

AI Grant Writer: ChatEIC is a fully automated EIC Accelerator grant proposal writer: Get it here.

Eureka Network: The Eureka Network delivers various international collaborative R&D initiatives such as Network Projects, Clusters, Eurostars, Globalstars, and Innowwide, providing funding from €50K to €6.75M per project based on the specific initiative. This network emphasizes market-driven innovation and deep-tech advancement across multiple technology sectors including ICT/Digital, Industrial/Manufacturing, Bio/Medical Technologies, Energy/Environment, Quantum, AI, and Circular Economy. Eligible participants include SMEs, large enterprises, research organizations, universities, and startups, with Eurostars particularly focused on R&D-performing SMEs. Get Started

EIC Transition: EIC Transition delivers up to €2.5 million in funding to overcome the 'valley of death' gap between laboratory research and market deployment, emphasizing technology maturation and validation. The initiative supports single legal entities or small consortia of 2-5 partners including SMEs, start-ups, spin-offs, and research organizations. Key technology domains include Health/Medical Technologies, Green/Environmental Innovation, Digital/Microelectronics, Quantum Technologies, and AI/Robotics. Get Started

EIC STEP Scale-Up: EIC STEP Scale-Up delivers significant equity investments of €10-30 million for established deep-tech companies prepared for hyper-growth and large-scale expansion. The initiative targets SMEs or small mid-caps with up to 499 employees who have obtained pre-commitment from qualified investors. Primary focus areas include Digital & Deep Tech (Semiconductors, AI, Quantum), Clean Technologies for Net-Zero objectives, and Biotechnologies. Get Started

EIC Pre-Accelerator: EIC Pre-Accelerator represents a 2025 pilot initiative delivering €300,000-€500,000 in funding for early-stage deep-tech development and preparation for the EIC Accelerator program. This program is exclusively accessible to single SMEs or small mid-caps from 'Widening countries' to foster regional innovation development. The initiative encompasses deep-tech innovations across physical, biological, and digital domains. Get Started

EIC Pathfinder: EIC Pathfinder delivers up to €3 million for Open calls and up to €4 million for Challenge-based calls to support early-stage research and development with proof-of-principle validation. The initiative requires research consortia with a minimum of 3 partners from 3 different countries, including universities, research organizations, and SMEs. Primary technology focus areas include Health/Medical, Quantum Technologies, AI, Environmental/Energy, and Advanced Materials. Get Started

EIC Accelerator: EIC Accelerator delivers flexible funding options including blended finance (€2.5M grant + €0.5M-€10M equity), grant-only (up to €2.5M), or equity-only arrangements for scale-up and market deployment of breakthrough innovations. The initiative targets SMEs, start-ups, and small mid-caps with up to 499 employees, with MedTech/Healthcare representing 35% of funded projects. Additional technology areas include Biopharma, Energy, AI, Quantum, Aerospace, Advanced Materials, and Semiconductors. Get Started

Innovation Partnership: Innovation Partnership enables collaborative innovation between public and private sectors with typical funding of €1-5 million per project. The initiative supports cross-sectoral strategic technologies through public-private partnerships and consortia. Projects concentrate on addressing societal challenges through collaborative innovation approaches. Get Started

Innovation Fund: The EU Innovation Fund delivers substantial funding of €7.5 million to €300 million for large-scale demonstration of innovative low-carbon technologies. The initiative targets clean energy, carbon capture, renewable energy, and energy storage technologies to accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy. Eligible participants include large companies, consortia, and public entities capable of implementing large-scale demonstration projects. Get Started

Innovate UK: Innovate UK delivers various programs with funding ranging from £25K to £10M depending on the specific initiative, supporting business-led innovation, collaborative R&D, and knowledge transfer. The organization funds projects across all sectors with particular emphasis on emerging technologies and supports UK-based businesses, research organizations, and universities. Programs are designed to drive economic growth through innovation and technology commercialization. Get Started

Industrial Partnership: Industrial Partnership delivers €2-10 million in funding for industrial research and innovation partnerships focusing on manufacturing, industrial technologies, and digital transformation. The initiative supports industrial consortia and research organizations in developing collaborative solutions for industrial challenges. Projects aim to strengthen European industrial competitiveness through strategic partnerships. Get Started

Eurostars: Eurostars represents a joint EU-Eureka initiative delivering €50K-€500K for international R&D collaboration specifically led by SMEs. The program adopts a bottom-up approach, accepting projects from all technology fields without predefined thematic restrictions. R&D-performing SMEs must lead the consortium and demonstrate significant R&D activities. Get Started

LIFE Programme: The LIFE Programme delivers €1-10 million in funding for environmental protection, climate action, and nature conservation projects across the European Union. The initiative supports environmental technologies, climate adaptation strategies, and biodiversity conservation initiatives. Eligible participants include public authorities, private companies, NGOs, and research institutions working on environmental and climate challenges. Get Started

Neotec: Neotec represents a Spanish initiative delivering €250K-€1M in funding for technology-based business creation and development, supporting the growth of innovative Spanish SMEs and start-ups. The program covers all technology sectors and aims to strengthen Spain's technology ecosystem. Funding is specifically targeted at Spanish technology-based SMEs and start-ups to enhance their competitiveness and market presence. Get Started

Thematic Priorities: EU Thematic Priorities encompass various programs aligned with EU strategic priorities including green transition, digital transformation, health, and security initiatives. Funding amounts vary based on the specific program and call requirements, with projects designed to address key European challenges. Applicant eligibility varies by specific program and call, with different requirements for different thematic areas. Get Started

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