EIC Accelerator Budget Shift: Why Challenges Are Fading and The Open Call Is Taking Over (2021-2026 Analysis)
The EIC Accelerator Challenges are fading. Well, there is a trend at least.
Unbalancing the EIC Accelerator Budget (Open Call vs. Challenge)
When I was going through the EIC Accelerator Challenges in my last newsletter, I wanted to equally distribute the budgets between the Open Call and Challenges, since this is how it has (roughly) always been. But upon looking closely at the total budget allocated to the EIC Accelerator, I noticed that there was quite a big change coming in 2026.
In fact, the EIC has been moving away from the near 1:1 distribution between the Open Call and the Challenge Calls for years now to an almost 2:1 distribution planned for 2026.
What does that mean? Well, the first thing it means is that Challenges are becoming less important, and by a pretty significant degree.
Challenge budgets have always been relatively small if you look at each individual topic. If a single Challenge has a budget of €50 million as it did in 2025, then this would allow only 4 companies to get funded if they obtain the full €12.5 million of possible financing and still only 6-7 companies if the funding is €7.5 million with half the possible equity per project.
So that's a very narrow margin for companies to get funded.
Challenges Were the Low(er)-Hanging Fruit
It was usually a good idea to apply for a Challenge since they could be less competitive, but there used to be edge cases where it was not advisable. This was especially true for the deadlines later in the year, where the budget might have already been exhausted because some companies obtained the full amount of equity in the first cut-off.
It was therefore difficult to choose the correct Call since such data was not public and applicants were in the dark about how much of the remaining budget they were still competing for.
But now it might be even more questionable if applying for a Challenge is a good idea once the budget is significantly reduced. With only €220 million being allocated for all the Challenges in 2026 and a total of five Challenges that obtain approximately €44 million each, there's an average of 5-6 companies that can be funded per Challenge if they obtain only half the maximum equity amount and only 3-4 companies if they obtain the maximum amount.
With three interview weeks in 2026, this would mean that, at best, only 1-3 companies are getting funded under a Challenge for each deadline.
That is extremely competitive and might be more competitive than the Open Call in 2026, even though that's what most companies apply to. This change in budgets might have removed the opportunity that Challenges stood for and have leveled the playing field for all applicants.
Here are the actual budgets for the EIC Accelerator Open Call and Challenges between 2021 and 2026:
- 2021: Open Call €592.50 million, Challenges €495.10 million, Ratio: 1.20
- 2022: Open Call €630.9 million, Challenges €536.9 million, Ratio: 1.18
- 2023: Open Call €612.98 million, Challenges €524.73 million, Ratio: 1.17
- 2024: Open Call €375 million, Challenges €300 million, Ratio: 1.25
- 2025: Open Call €384 million, Challenges €250 million, Ratio: 1.54
- 2026: Open Call €414 million, Challenges €220 million, Ratio: 1.88
Note: I previously published an article which looked at the average grant amounts provided by the EIC Accelerator and it turned out to be €2.3 million across 468 companies, so the average is near the maximum of €2.5 million.
What This Means
The EIC is signalling that the EIC Accelerator is becoming more industry-agnostic than ever. It is a program designed to find outliers from the bottom up and not aiming to distribute funding top down into industries that are en vogue. While the latter is still happening with the Challenges, it is becoming less and less so.
If the EIC and its program managers could identify the next disruptive trends in DeepTech and predict future markets, then they would all be starting companies and not be working for government institutions.
I believe that this is a great change for the EIC since it means it takes a step back and looks at the bigger picture. Unicorns earn their names not because they do what they are told by funding allocators but because they are rare outliers at unpredictable intersections.
Dynamic Budget
I have also noticed that there is no individual budget allocation for the 2026 EIC Accelerator Challenges, which usually follows their description in the Work Programme. While this might be added later this year, I believe that this is a necessary change since providing one large Challenge budget for all topics is better than introducing artificial bottlenecks per Challenge.
This makes it easier to funnel the companies into the total budget without hitting a narrow allocation limit and allows for maximizing the budget allocations without leftovers.
EIC Accelerator Closing And Opening
Today (October 1st, 2025) marked the last deadline for the EIC Accelerator Step 2 in 2025, so I thought I'd add a roadmap of the next important deadlines for the program.
Next deadlines:
- October 7th 2025: Next EIC Accelerator Step 1 deadline
- November 4th 2025: Following EIC Accelerator Step 1 deadline
- November 18th 2025: First (and maybe last) EIC Pre-Accelerator deadline
- January 7th 2026: First EIC Accelerator Step 2 deadline of 2026
If you want to make the next Step 2 deadline in January, then you must start now and submit your Step 1 proposal by November 4th at the latest, since you then have a chance to make the next Step 2 batch.
Get Support
Need help with the EIC Accelerator? Here are some options:
- Starter Pack (lowest-risk entry with AI writer): The Starter Pack contains all the templates you will need and detailed instructional modules in video and text form. This is a very comprehensive package that will tell you everything you need to know based on previously successful applications. This includes free credits for ChatEIC, the EIC Accelerator AI writer. Learn more about the Starter Pack.
- Advisory (personalized support): You write in-house but receive personal 1-on-1 support from me, templates, instructions, and reviews of all documents. Personal strategy calls and reviews to perfect every section. This also includes an AI tool for Step 1 as well as guidance on using AI for the proposal writing. Strategy calls cover the specific templates as well as the EIC criteria and use of AI tools. Pitch coaching for the interviews and support for all resubmissions are included as well. Learn more about the Advisory service.
- Writing (complete end-to-end service): All proposal sections are written for you and submitted on your behalf with minimum input from your side. Pitch coaching for the interviews and support for all resubmissions are included as well. Learn more about the Writing service.
- Review (personal review): Get a personal review of your grant proposal with detailed comments. Learn more about the Review service.
Other resources:
- Subsdy: Looking for the perfect grant opportunity in the EU? There are about 1,000 active grants and tenders (usually multiple added a day!), so feel free to try out Subsdy, the AI tool for grant discovery.
- Subsdy News: Find the newest Grant Updates here: Subsdy News
- Sharing: Recommend this newsletter to a friend: Newsletter
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.
EIC Accelerator Step 1 Deadline 2025
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
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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
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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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