The EIC Accelerator funding (grant and equity, with blended financing option) by the European Innovation Council (EIC) and European Commission (EC) provides funding in a variety of different ways. Startups and Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SME) can choose between Challenge and Open Calls which present two different budget segments of the EIC Accelerator that likewise differ in their technology focus.

While the program generally awards up to €2.5 million in grant and €15 million in equity financing per project (€17.5 million total) in either the Challenge or Open Calls, the Challenge Calls are often preferred due to their reduced competitiveness. Professional writers, freelancers or consultants often focus on working with projects that fit a Challenge Call for that reason since it can enhance the success chances of the grant proposal.

One caveat that is important to consider when it comes to EIC Accelerator Challenges is the fact that they change annually since every newly published EIC Accelerator Work Programme will outline the newest technological Challenges for that year including their specific budget allocations. This can render the planning of an application difficult since any Challenge that is valid during the first submission can disappear during the next and vice versa.

This article is using publically available datasets to identify the types of industries and funding options that were obtained by EIC Accelerator Challenge and Open Call beneficiaries.

Data Analysis

The data used in this article has been obtained from a variety of sources such as the official EIC releases (i.e. beneficiaries, budget) and directly downloadable databases from CORDIS (i.e. grant amount, Open vs. Challenge). The European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA) has likewise created an EIC Accelerator Data Hub but it has proven to be inaccurate with much of the raw data in the downloadable spreadsheets being wrong (i.e. listing grants as €50,000 for the EIC Accelerator).

Since parts of the CORDIS data were still incomplete, the data presented in this article uses information from 469 out of 563 EIC Accelerator winners between 2021 and 2024 whereas no data was available for 94 projects. The industry was determined using AI and the project description as outlined here: EIC Accelerator DeepDive: Analyzing the Industries, Countries and Funding Types of EIC Accelerator Winners (2021-2024)

152 (27%) of companies have been funded under the Challenges and 317 (56%) in the Open Call while no data was available for 94 (17%) companies.

EIC Accelerator Challenge Funding Types

The type of funding provided in the EIC Accelerator Challenges follows the expected popularity of the overall program with blended finance taking the lead followed by grant-first. Compared to the Open Calls, there is a slightly reduced interest in blended finance and an increased interest in grant-first support which can be a reflection of the riskier nature of the Challenge projects.

The following funding types were obtained:

1. Blended finance (82 companies and 53.9%)
2. Grant first (55 companies and 36.2%)
3. Grant only (15 companies and 9.9%)

EIC Accelerator Challenge Industry

The types of industries encountered among EIC Accelerator Challenge winners are significantly less diverse but more distributed than the Open call. Unsurprisingly, Energy, Battery, Quantum technology and Semiconductors are more represented which fits into the general themes encountered in the EIC Accelerator Challenges.

The following industries were funded:

1. Energy (20 companies and 13.2%)
2. MedTech / Healthcare (20 companies and 13.2%)
3. Biopharma (10 companies and 6.6%)
4. Agriculture (9 companies and 5.9%)
5. Battery (9 companies and 5.9%)
6. Quantumtech (9 companies and 5.9%)
7. Environment (8 companies and 5.3%)
8. Semiconductor (8 companies and 5.3%)
9. Clean Tech (7 companies and 4.6%)
10. Aerospace (5 companies and 3.3%)
11. Construction (5 companies and 3.3%)
12. Food Tech (4 companies and 2.6%)
13. Recycling (4 companies and 2.6%)
14. Advanced Materials (3 companies and 2%)
15. AI (3 companies and 2%)
16. Automotive (3 companies and 2%)
17. Logistics (3 companies and 2%)
18. Marine Tech (3 companies and 2%)
19. Packaging (3 companies and 2%)
20. Automation (2 companies and 1.3%)
21. IT (2 companies and 1.3%)
22. Transportation (2 companies and 1.3%)
23. Aquaculture (1 company and 0.7%)
24. Biometrics (1 company and 0.7%)
25. Biotechnology (1 company and 0.7%)
26. Cybersecurity (1 company and 0.7%)
27. Entertainment (1 company and 0.7%)
28. Geotech (1 company and 0.7%)
29. Meteorology (1 company and 0.7%)
30. Photonics (1 company and 0.7%)
31. Robotics (1 company and 0.7%)
32. Telecommunications (1 company and 0.7%)

EIC Accelerator Open Funding Type

The funding types encountered in the EIC Accelerator Open Call are comparable to the general funding of all EIC Accelerator winners but a slightly increased interest in blended finance is observed.

The following funding types were obtained:

1. Blended finance (192 companies and 60.6%)
2. Equity only (1 company and 0.3%)
3. Grant first (108 companies and 34.1%)
4. Grant only (16 companies and 5%)

EIC Accelerator Open Industry

The EIC Accelerator Open Call has unsurprisingly seen the majority of MedTech winners who applied with more general innovations that did not fit into any particular challenge. While the Challenges are indicative of the EIC's general technology interests, the Open call is the more accurate reflection of the EIC Accelerator in the market since it shows what generally constitutes DeepTech in the eyes of the evaluators while it likewise reflects the high number of MedTech companies in the ecosystem.

This statistic is likely the reason why MedTech is generally less represented among the Challenges unless it is a very specific technology application such as mRNA vaccines or surface decontamination technologies which had allocated Challenge budgets in the past. Since MedTech is already dominating the Open Calls, there is no need for the EIC to allocate additional Challenge budgets to such topics.

Over 56% of all funded companies in the EIC Accelerator Open Call fall into the MedTech and Biopharma segments.

The following industries were funded:

1. MedTech / Healthcare (147 companies and 46.4%)
2. Biopharma (32 companies and 10.1%)
3. Agriculture (12 companies and 3.8%)
4. AI (12 companies and 3.8%)
5. Energy (11 companies and 3.5%)
6. Advanced Materials (10 companies and 3.2%)
7. Aerospace (8 companies and 2.5%)
8. Semiconductor (7 companies and 2.2%)
9. Biotechnology (6 companies and 1.9%)
10. Environment (6 companies and 1.9%)
11. Quantumtech (6 companies and 1.9%)
12. Automotive (5 companies and 1.6%)
13. Telecommunications (5 companies and 1.6%)
14. Chemicals (4 companies and 1.3%)
15. Food Tech (4 companies and 1.3%)
16. Photonics (4 companies and 1.3%)
17. Automation (3 companies and 0.9%)
18. Clean Tech (3 companies and 0.9%)
19. Electronics (3 companies and 0.9%)
20. Packaging (3 companies and 0.9%)
21. Construction (2 companies and 0.6%)
22. Marine Tech (2 companies and 0.6%)
23. Music Tech (2 companies and 0.6%)
24. Recycling (2 companies and 0.6%)
25. Robotics (2 companies and 0.6%)
26. Textile (2 companies and 0.6%)
27. Aquaculture (1 company and 0.3%)
28. Battery (1 company and 0.3%)
29. Biometrics (1 company and 0.3%)
30. Consumer Products (1 company and 0.3%)
31. Cybersecurity (1 company and 0.3%)
32. Entertainment (1 company and 0.3%)
33. Forestry (1 company and 0.3%)
34. Geotech (1 company and 0.3%)
35. IT (1 company and 0.3%)
36. Logistics (1 company and 0.3%)
37. Meteorology (1 company and 0.3%)
38. Metrology (1 company and 0.3%)
39. Mining (1 company and 0.3%)
40. Transportation (1 company and 0.3%)

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

Any more questions? View the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section.

Want to see all articles? They can be found here.

For Updates: Join this Newsletter!