Frequently Asked Questions

DeepTech is a core focus of the EIC Accelerator, with a preference for scientific projects over broader innovations. However, disruptive innovations in various industries can also be successful if they demonstrate excellent technology during the evaluation process.

Grant-only funding is less popular due to increased scrutiny during the evaluation process and the difficulty in justifying it within the proposal. Many UK companies have opted for grant-only due to equity restrictions, contributing significantly to the overall grant-only funding allocation.

The EIC Accelerator is primarily designed for Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) and startups based in EU member states and countries associated with Horizon Europe. This includes countries like Ukraine, Israel, and Tunisia, but success rates vary significantly between countries.

The EU and EIC are committed to supporting widening countries, but execution remains challenging. A general lack of excellent companies compared to other regions can lead to fewer applications and, consequently, less funding allocated to these countries.

Grant-first funding involves receiving grant funding initially, followed by potential equity investment. It's often used for high-risk projects, particularly in the MedTech and Healthcare sectors, to mitigate risks before equity is deployed and to attract private investors later on.

The EIC Accelerator offers several funding options: blended finance (grant and equity), grant-first, grant-only, and equity-only. Blended finance is the most popular option, while equity-only is the least common due to specific application restrictions and company preferences.

France, Germany, and the Netherlands have consistently secured the most EIC Accelerator funding between 2021 and 2024. These top 3 countries account for over 40% of all funded companies, highlighting a concentration of funding in specific regions.

The EIC Accelerator, funded by the European Innovation Council and European Commission, supports SMEs and startups with high-risk, DeepTech innovations. It provides funding to scale operations globally, offering up to €2.5 million in grant and €15 million in equity financing per project.

The EIC should publish anonymized data on team size, financing status, revenue range, and customer numbers of successful applicants. This would allow prospective applicants to gain a more realistic understanding of their chances of success. Simplified data on Step 2 success chances based on industries and team sizes would also be beneficial.

The EIC Accelerator generally allows for only two attempts before a freezing period is reached, but there are exceptions. If rejected in Step 3, you might receive a direct invitation to the next Step 3 interview without needing to resubmit Step 2, offering another chance for funding.

The EIC Accelerator uses a 3-step evaluation process to select startups and SMEs. It involves multiple stages of review and culminates in an interview (Step 3) for the most promising applicants. Successful applicants can receive up to €2.5 million in grant funding and €15 million in equity financing.

Unfortunately, applicants from Portugal, Hungary, and Slovenia experienced a 100% rejection rate in the Step 3 interviews. This occurred despite these applicants having passed both Step 1 and Step 2, highlighting the unpredictable nature of the final interview stage.

In October 2021, 19% of companies applying to Step 2 were invited to Step 3 interviews. Of those interviewed, 47% were successful, resulting in an overall success rate of 9% for the EIC Accelerator, excluding Step 1. This means that only a small percentage of initial applicants ultimately receive funding.

Due to the focus on Digital Health and Green Deal technologies, health-related projects saw exceptionally high participation and funding rates in 2021. DeepTech projects in health, engineering, environment, agriculture, energy, and BioTech also performed well. The transport sector, however, had a lower funding rate.

France, Germany, Israel, Spain, and the Netherlands had the most winning companies in the EIC Accelerator for October 2021. Success rates in the Step 3 interviews for these top countries ranged from 48% to 57%. Other countries showed significantly higher variability in their success rates.

A 'direct invitation' means that applicants rejected in a previous Step 3 interview are re-invited to the next Step 3 interview without needing to resubmit for Step 2. These applicants have a significantly higher chance of success compared to standard invitations.

The data presented is limited by the small sample size and the specific focus of the Work Programme for that year. This means that the success rates of certain industries and countries may not be indicative of long-term trends or future funding opportunities.

Companies receiving direct invitations to the Step 3 interviews had a much higher success rate. In the October 2021 interviews, 82% of companies with direct invitations were successful, compared to only 45% for those invited through the standard Step 2 submission process.

Historically, many funded projects required 3 to 5 submissions before being successful. This suggests a degree of randomness in the process, where eligible projects may be rejected due to evaluator or jury selection rather than inherent flaws in the proposal.

The EIC has set mandatory targets for female participation. They have also broadened the definition of a female-led company to include CTO and CSO positions, not just the CEO. Some suggest that increasing the number of female applicants could be a more sustainable approach.

The EIC is increasing its reliance on National Contact Points (NCPs) to improve communication. They are also making data sharing mandatory on the EIC platform for all applicants. Publishing detailed, anonymous rejection reasons could also help provide superior guidance to future applicants.

The EIC Accelerator provides startups and SMEs with up to €2.5 million in grant funding and up to €15 million in equity financing per project, totaling a potential €17.5 million. This blended financing aims to support high-risk, high-impact innovations that may not be easily funded through traditional means.

While the EIC promotes DeepTech, its selection criteria increasingly favor commercial success, potentially conflicting with the long-term, high-risk nature of DeepTech investments. The EIC's focus on short-term KPIs and commercialization may lead it to prioritize less risky ventures over truly disruptive innovations.

Despite claims that the new application system saves time and effort, many find the current process significantly longer and more complex than the 2020 system. This has increased reliance on consultants, and success rates have fallen to similarly low levels as before.

The evaluation process has been described as unpredictable, with a sense of randomness in project selection. Some beneficiaries have reported success with resubmitted proposals containing minimal changes, undermining the credibility of the evaluation process.

The 'non-bankability' criterion, which referred to companies unable to secure private funding due to high risk, has been removed from the official EIC Work Programme and evaluation criteria. However, the application still asks why EIC funding is needed, reflecting the spirit of the removed rule.

Delays in equity investments have been attributed to structural difficulties and the inexperience of EU operatives in managing the fund. While grant payments have been processed relatively effectively, the equity component has faced challenges, hindering the timely disbursement of funds to beneficiaries.

Success in the interview requires strong personal skills, including English fluency, presentation abilities, and communication skills. There's also a 'likeability' factor, where agreeable and friendly speakers may be favored, which can be a disadvantage for those with a more disagreeable style.

It's not entirely clear if the EIC is attracting private investments or if private investors are attracting the EIC. There are instances where companies raised substantial capital before or during the EIC Accelerator approval process, suggesting the EIC might be piggybacking on private markets while also investing in disruptive technologies.

The average duration from application to grant for the EIC Accelerator is around 300 days (10 months). This suggests that many applicants face rejections during the process. The timeline can vary depending on whether the project is rejected and resubmitted or if there are delays from the EIC side.

The EIC Fund has faced challenges, including confusion among beneficiaries and delays in the issuance of funds. Many companies are still waiting to receive their equity investments, and structural changes to the fund, such as handing it over to the European Investment Bank (EIB), may cause further delays.

No, EU member states and associated countries are not equally represented in the EIC's portfolio. This is partly due to varying startup ecosystems and the challenges faced by low-GDP countries in creating cutting-edge DeepTech startups. Some countries naturally have a stronger presence in the EIC portfolio.

The EIC sometimes highlights companies as success stories (unicorns, centaurs) that may have already achieved significant valuations before receiving EIC funding. This raises questions about the EIC's actual role in their growth. A thorough investigation of the EIC’s impact on these companies is warranted to determine the true extent of its contribution.

The EIC Accelerator focuses on very technical fields, often including hardware developments, in areas like health, energy, computing, and space technology. These are often DeepTech companies that are developing disruptive technologies. While riskier than pure software companies, these sectors are prioritized for their potential impact.

The EIC Fund is an investment vehicle created by the European Innovation Council (EIC) to invest in high-risk, high-potential startups in their early stages. It provides larger funding amounts and closer relationships with companies through ownership stakes, due diligence, and board seats. The goal is to support deep tech startups that can scale in global markets and address societal challenges.

Yes, there is a preference for companies within a specific age range, with the majority of funded businesses being 6-10 years old. This may be because older, established businesses are less incentivized to innovate, while younger startups are often more likely to disrupt industries with groundbreaking technologies.

The EIC Accelerator uses a multi-step evaluation process with subjective assessments and conflicting criteria. Final investment decisions are made based on a short interview, followed by months of due diligence. This is unusual in the investment industry, where due diligence typically precedes investment decisions.

The EIC Accelerator program offers grants and venture financing to startups and SMEs, with up to €2.5 million in grants and €15 million in venture financing available. It aims to support high-risk, high-potential companies, particularly those in DeepTech sectors, to scale their innovations and address societal challenges.

Yes, the EIC jury can substitute a grant with a repayable loan if they find the level of risk associated with your project to be lower than initially identified. This is a potential outcome of the evaluation process.

ScienceBusiness has published a second draft of the 2023 EIC Work Programme, and the entire library of Horizon Europe documents by the European Commission can be found on their website. Remember that all information is subject to change and represents the author's opinion.

The EIC should release statistical data of all anonymized beneficiaries, including timelines and funding amounts. This information would help future applicants manage their expectations and better understand the funding process.

The higher success rates for grant-first projects may be due to the EIC converting some blended financing applicants into grant-first applicants. This conversion process wasn't officially acknowledged, but it likely contributed to the increased success rate of grant-first applications.

If your full application is assessed to be outside the scope of the Accelerator Challenges you submitted it to, it will be transferred to the Accelerator Open. This means your proposal will still be considered for funding, but under the general EIC Accelerator Open category.

Declining the EIC Fund investment, particularly if the due diligence process is lengthy, could jeopardize your received grant financing. The EIC should allow companies to decline the investment while retaining the grant if they are well-financed from other sources and the EIB's due diligence is too slow.

Blended finance refers to a combination of grant and equity financing offered by the EIC Accelerator. It allows companies to receive both upfront grant funding and potential equity investment to support their growth and scaling efforts.

Yes, similar to the Step 2 and 3 evaluations, the EIC can also recommend changes to your funding type during the due diligence phase. For example, they might suggest starting with the grant component first if your company isn't yet mature for equity investment.

Yes, the Step 3 EIC Jury can decide that the requested amount or funding type is inappropriate and change it, even after you've passed Steps 1 and 2. This applies to both EIC Accelerator Open and Strategic Challenges, and can affect funding modes like grant-first, grant-only, equity-only, and blended financing.

The EIC can cancel funding if inconsistencies are found during due diligence, such as misrepresentation, submission of false information, non-submission of information, suspicion of fraud, or any other ground listed in the EIC Accelerator contract. Termination can also occur if the non-investment is likely to affect the project's implementation or puts the funding decision into question.

The EIC Accelerator application is submitted through the Funding & Tenders Portal. This is where you'll find the proposal templates and submission system. Make sure to use detailed templates and collaborate with a team to prepare your documents before uploading them to the portal.

The EIC Accelerator has both an 'Open' call and 'Challenge' calls. The 'Open' call is open to most industries, as long as they align with EU values. 'Challenge' calls focus on specific technology and industry themes outlined in the EIC Work Programme. Check the current Work Programme to see if your industry or technology fits.