Frequently Asked Questions

The EIC Accelerator is highly competitive, so the market-creating, disrupting, and transforming potential of your project is a key assessment criterion. Clearly explain how your innovation will create a new market or significantly impact existing ones. Address both the opportunities and potential threats associated with your approach.

Be prepared to explain the difficulty and feasibility of your proposed project. Justify why competitors haven't solved the problem yet, but also demonstrate that your solution is achievable and not overly expensive. Provide a realistic and actionable roadmap to exploit the business opportunity.

The EIC Accelerator interview primarily focuses on the commercial aspects and go-to-market strategies of your project. The jury wants to understand how you'll reach customers and generate revenue. Make sure your commercial strategy is well-validated with strong partners and relevant metrics.

After your pitch, the jury discusses your application based on three key criteria: Implementation, Impact, and Excellence. Implementation focuses on your team's capability and the leveraging of investments. Impact assesses your commercial strategy and scale-up potential. Excellence evaluates the innovation's feasibility and market readiness.

The commercial impact of your project is crucial. Focus on both the financial impact (revenues, customers, assets) and the transformative impact in the EU (societal, energy, health benefits). Have KPIs ready for both the project duration and the long-term future, including potential exits and valuation.

Expect questions about the experience and expertise of your founding and management team. Highlight why your team is uniquely positioned to meet the market need and execute the technological developments. Showcase the background and track record of key team members to build confidence.

The 'Impact' criterion focuses on the soundness of your business model and commercialization strategy. The jury will also evaluate the financial planning and projections you've provided. They'll assess whether the innovation has the potential to scale up the company and if the financial needs are adequately quantified.

A transformative impact means your innovation should significantly benefit the EU and its citizens. This could involve addressing key societal challenges, creating new markets, or improving the quality of life. The EIC is looking for projects that have the potential to reshape industries and contribute to the EU's long-term goals. Clearly articulate how your innovation will create positive change within the EU.

If your company is already well-financed, it might be less likely to receive EIC Accelerator funding. The EIC aims to support companies that need special financing to overcome challenges in bringing their innovations to market. If you already have sufficient funding, it may suggest that your project is less risky and doesn't require the EIC's support. Clearly justify why additional funding is necessary for your project's success.

Alignment with EU values is crucial for EIC Accelerator funding. The EU wants to support projects that contribute to its broader objectives, such as sustainability, social inclusion, and economic growth. If your project contradicts these values, it's unlikely to receive funding. Demonstrate how your company's mission and activities support the EU's vision for the future.

Several factors can lead to rejection, including a lack of genuine innovation, low profit potential, using funds primarily for material expenses, and concerns about foreign ownership or control. Additionally, applications may be rejected if the company is already well-financed, the innovation doesn't have a transformative impact on the EU, or the project opposes EU values. Ensure your project addresses these potential pitfalls before applying.

Before applying, honestly evaluate your innovation's novelty, market potential, and alignment with EU values. Assess whether your financial projections demonstrate significant growth potential. Consider whether your funding needs are primarily for technology development or simply for scaling existing operations. Addressing these questions will provide a more realistic understanding of your chances and help you tailor your application accordingly.

The EIC Accelerator typically funds projects that are at a certain Technology Readiness Level (TRL). Immature technologies are often considered non-bankable and require specialized funding. While the exact TRL requirement may vary, the EIC generally looks for projects that have progressed beyond the early stages of research and development. Ensure your technology is sufficiently mature and ready for commercialization before applying.

The EU prioritizes spending government funds within its territory. While foreign ownership isn't an automatic disqualifier, it raises questions about control and independence. Significant foreign investment or a management team that appears predominantly foreign can raise concerns. Be prepared to address these concerns and demonstrate that your company is genuinely EU-controlled and contributes to the EU economy.

While the EIC Accelerator doesn't fund non-profits, it also looks for companies with the potential for significant financial growth. The EIC expects beneficiaries to achieve substantial revenue scale and market impact. If your projected profits are low, it may indicate a lack of commercial scalability, making your application less competitive. Consider if your financial projections align with the EIC's expectations for high-growth companies.

The EIC Accelerator primarily supports companies focused on technological development. If you mainly need funding for scaling up production, purchasing materials, or marketing, your application may not be suitable. However, if these expenses are directly related to and justified by ongoing technological advancements, they may be eligible for funding. Ensure you clearly demonstrate the link between these expenses and your technology development efforts.

The EIC Accelerator seeks to fund truly innovative projects. If your product or service is only innovative in a specific region or industry, but the underlying technology is not new, it may be considered a "me-too" business. This can lower barriers to entry for competitors and make your application less attractive to the EIC. Assess whether you're a first mover or simply replicating existing solutions before applying.

AI-driven evaluations provide the EIC with the opportunity to fine-tune the selection process and improve the quality of applicants reaching the Step 3 interviews. By using AI to filter and rank proposals, the EIC can ensure that only the most promising companies are invited to interview, increasing the success rate and overall effectiveness of the program.

The EIC should focus on turning some of its staff into IT and AI prompting experts and contracting a developer to build the necessary architecture. The next steps also involve considering how existing criteria like gender, diversity, and policy alignment will be integrated into the AI-driven evaluation process, which will be discussed in Part 3.

AI-driven evaluations can be significantly faster than the current human-based process. While human evaluations take 6 to 8 weeks, AI can complete the initial evaluation in just a day. This allows the EIC to iterate and refine the selection process more quickly, leading to better outcomes.

The declining Step 3 interview success rates are a key indicator of the EIC's failing evaluation process. These rates have fallen from 50% in 2021 to only 16% in 2025. This decline indicates that the filtering process in Steps 1 and 2 is not effectively identifying the best companies.

AI allows the EIC to hardcode its instructions directly into the system, ensuring that all applications are evaluated according to the same criteria. This eliminates the inconsistencies and misinterpretations that can occur when relying on human evaluators who may have different understandings of the EIC's guidelines. Top-down changes can be implemented quickly.

The EIC has access to a wealth of historical data, including past proposals, evaluations, and funding decisions. This data can be used to train and improve new AI systems rapidly. Additionally, human evaluators can provide feedback on the AI's outcomes, contributing to reinforcement learning and continuous improvement.

The EIC needs an AI team focused on designing prompts, managing the IT system, and integrating feedback from the EIC Board. Since the EIC is a bureaucratic organization, experienced prompt engineers are sufficient. This team will ensure the AI system aligns with the EIC's goals and objectives.

The EIC's current evaluation process relies on hiring more evaluators, jury members, and program managers as the number of submissions increases. This linear relationship between team size and results is not scalable. A scalable process should provide asymmetric benefits, where the results increase disproportionately to the team size.

Integrating AI quickly allows the EIC to experiment and refine the system before application numbers increase significantly. A rushed or poorly implemented AI system could damage the evaluation process and the EIC's reputation. By starting early, the EIC can gradually test and improve the AI's performance.

The EIC Accelerator offers up to €2.5 million in grant funding and €10 million in equity financing to startups and Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs). This funding is provided by the European Commission (EC) and European Innovation Council (EIC). The program is designed to support innovative companies looking to scale up their operations.

Despite its flaws and inconsistencies, the EIC Accelerator remains a valuable resource for European startups. Applicants should be aware of the increased focus on DeepTech and the reduced budgets, which have led to a more competitive selection process. It's crucial to emphasize the scientific basis and intellectual property of your project, but remember that EIC policies and priorities can change rapidly.

Recent changes include the removal of the rebuttal system, which previously allowed applicants to respond to evaluator feedback. Also, the EIC has experienced issues with its AI Submission Platform, leading to its cancellation shortly before a deadline. These changes highlight the evolving nature of the EIC Accelerator and the need to stay informed.

Raising funding during the EIC Accelerator application process can impact your eligibility, though the EIC doesn't currently have strict rules on this. It's important to be transparent about any funding rounds. While securing private investment is generally positive, it could raise questions about whether your project truly requires EIC funding, especially if the EIC is aiming to fund companies that cannot attract private funding.

The EIC tracks the leverage ratio, which is the multiple of private investment attracted for every Euro invested by the EIC. However, this metric doesn't differentiate between companies that would have raised funding regardless of EIC involvement and those that were directly enabled by the EIC. A more relevant metric would focus on investments made specifically because of the EIC's support.

The 'valley of death' in DeepTech refers to the long period of fundamental and technological development required before a pilot can be demonstrated, often lasting several years. The EIC Accelerator aims to provide the capital needed for DeepTech companies to survive this challenging phase. This funding bridges the gap between initial research and commercial viability.

'DeepTech' refers to companies with a strong scientific or engineering foundation, often involving significant research and development. The EIC Accelerator is increasingly focusing on DeepTech companies, especially those with patents and ownership of their scientific discoveries. This shift means software startups without a strong scientific basis may find it harder to secure funding.

The EIC Accelerator application process is complex and involves three steps. Step 1 is a short proposal, Step 2 requires a detailed business plan, and Step 3 involves an interview with the EIC Jury. Due to the complexity, many applicants seek help from professional writers or consultants to navigate the process successfully.

The EIC is placing a stronger emphasis on applicants owning or having exclusive rights to the underlying science and technology. The EIC Board President has stated that applicants should have substantial patents (more than 2) where they are the applicant, inventor, or licensee. This focus aims to ensure that funded projects are truly innovative and based on solid scientific foundations.

The EIC Accelerator's annual budget significantly impacts funding success rates. When the budget is high, more companies receive funding. Conversely, a lower budget means fewer companies are funded, making the competition fiercer. This means you're not just competing against evaluation criteria, but against other applicants for a limited pool of resources.

The EIC Accelerator, run by the European Commission and European Innovation Council, provides funding to SMEs and startups. It offers up to €2.5 million in grants and €15 million in equity financing, totaling a potential €17.5 million per project. This funding is designed to support innovative projects with high growth potential.

Applicants receive cumulative feedback after each evaluation round (Rounds 1, 1b, and 2). This feedback provides valuable insights to improve their project and proposal. This iterative feedback loop helps applicants refine their approach and address weaknesses identified by the evaluators.

The pitch interview in Round 3 is a crucial step to further select applicants and identify companies for funding. It allows jurors to assess the applicant's ability to communicate their vision and strategy effectively. This round helps determine which companies are best positioned to receive financing and succeed.

The proposed system aims to improve the application experience by gradually increasing the difficulty of the applicant's effort. Step 1 is designed to be easy, while Steps 2 and 3 become more challenging. This reduces the risk of applicants investing extensive work into an application without meeting the minimum success criteria.

The proposed process addresses this by funneling financial metrics and business plans to a specialized pool of evaluators in Round 2. These evaluators consist of angel investors, VCs, and successful entrepreneurs with expertise in commercial assessment. This ensures that financial aspects are evaluated by qualified individuals.

The proposed process allows applicants to apply without needing grant writers, and the effort required increases with the chance of success. Evaluators can quickly compare applications, and internal knock-out rounds can be repeated if needed. It also ensures commercial experts evaluate business plans, and provides excellent cumulative feedback to applicants.

In Round 2, applicants who passed the initial internal evaluation submit a business plan. This plan focuses on work packages, financials, team, go-to-market strategy, and revenue expectations. Evaluators in this round consist of angel investors, VCs, and successful entrepreneurs who assess the business plan's viability.

The proposed evaluation process aims to quickly screen a large number of EIC Accelerator applications. It uses tools like elimination rounds, specialized evaluator pools, and shorter applications to enable direct project comparison. This approach seeks to avoid relying on complicated scoring systems and ensures commercial experts evaluate financial metrics and business plans.

One potential drawback is the possibility of unfair matchups in early rounds, leading to excellent projects being eliminated. Also, re-submitted projects might be viewed less favorably, though this can be mitigated by not disclosing re-submission status to evaluators. Finally, the initial screening could incentivize projects with poor business models to pass through.

The business plans in Round 2 are evaluated by a pool of angel investors, venture capitalists (VCs), and successful entrepreneurs. These evaluators are specifically vetted and verified to ensure their assessment of the business plan is sound and of high quality. This ensures a commercially focused evaluation.

This article describes a proposed evaluation process and does not reflect the current way EIC Accelerator applications are evaluated. The proposed process focuses on a multi-stage approach with increasing effort required from applicants as they progress. It also emphasizes specialized evaluator pools for different stages, particularly commercial experts for business plan assessments.

According to the EIC Fund representatives, they are prioritizing success cases. However, it's important to note that individual evaluators might have different priorities. It's best to focus on demonstrating the potential for significant success and impact with your innovation.

The EIC Accelerator is still in its pilot phase, and the governing bodies are actively learning from the initial experiences. The 2021 version of the EIC Accelerator under Horizon Europe is expected to address many of the reported issues and provide a more transparent and smoother process.

Yes, the equity financing process involves a much more in-depth due diligence compared to the grant process. This is because the EIC is taking an equity stake in your company, which involves long-term associations and potential board representation. The grant process is generally faster and simpler.