The European Innovation Council selected 38 startups and small and medium-sized enterprises in its latest EIC Accelerator round, proposing €90 million in grants and setting aside about €202 million for potential equity investments, according to the council's 15 June 2026 announcement.
For founders deciding between venture capital and public money, the grant side matters in particular: it comes without an ownership stake. The program lets a company mix the two, or take investment only.
How the Accelerator Works
The EIC Accelerator offers a lump-sum grant of up to €2.5 million for work at technology readiness levels (TRL) 6 to 8, supporting companies in reaching TRL 9, or market readiness. Projects are typically completed within 24 months, according to the EIC's Accelerator page. Companies can also take equity from the EIC Fund, generally between €1 million and €10 million under the 2026 Work Programme.
Applicants may choose a blend of the two or "investment only." A company can receive "grant only" support once during Horizon Europe, the EU's research program running from 2021 to 2027.
Selection happens in stages. Step 1 is a short proposal: 12 pages, a 10-slide deck and a three-minute video. Step 2 is a full proposal of 20 pages plus annexes, assessed remotely. The top-ranked proposals earn a jury interview, which the EIC's tips page describes as a 10-minute pitch followed by roughly 35 minutes of questions.
Equity cases then move to due diligence by the EIC Fund. The EIC said a decision typically arrives two to six months after selection and may be staged. It also cautioned that "selected for funding" lists are not formal commitments until grant preparation is finalized, a caveat founders would be wise to keep in mind.
Who Made the Cut
Of the 38 companies, 84% chose blended finance, the EIC said. They come from 16 countries, and 21% are women-led. Named examples include Amatera Biosciences, BTRY, Cognibotics, Microamp Solutions and Planeteers.
UK applicants can apply only for "grant only" support, the EIC's page states. The UK grant-only companies in this cohort include Fluorok, Inephany, Makesense Technology, Oxford Heartbeat and Seloxium.
Competition is stiff. The 2026 Accelerator budget totals €634 million, split between €414 million for Accelerator Open and €220 million for Accelerator Challenges. The EIC said 923 companies applied to the final 2025 cut-off.
Defence Applicants Get a Door
On 17 June 2026, the EIC opened the Accelerator and STEP Scale Up to dual-use and certain defence-related innovations. A 2026 Work Programme amendment implemented the Defence Mini-Omnibus, the EU's package of defence-related rule changes.
The EIC also updated its Fund Investment Guidelines on 27 August 2026. They set ticket ranges of generally €0.5 million to €30 million across the fund's compartments and add safeguards meant to protect EU interests. The Accelerator cap stays at €10 million. Guidelines for the Scaleup Europe Fund will follow separately.
What Alumni Say
The EIC's 2026 Impact Report says EIC-backed companies have raised €15.5 billion, including 12 equity rounds above €100 million and three deep-tech unicorns in the past year. It put EIC Fund leverage at about €3.5 for every €1 invested, with more than 1,000 co-investors. These are the council's own figures, and the report is a promotional document as much as an accounting one.
Founders featured on the EIC's Impact Stories pages credit both the money and the signal it sends. "The co-investment from the EIC was a solid factor in convincing our lead investor to invest in the following round," said Anita Schjøll Abildgaard, co-founder of Norway's Iris.ai. The company raised an €8 million Series A that included the EIC Fund in May 2024.
Filip Geuens, CEO of Belgium's XenomatiX, offered a broader view. "EIC support is not just about the money," he said. "It also includes access to an ecosystem, events, coaching, promotion, market insights."
Spain's MOA Foodtech received a €2.3 million grant and a €12.5 million equity commitment, the EIC said.
Larger Tickets and Private Rounds
Bigger checks run through STEP Scale Up, which makes equity-only investments of €10 million to €30 million, aimed at catalysing rounds of €50 million to €150 million. Its 2026 budget is €300 million. Applicants should note that earlier materials cited €0.5 million to €15 million for the Accelerator, but the 2026 range is €1 million to €10 million.
The EIC Fund also shows up in recent private rounds. Axios Pro Rata reported on 22 September 2026 that Morphotonics raised a €40 million Series B with the EIC Fund among its investors. CincoDías reported on 21 October 2026 that Inveready led a €3.5 million round for Hawk Biosystems, with EIC Fund co-investment.
What Applicants Should Know Next
The remaining 2026 Step 2 batching dates are 2 September and 4 November. Awardees can draw on Business Acceleration Services, which offer coaching, investor access and corporate matchmaking. A VentureMatch Investor Day is scheduled for Munich on 9 December 2026, with pitch tracks across MedTech, mobility, energy and semiconductors.
