EIC Accelerator, 38 of 87 and the cut-off calendar
The EIC - European Innovation Council Accelerator chose 38 companies from 87 that reached the interview stage in its latest published round. The EIC - European Innovation Council announced it on 15 June. The same round gave 95 further applications a Seal of Excellence instead of money.
The terms on the EIC - European Innovation Council page: a grant of up to €2.5 million for innovation activities, and an investment of €1 million to €10 million, either direct equity or quasi-equity such as convertible loans. Grant-only and equity-only support exist under conditions. Grant-only can be given once during Horizon Europe (2021 to 2027). In June, the EIC - European Innovation Council said 84% of the selected companies were eligible for blended finance, a mix of grant and equity.
The dates:
- The last full-proposal cut-off of 2026 was 4 November at 17:00, according to FFG Österreichische Forschungsförderungsgesellschaft mbH, the Austrian national funding agency.
- The EIC - European Innovation Council page now lists 20 January 2027 as the next cut-off, then 17 March, 1 September and 4 November 2027.
- Short proposals can be sent at any time. Feedback normally takes 4 to 6 weeks.
- FFG Österreichische Forschungsförderungsgesellschaft mbH lists a jury interview session for the week of 19 to 24 October as tentative. The EIC - European Innovation Council says results follow two to three weeks after a session. On 9 November we found no new Accelerator results announcement on the EIC - European Innovation Council news page.
Conflicts between sources: FFG Österreichische Forschungsförderungsgesellschaft mbH says the grant covers 70% of a project's development costs and the equity is for TRL 9. The EIC - European Innovation Council page names no percentage and gives TRL 6 to 9 for the investment. The June announcement says full proposals are batched six times a year, while the EIC - European Innovation Council page lists four dates for 2027.
Who pays: the EU, through Horizon Europe. According to the EIC - European Innovation Council, the equity side is managed by the EIC Fund. The €90 million in June covers grants only. A further €202 million is "provisioned" for possible equity. On 5 November the European Commission adopted the 2027 work programme, with €1.8 billion for the EIC - European Innovation Council. The Accelerator page gives €428 million for Open and €150 million for the Challenges in 2027.
The track record, from the June announcement: 16 EU and associated countries, 21% of the companies led by women, and equity that often draws private money, "frequently leveraging the EIC's contribution by a factor of three or more", per the EIC - European Innovation Council.
By our arithmetic, 38 of 87 is about 44%, but that is only the interview stage. Not published on the pages we read: how many companies applied, the success rate at the short and full stages, and the share of a company the equity buys.