The EIC awarded 61 Accelerator grants in the October 2025 round

The European Innovation Council (EIC) has selected 61 innovative start-ups and SMEs out of 121 proposals for the October 2025 Accelerator round.

On 17/02/2026, the EIC announced that 61 companies will receive funding of €467 million under the EIC Accelerator grants, with the investment component under Horizon Europe averaging €3.72m per company. 85% of the beneficiaries will receive blended finance, i.e. a combination of grants and equity investment, while others secured either grant-only or equity-only support.

As part of the October 2025 decision, the selected companies came from 17 EU and associated countries, with the highest number coming from Germany, Spain, France and Sweden. In the two rounds in 2025, Germany had the most winners (16), followed by Spain with 14. Sweden, ranked fourth in this ranking with 10 winners, is the country with the most laureates per 10 million inhabitants.

The EIC Accelerator selects companies developing transformative technologies with strong commercial potential, supporting them in developing and scaling up innovations at Technology Readiness Levels…