EIC awards 38 Accelerator grants in the first 2026 evaluation round

The European Innovation Council (EIC) has selected 28 innovative start-ups and SMEs for the first 2026 Accelerator evaluation round.

The EIC announced on 15/06/2026 €90 million in proposed grant funding for selected start-ups and SMEs under the EIC Accelerator, together with €202m earmarked for potential equity investments. The programme provides grants of up to €2.5m, and 84% of the selected beneficiaries are expected to receive blended finance (grants combined with equity investments), while the remainder will receive grant-only funding.

As part of the first 2026 evaluation round, the selected companies came from 16 EU and associated countries, with the highest number coming from France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Sweden and Switzerland.

The EIC Accelerator selects companies developing transformative technologies with strong commercial potential, supporting them in developing and scaling up innovations at Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) 6-8 that have the capacity to create new markets or disrupt existing ones.

Twelve companies reached the interview stage of the EIC Accelerator…