7 companies have passed the evaluation phase of the first EIC STEP Scale Up call. They will now go forward to the EIC Fund for investment decisions. The scheme provides investments of between €10 and €30 million (per company) aiming to leverage private co-investment and achieve financing rounds of €50 to €150 million or more.

The winners under the 3 categories include: Women Innovators - Agnès Arbat, co-founder of Oxolife; Rising Innovators - Camille Bouget, co-founder of Scienta Lab; EIT Women Leadership - Débora Andreia Campelo Campo, founder and CEO of AgroGrin Tech.

The winner in the Innovation Procurement Initiative categorycategory is 'CameraCar’, who introduced an AI-driven technology to enhance parking zone monitoring. The winner in the Net Zero Industry procurement category is 'CABRIO-TRIPTYCH', recognised for its outstanding contribution to addressing key challenges through innovative procurement solutions.

Business abc | 04/04/2025 - The EIC Summit 2025, held at Tour & Taxis in Brussels, gathers innovators, policymakers, and business leaders to discuss Europe's innovation landscape. It features EIC-funded projects, networking opportunities, and the prestigious EIC Prizes. Speakers include Henna Virkkunen (Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy), Ekaterina Zaharieva (Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation), and more.

Startup Business | 04/04/2025 | Italy - The European Innovation Council (EIC) and the SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA) have long been involved in crucial funding and support, such as that of Isar: over €10 million through the Horizon Programme for the development of ‘low-cost space launch’ systems alone. This support is not just about funding: it is about strengthening the EU’s technological sovereignty and competitiveness in a field long dominated by global giants elsewhere.

Business abc | 04/04/2025 - The European Innovation Council (EIC) is Europe’s key driver for next-generation technologies, revolutionising industries with a €10.1 billion budget. Backed by Horizon Europe programme, the EIC helps startups, SMEs, and scaleups thrive through grants and equity investments.

Green Queen | 04/04/2025 - Lantmännen, Sweden’s largest farmer cooperative, has received a big boost from the EU to build a large-scale plant protein facility and supply ingredients to makers of meat and dairy alternatives. The EU, meanwhile, has been doubling down on its future food investments through various initiatives. It spotlighted several startups at EIT Food’s flagship Next Bite event last year, has included a number of alternative protein firms in its accelerator programmes, and invested €50M in precision-fermented and algae-based foods via the European Innovation Council.

Startup Romania | 05/04/2025 - The fourth edition of the Europe Innovation Council Summit 2025 (EIC Summit), the European conference that analyzes how Europe can become a global leader in technology with the help of startups, announced this year's winners in Brussels for innovative initiatives in tech and sustainability.

Emprendedores | 05/04/2025 | Spain - Despite being a company that hasn't made much noise, Sequientia has received numerous awards and recognitions both domestically and internationally. One of these is the EIC Accelerator, a competition for innovative startups and SMEs organized by the European Union (EU). This is a Horizon Europe funding program that provided them with €2.5 million and allowed them to advance the development and commercialization of MICK.

Research professional news | 04/04/2025 - Ekaterina Zaharieva, the EU research and innovation commissioner, sketched out her plans for expanding the European Innovation Council at the funder’s annual conference in Brussels this week. Responding to a question from Research Professional News in a press conference at the EIC Summit, Zaharieva said the expansion would need to show private sector investors that the EU is “serious” about using the EIC to support their own investments in technology-based small companies.

Business Review | 02/04/2025 - The winners, chosen by a jury of independent experts, were announced today at the European Innovation Council Summit in Brussels. Each winning initiative is awarded EUR 75 000 to further support their efforts in advancing innovation procurement, while the runners up in each category are rewarded with €50,000 (second place) and €25,000 (third place), respectively.

Research professional news | 03/04/2025 - Last month, the European Commission said it would “ensure the European Innovation Council…will invest in dual-use technology”. The EIC, which supports the development and commercialisation of breakthrough technologies, is a part of the R&I programme and is bound by its rules.

Open access government | 02/04/2025 - The European Innovation Council (EIC) has awarded nearly €116 million in funding to 31 new research projects selected through the 2024 EIC Pathfinder Challenges call.

Business daily | 02/04/2025 | Greece - The EIC Fund has managed to attract more than €1.6 billion in co-investments and has been instrumental in accelerating the growth of European startups. The European EIC investor network is expanding, connecting 111 investors managing €336 billion to boost European technology and innovation.

Tech EU | 04/03/2025 - Bulgaria’s tech ecosystem is rapidly emerging as a leading innovation hub in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), attracting significant investment and global recognition. In 2024, Smart Farm Robotix secured a €2.4 million grant from the European Innovation Council (EIC) to further develop this innovative technology.

Business Review | 03/04/2025 | Europe - Celebrating its fourth anniversary at the annual EIC Summit on 2 and 3 April 2025, the European Innovation Council presented the EIC Impact Report 2025. The report demonstrates the significant progress the EIC has made to become the investor of choice for European deep tech entrepreneurs. Here are some highlights from his year’s edition.

Dutch IT leaders | 03/04/2025 | Netherlands - The European Innovation Council (EIC) is on its way to becoming a leading deep-tech investor, mobilising €2.6 billion in additional investment, according to the EIC Impact Report 2025.

Silicon republic | 03/04/2025 | Ireland - Rhona Togher, the co-founder of Lios, won the second-highest award, bagging the first runner-up prize under the Women Innovator category. Togher, an award-winning physicist, received €70,000. While Elizabeth McGloughlin, the co-founder and CEO of Tympany Medical, won the third spot in the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT ) Women Leadership category, taking home €20,000.

Innovation Origins | 03/04/2025 - Axelera AI and Xeltis are among the seven European companies that will receive funding through the European Innovation Council (EIC) STEP Scale Up Scheme. The two Eindhoven-based companies passed the evaluation phase. They will get an investment of between €10 and €30 million each, aiming to leverage private co-investment and achieve financing rounds of €50 to €150 million or more.

Open access government | 03/04/2025 - The European Innovation Council (EIC) is making big developments to accelerate the growth of Europe’s deep tech sector, as the EIC Trusted Investor Network continues to expand its reach.