European Innovation Council (EIC) pilot Accelerator

In the next months, the EIC pilot beneficiaries will have the opportunity to pitch their top-class innovations and business proposals to top investors and c-level managers of large businesses. Discover what’s coming up and stay tuned for more events to come!

Seventy-five promising start-ups and SMEs have been selected in the largest funding round so far under the pilot phase of the European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator. As a major novelty, 39 of these companies are set to receive both a grant and a direct equity investment. The European Commission will award more than €278 million to the 75 start-ups and SMEs set to shape the future of innovation in Europe.

A total of 287 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) form 31 countries have been selected for funding under the last round of the EIC SME Instrument, in the so-called Phase 1 of the programme, now known as the EIC Accelerator. The companies will receive a total amount of €14.15 million to share between their projects to get their innovations faster on the market.

Coming close to the end of the year, it’s time to take a look at the achievements of 2019. With 18 matchmaking events, more than 380 SMEs involved and a satisfaction rate of 90%, the EIC Business Acceleration Services have been busy offering European Innovation Council (EIC) pilot funded companies business opportunities with investors, corporates and innovators. Read here the 2019 takeaways, discover our highlights and see how to connect with us in 2020.

A hand-picked number of European Innovation Council (EIC) pilot pioneers presented their innovations to c-level managers of OTP Bank in Budapest, Hungary, one of the biggest banks in Europe. This EIC Corporate Day, a service specially designed to EIC-funded businesses a head start to the market, focussed on new technologies and innovative solutions for the banking sector.

Twelve European Innovation Council (EIC) pilot funded companies showcased their groundbreaking technologies to L’Oréal in Paris, France on 26-27 November 2019. The innovators took full advantage of partnering with c-level managers. As part of an EIC Corporate Day, offered to companies funded by the EIC, L’Oréal met exclusively EIC funded companies that they had chosen in advance, to pitch their solutions and to benefit from an immediate exchange in one-to-one meetings.

The European Innovation Council (EIC) pilot partnered with TechTour for five exclusive online pitching sessions on Healthtech, Digital Technologies and CleanTech. Between 11-13th November, 40 companies funded by the EIC Pilot participated in the TechTour ePitch, but only 10 winners were selected. The finalists will compete at the finals in the European Venture Contest in Essen, on the 9-10 December.

The European Innovation Council pilot Business Acceleration Services and Bpifrance – EuroQuity invite you to apply for a joint the EIC Investor Day on 10 March 2020. The amount of interest, activity, and funding in Deep Technologies is undergoing an explosion that is as broad as it is deep. This event is specially designed to deepen your knowledge and empower Deep Tech companies through investment. The event is part of the Paris Deep Tech Week. Apply before 7 January 2020.

On 19-20 February 2020, the European Innovation Council pilot invites you to Leuven (Belgium) to pitch your company and discover business opportunities with one of the largest fast-moving consumer goods companies in the world: Anheuser-Busch InBev. Meet with top ABInBev’s decision makers and network with like-minded innovators in this engaging, exclusive event designed to accelerate your business. Applications are open until 5 January 2020.

The European Innovation Council (EIC) pilot and the European Business Angels Network (EBAN) are pleased to invite all eligible startups to participate in the fourth joint EBAN/EIC CyberSecurity Scaleup of the Month Webinar - an initiative designed to give visibility to the best EIC CyberSecurity companies that are raising follow-on investments to scale. Apply before 10 January 2020.