Today, the Commission announced that nearly €1 billion of investments in deep tech companies have been approved by the European Innovation Council (EIC) Fund since the Fund started its operations in September 2022. The EIC Fund is the venture investment arm of the European Innovation Council, which was launched under Horizon Europe to support breakthrough technologies and innovations. In just over one year, 159 start-ups and SMEs, all selected under the EIC Accelerator programme, have had their investments approved. By reaching this €1 billion milestone, the EIC consolidates its position as the investor of choice for European deep tech companies.

Under the EIC programme, companies are selected following a rigorous evaluation process by external experts and thorough due diligence by the European Investment Bank, who acts as investment adviser to the EIC Fund. Following investment approvals, companies typically have up to 12 months to find co-investors with the support of the EIC. 71 companies have already completed this process and attracted co-investments worth a multiple of 3 times the amount of EIC Fund investments. The majority of companies also receive grant support of up to €2.5 million and access to expertise, partnerships and market opportunities through the EIC business acceleration services.