Data corner: defining the usual suspects for EIC Accelerator funding

15 Apr 2025 | News

Small, young health start-ups that are looking to scale up are best placed to secure funding from the European Innovation Council

Photo credits: Phongphan / BigStock

On paper, the European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator funds any kind of start-up or SME that is developing and scaling up breakthrough green and digital technologies. But some companies are much better at securing its funding than others.

So, who is most likely to win this funding? To find out, we looked at the latest report from the innovation consultancy Lira, which analyses the 139 winners from 2024, as well as the European Commission’s own data.

The EIC Accelerator fully launched in 2021 under Horizon Europe to help Europe foster its next generation of start-ups.

To do so, it awards lump sum grants of up to €2.5 million as well as investments of €500,000 to €10 million to promising start-ups and SMEs. The investments can be unlocked only when a company finds other investors to lead the funding round. Higher amounts of funding are available in the Accelerator’s STEP Scale Up programme for clean technologies.

This year’s Accelerator budget is …