The European Innovation Council (EIC) announced the selection of 51 companies to receive funding (combining equity and grant) under the EIC Accelerator programme.
The companies were selected in a highly competitive process in which 139 companies were interviewed by juries of experienced investors and entrepreneurs. This was out of 551 full proposals submitted.
The 51 selected companies will receive close to €260M in a combination of grants and equity investments, with the equity investments being made through the EIC Fund.
The selected companies have a geographical spread spanning 17 countries, including three widening countries.
EIC says that almost 30 per cent (15 of the 51 companies) have a female CEO, CTO (Chief Technology Officer) or CSO (Chief Scientific Officer).
The European Innovation Council (EIC) also announced that most companies applying for grant financing will receive their funds within the next two to three months while investment decisions will be made within two months.
Seal of Excellence
88 applications, which successfully met all the criteria at the remote evaluation stage and were assessed positively by the EIC jury but not recommended for funding, will be awarded a Seal of Excellence.
EIC says this initiative will assist these promising projects in securing alternative funding sources, including Recovery and Resilience Funds and European Regional Development Funds.
EIC Accelerator
The EIC Accelerator programme supports individual Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), particularly startups and spin-out companies, to develop and scale ground-breaking innovations.
The programme offers startups and SMEs grants of up to €2.5M combined with equity investments through the EIC Fund ranging from €0.5M to €15M.
In addition to financial support, all projects benefit from Business Acceleration Services. These services provide access to leading expertise, corporates, investors and ecosystem actors.
“Companies can submit their ideas to the EIC Accelerator at any time, which are evaluated within approximately four weeks. For ideas meeting the EIC criteria for excellence, impact and risk-level, companies are invited to prepare full applications to submit to one of the regular cut-off dates,” says EIC.
The next cut-off for EIC Accelerator full proposals is October 4, 2023.
8 companies from the Netherlands have been selected for the accelerator programme.
According to the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO), the eight winning Dutch startups will raise €37M (€19M in subsidies and €18M in investments) in funding in the second round of 2023 of the European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator programme.
“This means that the Netherlands has the largest number of winners in Europe,” says RVO.
The winning startups from the Netherlands are:
GeNEWity
HQ: Leiden
Recommended finance type: Grant First
GeNEWity develops groundbreaking therapy for the recovery of the thymus (also known as the thymus, an organ, ed.) and thus the adaptive immune system (that part of the immune system that reacts after contact with a pathogen).
Magneto
HQ: Delft
Recommended finance type: Grant First
Magneto‘s technology offers an alternative to producers of appliances for cooling and heating as well as waste heat to power conversion.
The Dutch company says its alternative has zero greenhouse gas emissions, saves up to 30 per cent of power consumption to their clients and has lower cost of ownership.
Morphotonics
HQ: Veldhoven
Recommended finance type: Grant First
Morphotonics is developing technology to scale up waveguide production for Augmented Reality (AR). The company’s creation was inspired by the Morpho butterfly’s nanotextured wings and light science.
Mu-G Knowledge Management BV
HQ: Delft
Recommended finance type: Blended Finance
PATS enables greenhouse farmers to significantly reduce and eliminate flying insect pest populations.
To combat pests, the company uses sound, light, and drones. These ‘fighters’ can also be used in orchards.
Orange Quantum Systems
HQ: Den Bosch
Recommended finance type: Grant First
Orange Quantum Systems delivers diagnostic systems to create better quantum chips. The company’s platform makes it possible to test multiple quantum chips simultaneously and faster.
Pamgene
HQ: Den Bosch
Recommended finance type: Blended Finance
Pamgene has developed new biomarker assays for personalised cancer treatment.
Stentit
HQ: Eindhoven
Recommended finance type: Blended Finance
Stentit has developed a stent of soluble nanofibers for the natural repair of blood vessels.
Thirona
HQ: Nijmegen
Recommended finance type: Grant First
Thirona is creating AI software that analyses and quantifies CT scans, helping pulmonologists determine the optimal treatment for their patients.
