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Unclaimed
Discovery tool, not advice. Every figure is the published rule, not a decision on your case.
Grants

European Innovation Council Accelerator

EIC Accelerator

Status

Closes in 36 days

Applications close 2026-11-04.

Open now
Amount
€2,500,000

Up to EUR 2.5 million grant for technology development and market readiness, combined with an optional EIC Fund equity investment (typically EUR 0.5-10 million, and up to EUR 15 million in some cases) through 'blended finance'.

Funder

European Innovation Council (European Commission / EISMEA)

public · supranational

Deadline: Fixed cut-off dates — EIC Accelerator 2026 cut-offs at 17:00 Brussels time: 7 Jan, 4 Mar, 6 May, 8 Jul, 2 Sep, 4 Nov 2026. The 2 Sep 2026 cut-off has passed; next cut-off 4 November 2026.

Your odds
5.9%

Derived from official counts, 2024 October cut-off (results Feb 2025). This rate is measured post filter, so the odds from a standing start are lower.

Source

Effort
major

Major bid — written case, budget, possibly partners.

Who can apply

Single SMEs (including startups and small mid-caps for the investment component) established in an EU Member State or Horizon Europe associated country. Technology must be at TRL 5-8 for the grant.

How to apply

  1. Submit the short application (pitch deck, video and form) at any time via the EIC AI platform
  2. If successful, submit a full proposal before one of the published cut-offs
  3. Face-to-face (or remote) jury interview for shortlisted companies
  4. Grant agreement preparation and, for blended finance, EIC Fund due diligence

What you will need

Related reading: How grant deadlines actually work · The EIC Accelerator, explained

Apply on the funder's site

Source. https://eic.ec.europa.eu/eic-funding-opportunities/eic-accelerator_en

"EIC Accelerator: Scale-Up Grants & Investments for scaling up business. Deadlines: 7.01.2026 | 4.03.2026 | 6.05.2026 | 8.07.2026 | 2.09.2026 | 4.11.2026"

Verified on 25 September 2026

Source: eic.ec.europa.eu

Similar programmes

European Innovation Council Pathfinder

Open continuously

European Innovation Council (European Commission / EISMEA)

EIC Accelerator Challenges (thematic calls)

Closes in 36 days

European Innovation Council (EISMEA) / European Commission

European Innovation Council Pathfinder Challenges

Status not published

European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA) / European Commission, under Horizon Europe

European Innovation Council Transition

Status not published

European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA) / European Commission, under Horizon Europe

Creative Europe Culture strand

Usually opens in October and January

European Commission (EACEA), Creative Europe

European Innovation Council Pre-Accelerator

Status not published

European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA) / European Commission, under the Horizon Europe Widening (WIDERA) work programme

Paid, separate from Unclaimed

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