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Program guide

The EIC Accelerator guide: grants, equity investment and the next cut-off date

Last verified: 2 October 2026

The EIC Accelerator is a funding programme under Horizon Europe for start-ups and SMEs developing and scaling up game-changing innovations. This guide summarizes who can apply, what it funds, the 2026 application calendar and how to apply, based only on the European Innovation Council's own pages.

Who can apply

Single start-ups and SMEs (including spin-outs), small mid-caps with up to 499 employees that need rapid scale-up (these can apply for the investment component only), and natural persons or legal entities intending to set up an SME or mid-cap can apply.

Applicants need to come from an EU Member State or a country associated with Horizon Europe. Applicants from third countries may relocate their company to become eligible, but this must happen before the full application (Step 2); applicants from the United Kingdom can only apply for the grant-only scheme.

You may submit only one application to the EIC Accelerator at a time; you can submit an additional one after you receive the results of the first.

What you get

A grant component below €2.5 million for innovation activities (technology readiness level 6-8), to be completed within 24 months; this grant-only option is provided once during the 2021-2027 Horizon Europe period.

An investment component of €1-10 million (higher amounts are available under STEP ScaleUp), as blended finance combining a grant with direct equity or quasi-equity such as convertible loans, or as an investment-only option for companies that do not need a grant.

Access to Business Acceleration Services: coaches, mentors, training, global partners and the EIC's innovation ecosystem and peer network.

For 2026, the EIC Accelerator Challenges (pre-defined topics) carry an overall budget of €220 million, and the EIC Accelerator Open (any field of technology) carries €414 million.

Calendar

Short proposals (Step 1) can be submitted at any time; they are batched for evaluation on the first Tuesday of every month at 5pm Brussels time, assessed remotely by four EIC expert evaluators, with feedback typically within 4-6 weeks.

Once your short proposal gets a GO, you submit a full proposal (Step 2) to one of the 2026 batching dates: 7 January, 4 March, 6 May, 8 July, 2 September or 4 November 2026. You get the remote-stage results within 8-9 weeks of your batching date.

After every second batch, the EIC organizes interview sessions with the EIC Jury for top-ranked proposals; interview results follow within 2-3 weeks of the interview week.

What the application asks

Step 1, the short proposal: a 12-page form summarizing your innovation, potential market and team, a pitch deck of up to ten slides, and a video pitch of up to three minutes featuring the core team members (up to three people).

Step 2, the full proposal: a 20-page form that expands on the short proposal, a pitch deck, an implementation plan, financial information, Letters of Intent, a Freedom-to-Operate (FTO) analysis and a 3-minute video pitch, submitted on the EU Funding & Tenders portal.

The full proposal is assessed by a technology expert and an evaluation panel of at least three experts; you get an online interview with the technology expert, and the top-ranked proposals (about 2.5 times the available grant budget) are invited to an interview with the EIC Jury.

How getfund helps

getfund checks your startup's country, company type and technology readiness level against the EIC Accelerator's own eligibility rules.

Radar watches for the next batching date and alerts you with enough lead time to prepare your short or full proposal.

getfund helps you draft answers to the short and full proposal questions based on your profile; the browser extension fills the EU Funding & Tenders portal forms with your approval, but it never submits on your behalf. You always make the final call and press submit yourself.

Frequently asked questions

When is the next EIC Accelerator full-proposal cut-off?
4 November 2026, the last of the EIC's published 2026 batching dates (7 January, 4 March, 6 May, 8 July, 2 September, 4 November).
How much funding can I get from the EIC Accelerator?
A grant component below €2.5 million for innovation activities, and/or an investment component of €1-10 million (higher under STEP ScaleUp), as a blend of grant and equity or quasi-equity, or as investment only.
Can founders outside the EU apply?
Applicants from countries associated with Horizon Europe can apply directly; applicants from other third countries may relocate their company to become eligible, but must do so before the full application. UK applicants can only apply for the grant-only scheme.
What does the short proposal application ask for?
A 12-page form on your innovation, market and team, a pitch deck of up to ten slides, and a 3-minute video pitch from up to three core team members.
Will getfund submit my EIC Accelerator application for me?
No. getfund helps you draft your proposal answers and its browser extension fills the EU Funding & Tenders portal forms with your approval, but you always press submit yourself.

Official sources