About This Fund
EIC Fund is the equity investment arm of the European Innovation Council (EIC), established in 2020 by the European Commission under the Horizon Europe research and innovation programme. Wholly owned by the European Union and operating with the investment advice of the European Investment Bank, the EIC Fund is one of Europe's largest public deep-tech venture investors, capitalised with over €4 billion to bridge the gap between public research grants and private venture capital for Europe's most innovative startups and scaleups.
The fund's investment strategy targets high-risk, high-impact deep-tech innovators across all technology verticals — including semiconductor innovation, synthetic biology, quantum computing, advanced materials, space technology, digital health, and climate technology — at stages from seed to growth. Individual investments range from €0.5 million to €30 million, with the highest allocations reserved for EIC STEP Scale-up participants. The EIC Fund always co-invests on a matching (1:1) basis with qualified private sector lead investors, with portfolio companies raising an average of 3.5 euros in private co-investment for every euro committed by the EIC Fund.
Since its establishment in 2020, the EIC Fund has completed more than 150 investment rounds, including over 60 in 2024 alone, and has collectively mobilised over €1.6 billion in private co-investment alongside its portfolio companies. The fund co-invests under the EIC Accelerator programme, which provides grants of up to €2.5 million alongside the equity component. The EIC Fund covers all EU member states and Horizon Europe associated countries, with a geographic priority on venture ecosystems that historically receive less private capital relative to their scientific output, making it a structurally important source of deep-tech deal flow for private co-investors across Europe.