1,000+ Opportunities
Find the right grant
Search federal, foundation, and corporate grants with AI — or browse by agency, topic, and state.
This listing may be outdated. Verify details at the official source before applying.
Find similar grantsEIC Accelerator Challenges 2026 is sponsored by European Innovation Council (EIC). The EIC Accelerator Challenges supports companies, particularly start-ups and SMEs, to scale up high-impact innovations with the potential to create new markets or disrupt existing ones in identified areas of strategic relevance.
Get a weekly digest of new grants like this
A free weekly digest of new foundation and federal funding opportunities as they're added to Granted. Unsubscribe anytime.
Or search similar grants →Extracted from the official opportunity page/RFP to help you evaluate fit faster.
38 start-ups and SMEs secure EIC support in latest round of the EIC Accelerator - European Innovation Council 38 start-ups and SMEs secure EIC support in latest round of the EIC Accelerator European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency The European Innovation Council (EIC) has selected 38 innovative start-ups and SMEs to receive funding following its latest evaluation round.
Out of 87 proposals that reached the interview stage, these companies were chosen for their transformative technologies and strong commercial promise, securing a mix of grant and equity support.
The total proposed funding amount for grants to the selected companies is €90* million, with 84% of beneficiaries eligible for blended finance—a combination of grants and equity investment—while others secured either grant-only or equity-only support. The selected companies represent 16 EU and associated countries, with the highest number coming from France, United Kingdom, Germany, Sweden and Switzerland.
21% of the companies are led by women in key leadership roles such as CEO, CTO, or CSO.
Below are a few examples of breakthrough technologies from among the recipients: Company Amatera Biosciences (project CellTera) - accelerating crop genetics with the first automated platform for single cell regeneration and early screening Company BTRY (project BTRY) - industrialising an energy-dense solid-state battery that can be charged in one minute Company COGNIBOTICS (project HKM1800) - empowering logistics and manufacturing with cooperative hybrid-kinematic robots Company Microamp Solutions (project Microamp Any-G) – a wireless platform giving access to ultra-high-speed and zero-latency connectivity, outperforming all traditional network solutions.
Company Planeteers (project React Carbon) – developing reactor-based enhanced rock weathering system with measurement, reporting and verification for carbon capture and storage The grant agreements for most selected companies are expected to be finalised within the next three months. Equity investments will follow based on each company’s individual development and funding strategy.
Managed by the EIC Fund – the EU’s flagship deep-tech investment vehicle – the equity component often draws substantial additional capital from private investors, frequently leveraging the EIC’s contribution by a factor of three or more.
A further 95 applications that were assessed above the threshold either at the remote stage or at the interview, but for which there was insufficient funding available, will be awarded a Seal of Excellence .
In addition, all 12 companies that reached the threshold under the five EIC Accelerator challenges, regardless of whether they were eventually chosen for funding support, will receive a STEP Seal - a quality label that is granted to projects that contribute to at least one of the objectives of the Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP). These recognitions will facilitate them access to complementary or alternative EU funding.
List of selected companies The EIC Accelerator supports start-ups and small businesses with grant funding of up to €2. 5 million, complemented by equity investments from the EIC Fund ranging between €1 million and €10 million. Higher amounts are available under the EIC STEP Scale-up scheme, which allows for equity support of up to €30 million.
Beyond financial support, all funded projects gain access to Business Acceleration Services, connecting them with top-level experts, investors, corporates, and innovation ecosystem players. Applications to the EIC Accelerator can be submitted at any time. Submitted proposals are grouped into monthly batches, with evaluations starting in the first week of each month.
Applicants receive the results of the short proposal assessment within 4 to 6 weeks from the start of the respective batch evaluation. If a proposal meets the EIC’s standards for excellence, impact, and high risk, companies are invited to submit a full proposal for evaluation. They are batched six times per year.
Check the EIC website for exact dates. *This amount includes only the grant support. A further amount of €202 million is provisioned for potential equity investments.
Publication date 15 June 2026 Author European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency
According to the current listing, eligibility includes: Start-ups and SMEs from EU Member States or Associated Countries. Confirm the full requirements in the official notice before applying.
EIC Accelerator Challenges 2026 is funded by European Innovation Council (EIC). Verify program details on the funder's official page before applying.
This listing is flagged as international in scope. Check the official notice for country-specific restrictions before applying.
Applications go through the funder's official portal — the Apply Now link on this page goes there directly.
The European Innovation Council Pathfinder Challenge DeepRAP (Deep Reasoning, Abstraction, and Planning) funds breakthrough research in cognitive AI at the earliest technology readiness levels (TRL 1-3). Awards of up to EUR 4 million support projects exploring fundamental advances in AI reasoning, abstraction, and planning capabilities that go beyond current pattern-recognition approaches. The challenge seeks research into AI systems capable of genuine logical reasoning, abstract thought, hierarchical planning, and transfer learning across domains — capabilities that current large language models and deep learning systems struggle to achieve reliably. Projects should propose novel architectures, algorithms, or theoretical frameworks that could enable AI systems to reason about novel situations, form and manipulate abstract concepts, and plan complex multi-step strategies. Like other EIC Pathfinder challenges, this programme does not require large consortia, making it accessible to individual researchers, small teams, and startups. The deadline is October 28, 2026.
The European Innovation Council Pathfinder Challenge on Physical AI funds visionary research in embedded intelligence for autonomous robotics at the earliest technology readiness levels (TRL 1-3). Awards of up to EUR 4 million support projects exploring how AI can be physically embedded into robotic systems to achieve truly autonomous behavior in unstructured real-world environments. The challenge focuses on embodied intelligence — AI systems that learn and adapt through physical interaction with their environment rather than purely through data-driven approaches. Unlike most EU programmes, the EIC Pathfinder does not require large consortia, making it accessible to individual researchers, small university teams, and startups pursuing breakthrough concepts. This ARPA-style programme emphasizes high-risk, high-reward research that could fundamentally reshape autonomous robotics. The deadline is October 28, 2026. This is distinct from the EIC Pathfinder DeepRAP Challenge (focused on reasoning, abstraction, and planning in cognitive AI) and from Horizon Europe robotics calls that target higher TRL levels.
The FY2026 Bus Safety, Accessibility, and Innovation Research Program closes September 28. Universities, agencies, and startups are all eligible to lead — but every team must include a transit vehicle manufacturer in a prominent role, and FTA already cancelled a nearly identical NOFO in 2024 without making a single award.
Read articleThe FY2026 Agriculture Innovation Center Demonstration Program posted September 9 with a January 31, 2027 deadline. It is the first competition under a rule codified in 2024, the award floor is $600,000, and the single most common way to lose is to upload your application to Grants.gov.
Read articleThe Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund started at $1.5 billion for open RAN. Congress rescinded $850 million, NTIA canceled Round 3, and what remains is a $53 million final round pointed at AI-native radio access networks — with a $25 million per-project ceiling, a mandatory 50 percent cost share, and rolling awards beginning this fall.
Read article