EIC Accelerator success rate and results, cut-off by cut-off

EIC Accelerator results since November 2023: full proposals, interviews and winners per round, stage-by-stage success rates and when results are due.

Measured from the full-proposal stage, the EIC Accelerator funds only a small minority of applicants: in the four rounds since November 2023 where EIC announcements give both the number of full proposals and the number of winners, between 3.9% and 7.0% were selected. The jury interview is where the odds have shifted most, from 16.5–19.6% of interviewed companies in 2023–2024 to about 50% in October 2025 and 44% in the first 2026 session.

The counts on this page come from the European Innovation Council (EIC) and the EU Funding & Tenders portal, as of October 2026; the percentages are our own arithmetic on those counts. For the application steps themselves, see our guide on how to apply for the EIC Accelerator.

How the EIC reports results

An application passes three gates: a short proposal, a full proposal assessed remotely, and a face-to-face interview with an EIC jury. After each interview session the EIC posts a results announcement on its news page with the number of companies selected, the number that reached the interview and a list of the winners.

Some announcements also give the number of full proposals submitted, and for each autumn cut-off since 2023 the EIC has published that figure shortly after the deadline. For the March 2025 round and the first two 2026 batches, the results announcements do not give it. None of the announcements gives per-round counts of short proposals, so an end-to-end rate from the first step cannot be worked out from EIC data.

That is why a single “success rate” can mean three different things: the share of full proposals that reach the interview, the share of interviewees that win, or the share of full proposals that end up funded. The lists below give all three wherever the EIC published the inputs.

Funding totals are not like-for-like either. Some announcements give requested amounts, some estimate the equity part from the EIC Fund’s average investment of €3.72 million per company, and the June 2026 one separates grants from equity provisioned for later. Company counts are the safer comparison.

Results by cut-off, November 2023 to March 2026

8 November 2023 cut-off (results 28 February 2024)

Full proposals: 1,083 (EIC, November 2023)
Reached interview: 242; selected: 42 (EIC, February 2024)
Funding: up to €285 million; 62% of winners on blended finance; 193 Seals of Excellence
Our calculation: 22.3% reached interview, 17.4% of interviewees selected, 3.9% of full proposals funded

13 March 2024 cut-off (results 15 July 2024)

Full proposals: 969; reached interview: 347; selected: 68 (EIC, July 2024)
Funding: an estimated €411 million, including up to €165 million in grants; 96% on blended finance; 273 Seals of Excellence
Our calculation: 35.8% reached interview, 19.6% of interviewees selected, 7.0% funded

3 October 2024 cut-off (results 17 February 2025)

Full proposals: 1,211, the most since the EIC’s launch, requesting €8.875 billion (EIC, October 2024)
Reached interview: 431; selected: 71 (EIC, February 2025)
Funding: up to €161 million in grants plus an estimated €226 million in equity; 10 grant-only and 5 equity-only awards; 330 Seals of Excellence
Our calculation: 35.6% reached interview, 16.5% of interviewees selected, 5.9% funded

12 March 2025 cut-off (results 30 June 2025)

Full proposals: not stated in the results announcement
Reached interview: 150; selected: 40 (EIC, June 2025)
Funding: almost €230 million including estimated equity; 87% on blended finance; 109 Seals of Excellence and 20 STEP Seals
Our calculation: 26.7% of interviewees selected

1 October 2025 cut-off (results 17 February 2026)

Full proposals: 923, requesting almost €7 billion (EIC, October 2025); 752 went to Accelerator Open and 171 to the five Challenges (Funding & Tenders portal)
Reached interview: 121; selected: 61 (EIC, February 2026)
Funding: €467 million requested; 85% on blended finance; 60 Seals of Excellence and 23 STEP Seals
Our calculation: 13.1% reached interview, 50.4% of interviewees selected, 6.6% funded

7 January and 4 March 2026 batches (results 15 June 2026)

Full proposals: not stated in the results announcement
Reached interview: 87; selected: 38 (EIC, June 2026)
Funding: €90 million in grants, plus €202 million provisioned for possible equity; 84% eligible for blended finance; 95 Seals of Excellence and 12 STEP Seals
Our calculation: 43.7% of interviewees selected

The 38 winners come from 16 countries, with the most from France, the UK, Germany, Sweden and Switzerland, and 21% are women-led. The EIC’s list of selected companies includes planqc (Germany, neutral-atom quantum computing), Novatron Fusion Group (Sweden, fusion reactor design) and BTRY (Switzerland, thin-film solid-state batteries). Several others work on batteries, solar cells or the recycling of metals and nylon, areas we follow in Climate Tech.

What the numbers show

Overall odds have stayed in a narrow band. In the three 2024–2025 rounds with complete data (March 2024, October 2024 and October 2025), the share of full proposals funded stayed between 5.9% and 7.0%: 200 of 3,103 in total, about 6.4%.

The filter has moved from the jury to the remote stage. In 2024 about 36% of full proposals reached an interview and fewer than one in five interviewees won. In October 2025, 13% were invited and half of them won. Under the 2026 work programme, the shortlist is capped: only the top-ranked proposals whose requests add up to about 2.5 times the available grant budget are invited, and the grant budget is spread roughly equally across interview sessions. Seals now go both to interviewees who miss out and to proposals that pass the 13/15 threshold without an invitation, so the first 2026 session produced 95 Seals alongside 38 awards.

Fewer winners per year. The two 2024 cut-offs produced 139 selected companies (68 and 71), the two 2025 cut-offs 101 (40 and 61). For 2026, the work programme sets aside €634 million for the Accelerator call, of which €253 million is for grants (€165 million Open, €88 million Challenges), as of its June 2026 version.

Challenges are the smaller route. In October 2025, 171 of 923 full proposals went to the Challenges; in October 2024, 190 of 1,211 went to seven Challenge topics.

When the next results are due

As of October 2026, full proposals are batched at 17:00 Brussels time on six dates in 2026: 7 January, 4 March, 6 May, 8 July, 2 September and 4 November. One jury session follows every second batch, so results come in three rounds a year. Panel results arrive about 8–9 weeks after batching and interview results about 2–3 weeks after the interview week, according to the EIC Accelerator page.

6 May and 8 July batches: the second 2026 session. As of 29 October 2026, the EIC had not announced the selected companies.
2 September and 4 November batches: the third session. The 2 September batch is the first to include dual-use proposals. Panel results for the 4 November batch are due around the turn of the year, so jury results cannot come before January 2027. The EIC says it publishes tentative interview dates on its website; as of 29 October 2026 its Accelerator page did not list them.

For comparison, the October 2024 and October 2025 cut-offs had jury interviews scheduled for the second half of January, and their results came out on 17 February 2025 and 17 February 2026. The 2026 process differs, and the work programme allows cut-offs to be delayed by up to two months, so read this as a guide, not a forecast. Short proposals submitted after the 4 November 2026 closing go to the 2027 call, which the portal says opens in November 2026; 2027 batching dates will be set in the 2027 work programme.

Where to check official results

The EIC news page carries each results announcement and a list of selected companies with name, project acronym, financing type, website and country.
The Funding & Tenders portal page for the short-proposal call has posted submission counts for some cut-offs, broken down by Open and Challenge topic.
Selection is not yet a contract: the EIC’s lists say the final decision is taken only when grant preparation is finalised.

Funding news from European startups runs in our Startups section.

Frequently asked questions

What is the EIC Accelerator success rate?

In the four rounds since November 2023 where the EIC published both full-proposal and selection counts, 3.9% to 7.0% of full proposals were funded. At the interview stage, 16.5–19.6% of companies won in 2023–2024, against about 50% in October 2025 and 44% in the first 2026 session.

How many companies get EIC Accelerator funding each year?

The two 2024 cut-offs produced 139 selected companies and the two 2025 cut-offs produced 101. The first 2026 interview session, covering the January and March batches, selected 38.

When will EIC Accelerator results for the 4 November 2026 cut-off be out?

The 4 November batch goes to interview together with the 2 September batch. Panel results are due 8–9 weeks after batching, so jury results cannot arrive before January 2027; as of 29 October 2026 the EIC had not published the interview dates.

Where can I find the list of EIC Accelerator winners?

Each results announcement on the EIC news page links to a list of selected companies. The latest, published on 15 June 2026, covers the January and March 2026 batches.

What happens to strong proposals that are not funded?

They receive a Seal of Excellence, plus a STEP Seal for Challenge proposals, which the EIC says helps them find other funding, including EU regional funds. In the October 2024 round, 330 Seals went out alongside 71 awards.