EIC, Eurostars and beyond: where to find growth funding for tech companies in 2026

A Slovak AI company. Fifteen people. Product on the market, first paying customers in Austria and the Czech Republic. The team knows they need €1.5 to €3 million to scale. But Slovak VC funds are small and mostly invest at early stages. A bank loan for a software company with no physical assets is hard to get. What's left?

More than most founders think. In 2026, the European Union runs several programmes that specifically fund growth in technology companies. Not research for the sake of research. Growth. Scaling. Cross-border expansion. Some of these programmes offer amounts that justify months of preparation.

In our overview of digitalization grants, we covered programmes for companies looking to digitalize their own operations (SIEA vouchers, EXPANDI, DIGITRANS). This article is for a different type of company: a product company that needs to fund growth.

EIC Accelerator: grant plus equity up to €17.5 million

The European Innovation Council (EIC) is Europe's largest programme for deep-tech and high-growth companies. In 2026, its budget exceeds €1.4 billion. The main instrument for scale-ups is the EIC Accelerator.

What it offers: a blended package of grant (up to €2.5 million) and equity investment (up to €15 million). Up to €17.5 million total. The grant does not need to be repaid. The equity investment comes from the EIC Fund, managed by an external fund manager.

Who's the ideal candidate: a company with a deep-tech product, a team capable of scaling across Europe, and clear market traction. EIC looks for companies solving technically hard problems with the potential to grow fast once the initial technology barrier is crossed.

Who it's not for: companies building standard SaaS products without a significant technological differentiator. If your product is a CRM with better UX, EIC isn't the right address. If it's an AI model for predictive medical diagnostics or a new battery material, you're in the right category.

Application success rates run around 5 to 8%. This is not a mass programme. Thousands of companies from across the EU apply each cycle; a few hundred get funded. From Slovakia, individual companies have succeeded in the Accelerator in recent years. On one hand, that's a small number. On the other: no other grant scheme in Europe will give a single company €10+ million in one round.

Preparing an application takes 3 to 6 months. You need a pitch deck, a detailed business plan, a financial model, an IP strategy, and technical documentation. EIC also requires an in-person pitch before an evaluator panel. If you decide to go this route, start preparation at least six months before the cut-off.

EIC Pathfinder: for companies in the research phase

If your product is still at an early stage (TRL 1 to 4, meaning concept or lab prototype), EIC Pathfinder is more relevant. Pathfinder funds research projects where the underlying technology principle isn't yet validated in the market.

Two variants: Pathfinder Open (any topic, grant up to €3 million for a consortium) and Pathfinder Challenges (thematically defined calls). Projects are typically consortia, requiring partners from multiple countries.

For a Slovak company, Pathfinder is interesting when you have a research collaboration with a university or institute in another EU country and a technology that's far from commercial deployment. It's not the programme for a company that wants to fund development of the next version of an existing product.

Eurostars: cross-border R&D for SMEs

Eurostars is a Eureka programme, co-funded by Horizon Europe and national agencies. It targets innovative small and medium enterprises that want to conduct R&D with a partner from another country.

Call 10 ran from January 16 to March 19, 2026. Another call is expected in autumn 2026. A typical project: a Slovak software company collaborates with an Austrian research organization to develop an AI module that integrates into an existing product. Budget: €500,000 to €1.5 million per project, split between partners.

The advantage of Eurostars over EIC: less competition and a shorter evaluation process. The project must be led by an SME (not a university) and must have a clear commercial output within two years of project completion. If you have a product on the market and want to add a research-intensive feature in collaboration with an international partner, Eurostars is the right format.

In Slovakia, SIEA is the national contact agency and co-funds the Slovak partner's share. Important: co-funding conditions vary by partner country. Before submitting, verify the terms with both national agencies.

European Startup & Scaleup Hubs

As part of its startup and scaleup strategy, the Commission is building a network of European Startup & Scaleup Hubs. These are regional centres connecting tech companies with investors, mentors, and institutional support.

This isn't a grant. It's an ecosystem. For Slovak companies, the value is access to foreign investors and partners who won't come to Bratislava on their own. The nearest hubs operate in Vienna and Prague. For a company considering expansion into the DACH region, accessing the Austrian or German ecosystem through a hub is faster than cold outreach.

Also watch InvestEU, which provides guarantees for venture capital and helps smaller VC funds invest in deep-tech companies. For the Slovak VC ecosystem, where funds are small and focused on pre-seed, InvestEU is a path to larger tickets.

The Slovak ecosystem

Before looking in Brussels, check what's available at home.

Slovak Investment Holding (SIH). Manages financial instruments from EU funds. For tech companies, the relevant tools are venture capital and quasi-equity instruments. SIH doesn't invest directly but operates programmes through which selected funds invest.

SIEA. Beyond vouchers (covered in our overview article), SIEA is also the national contact agency for Eurostars and other Eureka programmes.

SBA (Slovak Business Agency). Provides mentoring, incubation, and support for startups through programmes like Startup Sharks Tank and NPC. It's not financing, but it's access to mentoring and a network.

Local VC funds. Pre-seed and seed: Zero Gravity Capital, Tensor Ventures, Neulogy Ventures (currently not investing a new fund). For Series A, options in Slovakia are limited. Most Slovak tech companies look for Series A in Austria, the Czech Republic, or further afield.

Combining sources is a common and recommended strategy. SIEA voucher for a research collaboration, then Eurostars for international R&D, then EIC Accelerator for scaling. Each programme covers a different growth phase.

When to use EIC, when SIEA, when VC

The decision depends on three parameters: product stage, funding size, and speed.

Early stage (prototype, first tests) and you need €10,000 to €30,000: SIEA voucher. Fast approval, simple application, 85% co-funding.

Product on the market, looking for R&D collaboration with a foreign partner at €500,000 to €1.5 million: Eurostars. Moderate application effort, 4 to 6 month evaluation.

Deep-tech product with market potential, seeking €2 to €17.5 million: EIC Accelerator. Demanding application, low success rate, but the largest amounts in Europe.

Need money fast (within 3 months) and willing to give up equity: VC. No grant delivers money in 3 months. But VC takes equity in return, which grants don't (except for the EIC equity component).

Most successful companies combine grants and VC. Grants cover R&D and validation. VC covers go-to-market and growth. They're not competing sources. They're complementary.

How to prepare

EIC Accelerator typically has two cut-offs per year. For 2026, check the EIC portal for exact dates.

Eurostars will likely open another call in autumn 2026. Preparing an application including finding a partner takes 2 to 3 months.

Regardless of which programme you're considering, prepare:

A pitch deck that explains the problem, solution, team, market, and traction in 10 slides. Not 50.

A 3-to-5-year financial model with clear assumptions. EIC evaluators have seen hockey-stick charts. They want to see what the numbers are based on, not just an optimistic curve.

An IP strategy. If you don't have a patent, at least a clear plan for how you'll protect the technology from copying. Trade secret, first-mover advantage, network effects. Something that explains to an evaluator why competitors can't simply catch up.

A team. EIC looks at people as much as technology. If you have three founders and none of them has scaled a company before, consider an advisory board or an experienced hire before submitting.

Need help preparing an EIC, Eurostars, or other programme application? We do grant advisory and application preparation for technology companies. If you're not sure which programme fits, start with a consultation.

If your company is also considering expansion into other EU countries, read about what EU Inc. and the European Business Wallet will mean for cross-border business.