The updated set of investment guidelines provides information to applicants and selected companies, as well as to potential co-investors, explaining in detail the investment approach and process. It includes the strategy and conditions under which the EIC Fund makes investment and divestment decisions, for those companies selected under the EIC Accelerator (blended finance and equity only) and EIC STEP calls.
Compared to the previous version, the guidelines include defence-related activities to mirror recent adjustments to the EIC work programme as well as the larger investment amounts following the introduction of the EIC STEP call. In addition, they provide improved alignment with the EIC work programmes on:
- Investment safeguards;
- Technology readiness levels (TRL);
- Follow-on investments;
- Intellectual property rights.
The investment guidelines ensure that the EIC investments fulfil the objectives to support high potential start-ups and SMEs to accelerate their scale up and to catalyse additional investors. This text is applicable to companies selected for the EIC Accelerator and the EIC STEP Scaleup. The investment guidelines relating to the Scaleup Europe Fund (SEF) will be provided separately following the establishment of this compartment in August 2026.
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