19 Mar 2024
EIC publishes Impact Report 2023
The European Innovation Council (EIC) presented its 'European Innovation Council Impact Report 2023' on 18 March 2024. This report provides an overview of the impacts delivered by the innovators funded by the European Innovation Council (EIC) with a €10 billion budget, to identify, support and scale up breakthrough technologies and deeptech start-ups. It focuses on the “Horizon Europe EIC portfolio” of over 500 start-ups, 275 advanced research projects, and 140 projects commercialising research results funded since 2021 up to call outcomes announced until the end of 2023. It also assesses the longer-term impacts of the “full EIC portfolio”, which includes projects and companies funded under the pilot phase of the EIC (from 2018 to 2020) and its predecessor SME Instrument Phase 2 and Future and Emerging Technology projects (since 2014).
According to the report, key impacts to date of the EIC include:
- An overall portfolio value of EIC supported companies of nearly €70 billion, an increase of over €20 billion in just over a year;
- Impact on scaling up companies, with over 150 “centaurs” (valuation above of €100 million), 15 of whom have a valuation above €500 million including 8 over €1 billion (unicorns);
- EIC companies averaging 35% employment growth and 68% revenue growth in the first 2 years following EIC support;
- Attracting over €12 billion of follow-on investments, primarily from venture capital, corporates, and national promotional banks.
- 1686 unique innovations generated from EIC research projects (Pathfinder and predecessors);
- EIC companies and projects matched to corporates, procurers and potential investors resulting in over 125 signed deals.
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