The second EIC STEP Scale Up results of 2025
Welcome to Lira’s newsletter. The aim of this newsletter is to keep you informed about the EIC while providing insightful data and helpful tips from leading EIC experts.
In this issue
We will present a brief overview of the data following the second round of evaluations of the EIC STEP Scale Up funding scheme in 2025.
Q2 2025 results
19 proposals were submitted for the second round of evaluations. Among these, 5 were invited to the jury interview with high-level experts, representing 26% of the total proposals. This meant that 14 - 74% - were deemed inadmissible or ineligible for some reason or other. Of the 5 invited to the jury interview, 4 passed the evaluation phase and will proceed to the EIC Fund for investment decision, subject to due diligence. This accounts for 80% of those invited to the jury interview and 21% of the total proposal submitted.
The 4 selected companies each came from a different country: Bulgaria; Germany; Israel; and Spain. Among these four countries, Germany is the only country to have previously passed the evaluation phase and proceeded to the EIC Fund for an investment decision.
Q2 2025 winners
The four selected companies are listed below:
2025 cumulative results
Since the introduction of the STEP Scale Up funding scheme in the EIC Work Programme 2025, a total of 53 proposals have been evaluated. Among these, 27 were invited to the jury interview with high-level experts, representing 51% of the total proposals. This meant that 26 - 49% - were deemed inadmissible or ineligible for some reason or other. Of the 27 invited to the jury interview, 11 passed the evaluation phase and proceeded to the EIC Fund for investment decision, subject to due diligence. This accounts for 41% of those invited to the jury interview and 21% of the total proposal submitted.
The 11 selected companies have now come from 7 different countries: 3 from France; 2 from the Netherlands; 2 from Germany; and 1 each from Bulgaria, Finland, Israel, and Spain. For those of you who follow our EIC Accelerator reports, you may notice the top three is the same as for the EIC Accelerator.
Further analysis
In comparison to the EIC Accelerator funding scheme, the STEP Scale Up is considered for companies requiring larger equity funding rounds to further scale their businesses. Therefore, it may be seen as a viable scale-up funding option for previous EIC Accelerator winners. It is also focused on technologies and innovations within the following fields:
In the below table, we present the 11 companies that have passed the evaluation phase and proceeded to the EIC Fund for investment decision, their country of origin, what field of technology or innovation they are targeting, and whether they have previously been awarded EIC Accelerator funding. Of the 11 selected companies, 8 previously received EIC Accelerator funding - 73%.
We hope you found our latest newsletter insightful. Stay tuned!