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June 2025 update - a new list of beneficiaries published

The results for the EIC STEP Scale Up’s latest cohort of beneficiaries were released in June 2025. We reviewed the profile of the selected companies (June + April 2025) looking at their fundraising history, age, investor landscape, IP performance and more. More details below...

 

EIC STEP Results June 2025

Source: Data published by the EIC

Who are the June 2025 beneficiaries

The EIC has selected the latest group of companies to benefit from the EIC Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP) Scale Up call. These companies are set to receive up to €90 million in equity investments, pending final decisions by the EIC Fund following due diligence.

From the initial 19 applications, five companies were shortlisted for interviews with independent high-level experts, and four have fulfilled all criteria to proceed to the investment decision stage.

The selected companies are advancing strategic technologies crucial to Europe:

These 4 beneficiaries join a previous list of 7 companies selected in April 2025. 

Overview - EIC STEP Scale-up 

The EIC STEP Scale-up is currently the largest funding stream of the EIC, introduced as main novelty of its 2025 Work Programme. It has a budget of €300 million in 2025 and a projected growth to €900 million over the period 2025-2027. This initiative aims to provide larger investments in companies developing strategic technologies to bring them to the market and reduce strategic dependencies.

The EIC STEP Scale Up scheme provides investments of between €10 and €30 million (per company) aiming to leverage private co-investment and achieve financing rounds of €50 to €150 million or more. This addresses the market gap in such financing rounds which are critical for scaling breakthrough innovations in Europe. 

The EIC STEP Scale-up will help address a market gap in deep tech scale-up funding in Europe, targeting digital technologies, clean and resource-efficient technologies including net-zero, and biotechnologies.

Read more: EIC STEP Scale Up Overview

 

Geographic profile by country 

 

Country Breakdown of EIC STEP Companies - June Results

Source: Winnovart charts based on initial data published by the EIC

 

Fundraising history

While most of the companies selected so far have a significant fundraising history ($ 90m+), there are exceptions too ...

 

Total Funding (in $) Raised by EIC STEP Companies - June Results 

Source: Winnovart charts based on initial data published by the EIC

 

The same applies to the number of investment/ fundraising rounds.  This variation reflects a certain level  diversity in capital-raising trajectories across the STEP portfolio ...

 

Number of Investment Rounds per EIC STEP Company - June Results

Source: Winnovart charts based on initial data published by the EIC

 

The investors behind the EIC STEP portfolio ...

A geographically diverse set of investors led by United States (27), followed by France (16) and Germany (14) and complemented by China, Japan, Singapore, and United Kingdom. While the number of companies we are reviewing is still limited (11) this geographic diversity could be an indication of the growth capital availability in Europe ... a source of inspiration for the future of EIC STEP, or maybe for the Scale-up Europe Fund ?

 

Country Breakdown of Investors in the EIC STEP Companies - June Results

Source: Winnovart charts based on initial data published by the EIC

 

 

Company Age

Mostly early stage companies, with one or two outliers ...

 

EIC STEP Company Ages - June Results 

Source: Winnovart charts based on initial data published by the EIC

 

Age/ history is not necessarily a measure for past fundraising performance ...

 

Company Age versus Funding Raised by EIC STEP Company - June Results

Source: Winnovart charts based on initial data published by the EIC

 

Sector analysis

 

 

Sector Breakdown of EIC STEP Companies - June Results V2

Source: Winnovart charts based on initial data published by the EIC

 

IP profile analysis

IP data is not easy to collect and analyse. Whilst likely not 100% accurate the initial IP activity/ performance review  of selected companies shows significant variations across the portfolio. These are the boldest Deeptech investments of the EIC Fund so far ...

 

Total Number of IPs by EIC STEP Scale Up Selected Companies - June Results

Source: Winnovart charts based on initial data published by the EIC

 

Based on the data we reviewed (originating in google patents), out of 121 patents across the whole portfolio of companies, 58% appear as approved or pending, the rest (42%) are categorised as unknown, potentially due to incomplete disclosure or early-stage filings. This distribution could underscore a healthy balance between established IP assets and active innovation, highlighting the dynamic R&D environment among STEP-backed scale-ups.

 

IP Performance of EIC STEP Scale Up Selected Companies - June Results

Source: Winnovart charts based on initial data published by the EIC

 

 

Research Methodology & Disclaimer:  Based on information published by the EIC we have independently reviewed the profiles of the selected companies from various perspectives (geography, fundraising history, investor profiles, IP profile etc).  The data used in Winnovart's reports comes from various platforms we are using and have access to.  It represents our own interpretation of the data we are able to find, with no liability for those respective platforms. At Winnovart, we are  using  and supporting jolt.ninja, Jolt Capital's proprietary AI platform, as part of our ecosystem partnership with the leading European growth investor. We are also using data from platforms like deal room, pitchbook, crunchbase, google patents etc, subject to access and availability limitations.

 

Read more: EIC STEP Scale Up Overview

 

Resources

  1. EIC STEP Scale Up Announcement - June Results: https://eic.ec.europa.eu/news/new-companies-put-forward-major-investments-under-eic-step-scale-scheme-2025-06-12_en 
  2. EIC STEP Scale Up Announcement - April Results: https://eic.ec.europa.eu/news/first-companies-put-forward-major-investments-under-eic-step-scale-scheme-2025-04-03_en 
  3. EIC STEP Scale Up - April 2025 Update, first Results by Winnovart: https://landing.winnovart.com/eic-step-scale-up-april-2025-results 
  4. EIC STEP Scale Up Overview: https://landing.winnovart.com/en-gb/eic-step-scale-up-overview 

 

At Winnovart, it is part of our mission to bridge the gap between government funding and venture capital in Europe. 

We believe government funding plays a crucial role in creating and developing ecosystems that drive innovation, foster growth, and reduce regional disparities across Europe. The synergy between government funding and private investment has consistently demonstrated positive effects on recipient companies and their ecosystems. Our goal is to help innovative companies, private investors, and funding agencies maximize the benefits of this synergy.

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Disclaimer:  This is an independent resource provided by Winnovart, based on publicly available information. Engaging with us may result in a direct commercial proposal related to advisory services or equity investments.  

 

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