FAQ answer

Why do the 22 equity-only companies have no EC grant in the EIC Accelerator dataset?

EIC Accelerator and EIC Fund Investment Statistics: Grant Distribution, Equity Commitments, Funding Gaps, and Leverage by Sector

Cross-referencing against CORDIS confirms that 21 of the 22 equity-only companies had already received a prior EIC grant, making them ineligible for a second EC grant under programme rules.

Eight had a prior H2020 SME Instrument grant and entered the equity-only track directly. Nine were originally announced as blended finance but had their grant stripped because prior SME Instrument eligibility blocked a new grant. Five returned after a prior Horizon Europe EIC Accelerator grant.

Only one company has no confirmed prior grant and represents the only genuinely grant-free equity-only case across all 22.