Launched as part of the EIC Business Acceleration Services, the EIC Scaling Club was created with an ambitious goal in mind: to nurture Europe's most promising deep-tech success stories and help (at least) 20% of the member companies reach “unicorn” status.
The European Innovation Council's (EIC) Board President, Michiel Scheffer, explains why the organization pays such a big attention to the deep-tech sector:
“Deep-tech is the focus of the EIC, and it's crucial because that's where market failure is most apparent, and there's also a lack of funding.”
He also stresses the need for instruments to support the deep-tech sector at the EU member country level.
This goal can only become a reality with the support of the Club's partners—mentors, stakeholders (corporates, investors, and public agencies), and media representatives. These partners play a pivotal role in accelerating the growth of member companies through investment, mentoring, corporate collaboration, or enhancing their visibility. We sat down with some of our key partners to learn about their role and gather their insights on the European deep-tech landscape.
Access to innovators and giving back to the community
According to Anne Glover, co-founder and Chief Executive at Amadeus Capital Partners – one of EIC Scaling Club's stakeholders – the European deep-tech ecosystem doesn't need much to scale up to a global level.
“We have to create some eye-popping winners. If we can find five that stay sustainable and grow and demonstrate leadership globally, that would make a huge difference,” she says, hoping that some of these companies will come out of the EIC Scaling Club.
This mission of accelerating the growth of European deep-tech companies is one of the reasons public agencies, investors, and corporations are taking part in the EIC Scaling Club. But there are more reasons, including direct access to Europe's leading deep-tech companies across multiple industries and verticals.
“For our Stakeholders and partners, it's a way to build relationships with top technology investors, deep-tech entrepreneurs and operators, and corporate innovators,” explains Denitsa Nenkova, EIC Scaling Club Coordination & "Next-Gen Computing" Group Manager.
For mentors, it's about giving back to the European tech community. As Mikko Suonenlahti, EIC Scaling Club's Digital Security & Trust Group President and Mentor, puts it:
"For me, it's about giving back. I've been fortunate to have one US unicorn and one European unicorn. As I enter my fifth decade in this field, my job is to give back to Europe. I've had the privilege to be involved in similar programs and have coached many European technology founders and CEOs. I'm a strong believer that the outcome of our efforts will be highly professional investor presentations and financial plans. These will enable founders to approach VC funds, corporate venture capitalists, and family offices, securing funding for the next rounds. I'm very enthusiastic that we can achieve this."
About the EIC Scaling Club
The EIC Scaling Club is a curated community of 120+ European deep-tech scale-ups with the potential to build world-class businesses and solve major global challenges. It's a program where these scale-ups come together with investors, corporate innovators, and other industry stakeholders to spur growth.
The member companies are carefully selected from a pool of high-growth scale-ups that have benefitted from EIC financial schemes, other European and national innovation programs, and beyond.
Together with its members and partners, the EIC Scaling Club collects insights on the most relevant deep-tech company challenges and promising market opportunities. Four studies on deep-tech scale-ups' challenges – titled Go-To-Market Strategy, Strong Board, Investment Thesis, and Lead Investor – have already been published. To find these and other reports, visit the EIC Scaling Club website.
Want to become a part of this initiative? Follow the EIC Scaling Club on LinkedIn and X, and help us spread the word about our region's championing deep-tech innovations!
Learn more about the program at https://eicscalingclub.eu/.
DISCLAIMER: This information is provided in the interest of knowledge sharing and should not be interpreted as the official view of the European Commission, or any other organisation.