Thanks to its “smart money”, the SME Instrument programme bridges the critical investment gap in early-stage innovation and makes market-creating innovation easier in Europe. The 2019 edition of the SME Instrument report reveals the ins and outs of Europe’s most wanted innovation funding programme for small and medium sized businesses and presents you with some of its best successes. Discover the top 5 emerging trends from the portfolio.
Deep tech
Deep tech is that set of cutting-edge and disruptive technologies based on scientific discoveries, engineering, mathematics, physics and medicine. New technological applications that can have a profound impact on people’s and society’s lives. All SMEs are technological, many are hi-tech, but some are more so than others. 1089 deep tech companies float on this portfolio edition. The EIC program offered € 484 million in funding and a total of € 1162.7 extra Post-EIC private investment has been leveraged.
Industry 4.0
While many organizations might still be in denial about how Industry 4.0 could impact their business or struggling to find the talent or knowledge to know how to best adopt it for their unique use cases, several others are implementing changes today and preparing for a future where smart machines will improve their business. The EIC pilot has helped over 149 companies get a head start in this race with a total of € 57.2 million in funding and € 144 million of Post-EIC private investment.
Precision medicine and the future of healthcare
Precision medicine allows doctors to select treatments based on a genetic understanding of the patient’s disease, and to create personalized treatment plans. This will also reduce the cost of treatment by eliminating ineffective treatment plans at outset based on data insights. The portfolio gathers 82 companies that work on this emerging approach. They received a total of € 55.2 million in funding and an extra of € 225 million Post-EIC private investment.
Space 2.0: bringing space tech down to Earth
Engineers embrace risk. Private investors take stakes in aerospace businesses. Time horizons compress from decades to months and start-up companies, funded by venture capital and small business grants, are growing based on existing patents and infrastructures, like the Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite network. 148 NewSpace companies are in the portfolio and they received a total of € 70 million from the EIC Program.
Smart cities: The end of the utopian dream of the future
Data-driven smart cities are rapidly emerging across various parts of the world, becoming more attractive places to live. Many organizations involved in smart services are privately owned and use their own proprietary service platforms. The portfolio has 46 companies working in this domain. They received a total of € 21.9 million in funding and an extra of € 41.5 million Post-EIC private investment.
The 2019 report offers first-hand insights into growth trends and profiles of the companies funded under the EIC pilot. The report presents cumulative data from 2014 to end of 2018.
Interested in more thorough analysis? Download the full 2019 Innovation Kitchen report
Discover how to get funding from the EIC Accelerator
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.