Scale-up Track

Request your free Scale Report

For companies raising above cascade scale, typically EUR 5-30M. We map your route across the three EIC instruments — the Accelerator, STEP Scale Up and STEP Scale Up Defence — and come back in writing within 2 working days, including an honest no-go where that is the answer.

Answer in your own language. We do the translation into English for the application itself. We work entirely in writing: no calls unless you ask for one. Only the first six fields are required, but the more you tell us, the sharper the report.

Which instrument are you aiming at? *

This decides which questions matter. Arrived through a button? Your choice is already selected and you can change it. Not sure is a perfectly good answer.

Company

Your name *

Work email *

Legal entity *

The entity that would apply, plus its registration number if you have it to hand.

Country of establishment *

Headcount (FTE)

Under 250 counts as an SME; under 500 as a small mid-cap. Both can qualify, on different terms.

Last-year revenue and current runway

Runway in months. We ask because financial standing is an exclusion ground in its own right, independent of how good the technology is.

Ownership and control

Shareholders above 10%, and whether there is direct or indirect control from outside the EU or associated countries.

Technology

What do you build, and what makes it technically distinctive? *

One paragraph is enough.

TRL today, and how you evidence it

Test reports, pilots, operational deployment. A claimed TRL without evidence is the most common reason a strong application still fails.

Certification or approval pathway

Which regime, which stage, expected duration and cost. Leave blank if none applies.

IP position

Ownership, patents, and whether a freedom-to-operate analysis exists.

Market

Civil versus defence mix

Revenue and pipeline today, and where you want it. A primarily defence product points to the Defence route.

Is there a credible civil business case alongside the defence application?

Relevant for whether you qualify as dual-use rather than primarily defence.

Traction

Key customers, letters of intent, pilots.

Funding

Total capital need *

And roughly how it splits across certification, industrialisation and market entry.

Preferred form, and acceptable dilution

Grant, equity, debt or a mix. Note that both STEP routes are equity-only: there is no grant component.

Existing investors and previous rounds

Is there one qualified investor willing to pre-commit at least 20% of the round, in writing?

This decides the route. Both STEP instruments require it, and the 20% must come from a single investor: a syndicate that adds up to 20% does not meet the condition. Without it, a STEP application is not viable and we will say so.

Can the company carry 30% co-financing on grant work packages?

This decides the route. The Accelerator grant covers 70% of eligible costs, so the remaining 30% is yours to fund.

History and timing

Previous EU applications: programme, year, outcome

This decides the route. After three failed EIC Accelerator attempts a company is excluded from further attempts across Horizon Europe, so we need to know where you stand before spending an attempt.

Hard deadlines driving your timing

Runway, orders, a certification window.

Who decides, and who is our written contact?

Anything else we should know

We reply in writing within 2 working days. Your details stay with us and are used only to prepare your report.

The Scale Report is free, commits you to nothing, and reaches you within five working days of a complete intake. If it concludes there is a route worth pursuing, the next step is a paid Funding Blueprint: €7,450 for the grant route, €11,900 when the full capital stack has to be covered. You decide after reading the Report; nothing is charged before that point.