Newsletter › Issue #1

Issue #1: Two EIC deadlines on 28 Oct + 8 EU calls for startups & SMEs

EIC Pathfinder & Defence close in 2 weeks, the next Accelerator cut-off is 17 Dec, and new calls run into 2027.

Published 15 October 2026

Also published on Substack: https://eufundingradar.substack.com/p/eu-funding-radar-1

This week in 30 seconds

• 2 EIC deadlines on 28 Oct: Pathfinder Challenges (€0.5M–4M grants) and STEP Scale Up Defence (€10M–30M equity).
• Women founders: the European Prize for Women Innovators closes 1 Dec (prizes of €20k–100k).
• Scaling deep tech? The next EIC Accelerator cut-off is 17 Dec.
• New for 2027: startup hubs, AI cybersecurity for SMEs, access to testing facilities, and an SME security call opening in May.

Week of 15 October 2026 · EU grants & funding calls for startups and SMEs

Welcome to the first issue of EU Funding Radar. Each week we go through the EU Funding & Tenders Portal and pick out the calls that matter for startups, SMEs and the people who advise them. This week has two big EIC deadlines at the end of October, the next EIC Accelerator cut-off in December, and several new Horizon Europe and Digital Europe calls that run into 2027.

All figures come from the official portal (data pulled 15 Oct 2026). Always check the topic page before applying, because deadlines and conditions can change.

⏰ Closing soon

Difficulty tags: Beginner-friendly = simple application, open to individuals or single companies; Needs consortium = you must apply with partners; Competitive = high-profile scheme with many applicants and low success rates.

📋 This week's calls

1. EIC Pathfinder Challenges 2026

Difficulty: Competitive

Good fit if… you're a research team or deep-tech startup working on energy harvesting materials, healthy-ageing biotech or trustworthy reasoning AI.

• Programme: Horizon Europe – European Innovation Council (EIC Grants)
• Call ID: HORIZON-EIC-2026-PATHFINDERCHALLENGES-01 (topics -01 Advanced Materials for Miniaturised Energy Harvesting Systems, -02 Biotechnology for Healthy Ageing, -03 DeepRAP: Deep Reasoning, Abstraction & Planning towards trustworthy Cognitive AI)
• What it funds: Early-stage, high-risk research toward breakthrough technologies in three set challenge areas. For example, DeepRAP aims at trustworthy cognitive AI systems reaching TRL 4.
• Who qualifies: Consortia or single legal entities established in an EU Member State or Associated Country, such as universities, research organisations, SMEs, start-ups and natural persons. Mid-caps and large companies cannot apply as single beneficiaries.
• Funding: €0.5M–€4M per project. About 8 grants expected per topic. The portal lists €96M for 2026 (this figure appears to be shared across the challenges).
• Deadline: 28 October 2026 (single stage)
• Link: Open the call on the portal

2. EIC STEP Scale Up – Defence

Difficulty: Competitive

Good fit if… you're a defence-tech SME or small mid-cap with a primary defence product and an investor ready to co-invest.

• Programme: Horizon Europe – EIC (equity only)
• Call ID: HORIZON-EIC-2026-DEFENCE-01
• What it funds: Equity investment to scale companies whose products have a primary defence application in STEP areas (air & missile defence, drones/counter-drones, cyber/AI/electronic warfare, space, maritime, military mobility, and others). Dual-use or mainly civilian solutions should go to the general EIC STEP Scale Up call instead.
• Who qualifies: A single SME or small mid-cap (up to 499 employees) established in the EU, Ukraine or an EEA country. The company needs a pre-commitment for equity from a qualified co-investor (see topic conditions).
• Funding: €10M–€30M equity per company. About 10 investments expected, from a €100M budget.
• Deadline: 28 October 2026
• Link: Open the call on the portal

3. European Prize for Women Innovators (incl. Rising Innovators)

Difficulty: Beginner-friendly

Good fit if… you're a woman founder or co-founder of an innovative company in the EU or an associated country.

• Programme: Horizon Europe – EIC (recognition prize)
• Call ID: HORIZON-EIC-2026-PRIZE-WIP / HORIZON-EIC-2026-PRIZE-WIP-RisingInnovators
• What it funds: Cash prizes for women entrepreneurs behind game-changing innovations. This is a prize, not project funding.
• Who qualifies: Women applying as natural persons who legally reside in an EU Member State or Associated Country and who founded or co-founded an innovative company. The Rising Innovators category has an age limit (proof of age required).
• Funding: Main category €50k–€100k per prize (3 prizes, €220k total). Rising Innovators €20k–€50k (3 prizes, €100k total).
• Deadline: 1 December 2026
• Link: Open the call on the portal

4. EIC Accelerator 2026 (short proposals)

Difficulty: Competitive

Good fit if… you're a single SME or startup with deep tech validated to at least TRL 5 and ambitions to scale.

• Programme: Horizon Europe – EIC Accelerator
• Call ID: HORIZON-EIC-2026-ACCELERATOR-01
• What it funds: Grant plus equity (blended finance) and Business Acceleration Services for deep-tech innovations that have been validated at least to TRL 5, to help them scale and attract investors. It runs as an Open strand and Challenge strands.
• Who qualifies: A single SME, including start-ups, in an EU Member State or Associated Country. Small mid-caps can apply in exceptional cases. Individuals or investors who intend to set up or invest in such an SME can also apply.
• Funding: The portal topic does not list an amount (shown as 0). See the EIC Work Programme 2026 for grant and equity ceilings.
• Deadline: Short proposals can be submitted continuously. The next cut-off listed is 17 December 2026.
• Link: Open the call on the portal

5. European Startup and Scaleup Hubs pilot 🆕

Difficulty: Needs consortium

Good fit if… you run a startup hub, science park or innovation cluster and can join a network of 10+ hubs across Europe.

• Programme: Horizon Europe – European Innovation Ecosystems (Programme Co-fund Action)
• Call ID: HORIZON-EIE-2027-02-CONNECT-01
• What it funds: Networks of deep-tech startup and scaleup hubs that give startups cross-border access to infrastructure, corporates, investors and talent. This can include financial support to third parties, meaning startups may be funded through the selected hubs.
• Who qualifies: Consortia of at least 10 hubs from at least 10 Member States or Associated Countries, with at least 2 hubs in a "widening" country. A letter of intent for 50% complementary funding is required. This one is mainly for hub operators, parks and clusters, not individual startups.
• Funding: €20M per project. About 2 projects expected.
• Deadline: 5 January 2027
• Link: Open the call on the portal

6. Strengthening cybersecurity capacities of European SMEs with cybersecure AI-powered tools

Difficulty: Needs consortium

Good fit if… you provide AI-powered cybersecurity tools or support SMEs with their cyber resilience.

• Programme: Digital Europe Programme – European Cybersecurity Competence Centre (SME Support Actions)
• Call ID: DIGITAL-ECCC-2027-DEPLOY-CYBER-11-AI4SME
• What it funds: Market uptake and deployment of AI-powered cybersecurity tools and services, especially for SMEs, plus training and preparedness auditing.
• Who qualifies: Not summarised in the portal snippet we pulled. Check the topic conditions (Digital Europe eligibility rules apply). Cybersecurity solution providers and SME-support organisations are the likely target.
• Funding: €3M–€5M per project. About 5 projects expected, from a €20M budget.
• Deadline: 14 January 2027
• Link: Open the call on the portal

7. Pilot access schemes to Technology Infrastructures for European startups and scaleups 🆕

Difficulty: Needs consortium

Good fit if… you operate testing or pilot facilities and want to open them to startups and scaleups.

• Programme: Horizon Europe – Cluster 4 (Digital, Industry & Space), Coordination and Support Action
• Call ID: HORIZON-CL4-2027-01-MAT-PROD-47
• What it funds: Simpler and cheaper access schemes for startups, scaleups and innovative SMEs to test, upscale and validate technologies at research and technology facilities (e.g. advanced materials, clean energy, health/biotech).
• Who qualifies: Standard Horizon Europe eligibility (General Annexes A, B and E). Typically suited to technology infrastructure operators working with startup users.
• Funding: €1.5M–€2.5M per project. About 2 projects expected, from a €5M budget.
• Deadline: 2 February 2027 (opened 13 Oct 2026)
• Link: Open the call on the portal

8. Accelerating uptake through open proposals for advanced SME innovation (forthcoming)

Difficulty: Needs consortium

Good fit if… you're a security-tech SME with a near-market solution (TRL 6–8) and research partners.

• Programme: Horizon Europe – Cluster 3 (Civil Security for Society), Innovation Action
• Call ID: HORIZON-CL3-2027-01-SSRI-01
• What it funds: Mature security technologies (TRL 6–8) from SMEs in areas such as fighting crime and terrorism, disaster resilience, border management and resilient infrastructure, with stronger SME and research collaboration.
• Who qualifies: Consortia under standard Horizon Europe rules, built around innovative SMEs (see the topic for SME-specific conditions).
• Funding: €1.5M per project. About 3 projects expected, from a €4.5M budget.
• Deadline: 4 November 2027 (planned opening 5 May 2027). Start planning now.
• Link: Open the call on the portal

EU Funding Radar is an independent newsletter and is not affiliated with the European Commission. Source: EU Funding & Tenders Portal.

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