The European Innovation Council (EIC) signed 85 investments during the first three quarters of 2026. Its ten largest recipients accounted for approximately €224.1 million in commitments, according to exclusive data shared with EU-Startups. The figures cover commitments signed between January and September and do not represent total funding rounds or confirmed cash disbursements.
Bulgarian SpaceTech company EnduroSat ranked first, with a €34.5 million commitment signed on 17 August. Founded in 2015, it designs, manufactures and operates satellites, offering a satellite-as-a-service model. The company announced a separate €182 million funding round in September, with the EIC among its backers.
Germany’s Reverion came second with €33.3 million across two commitments signed in June and August. The 2022 Technical University of Munich spin-off is developing reversible power plants that generate electricity from gases such as biogas and hydrogen, and convert surplus electricity into storable fuels. Its September Series B raised €154.2 million, with participation from the EIC Fund and other investors.
France’s Pasqal received almost €30 million in January, while German-American fusion company Focused Energy secured a commitment of almost the same amount in May. Pasqal develops quantum computers based on neutral atoms manipulated with lasers and went public on Nasdaq in August. Focused Energy uses lasers in its effort to make nuclear fusion a commercial source of electricity; it announced a €213 million Series A in May, including investment from the EIC Fund.
Dutch photonic chip manufacturer SMART Photonics received €25 million in May. Its chips use light to transmit and process information, with potential applications including telecommunications, data centres, AI infrastructure and sensing. The company is also involved in efforts to expand European manufacturing capacity, including a six-inch wafer pilot line in Eindhoven.
Amsterdam-based Leyden Labs received almost €20 million in April. It is developing nasal sprays intended to protect against respiratory viruses by delivering broadly protective antibodies to the respiratory tract. In June, the company announced a €40 million funding round that included the EIC Fund and other investors.
France’s Quandela secured almost €14 million in July. It develops photonic quantum computers and related software, and in April inaugurated Lucy, a photonic quantum computer installed at France’s CEA computing centre.
Three companies received commitments of around €12.5 million each. Toulouse-based AURA AERO, which is developing electric and hybrid-electric aircraft, received almost €12.5 million in March and announced a €50 million Series B in April. Grenoble-based Quobly, a silicon quantum computing spin-off from CEA-Leti and CNRS, secured almost €12.5 million in May. Its €115 million Series A, announced in June, included the EIC and other investors.
Germany’s Proxima Fusion received approximately €12.48 million in July. The Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics spin-off is developing stellarator-based fusion power plants and working towards an Alpha demonstrator. That month, it also announced a €411 million financing round with participation from the EIC Fund and other investors.
The ranking combines multiple EIC commitments to the same company and uses the original commitment figures; reported amounts are rounded for readability.
Sources: EU-Startups.