On the 3rd and 4th of June 2026, the 5th edition of the annual flagship European Innovation Council (EIC) Summit took place in Brussels. The summit addressed strengthening Europe’s competitiveness, tackling the deep-tech scale-up funding gap, and exploring mechanisms to mobilize greater private investment across the continent. Top voices from startups, scaleups, science, corporates, finance, and political decision-makers shared their expertise through visionary sessions, bold and game-changing ideas, and unparalleled networking opportunities. Speakers included Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation Ekaterina Zaharieva, Nobel Prize laureates, corporate and finance leaders, and founders of successful EIC-backed companies
The first major takeaway from the summit was the launch of the EU Innovation Platform; a new digital hub developed as part of the EU Startup and Scaleup Strategy, designed to streamline existing EU innovation support services and tools into a single, accessible entry point. The platform’s core feature is an intelligent recommendation engine that connects registered users with customised services, funding calls, news and events based on their sector, location, innovation maturity and specific needs. Business Angels Europe – A member of the INSME network – is one of the platform’s main partners, contributing to its development and helping shape a more connected European innovation ecosystem.
The second key takeaway from the EIC summit was the official launch of the Scaleup Europe Fund (SEF), a multi-billion late-stage and growth fund aimed at investing in the most promising European deep-tech companies in strategic technology areas. Managed independently by private markets investor EQT and backed by a €5 billion target size, the fund is a direct response to the urgent need for Europe to boost late-stage investments, retain strategic IP within the continent, and close the deep-tech financing gap with global leaders. META Group, one of our members, participated in discussions across the summit program, underlining the critical need for a focus on the earlier stages of the innovation journey. They highlighted why exploitation activities need to begin long before a project reaches its conclusion, noting that understanding potential adopters, market demands, and deployment routes is a continuous exercise in persuasion necessary to transform scientific excellence into real-world applications and tangible market impact
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