The selected startups emerged from a highly competitive process in which 232 companies were interviewed by juries of investors and entrepreneurs. A total of more than 1,000 startups applied. The 75 selected companies will receive a total of €396.7 million in grants and equity investments. The equity investments will be made through the EIC fund, which is now fully operational. Farminsect will receive €2.5 million in a grant and a further €5 million in the next financing round, which the Munich-based startup is currently completing.
Via Instagram Farminsect lets us know:
“Farminsect is very proud to have been selected as one of the most important deeptech startups with a groundbreaking innovation!”
The startup founded in 2019 enables farmers to produce animal feed from insect larvae. To this end, the startup has developed automated fattening systems operated by farmers on their own farms. These farmers themselves fatten the young larvae continuously provided by the startup. The locally produced insect larvae are intended to completely replace soy and fish meal as animal feed. This should increase farmers' resource efficiency and added value, while reducing CO2 emissions.
Funding for European startups
Mariya Gabriel, EU Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, says about the program:
"The Commission recently took an important step in restructuring the European Innovation Council Fund with the appointment of an external fund manager. The EIC Accelerator and the EIC Fund are now fully operational, offering their unique combination of grants, investments, and business acceleration services to the most promising European startups in the field of high-tech. The strong interest in the accelerator program confirms its relevance. I am also pleased with the high participation of companies with female CEOs, but would like to see even more in the future."
Startups can continue to present their ideas Apply to the EIC AcceleratorThey can submit their applications at any time, and they will then be evaluated within approximately four weeks. Those who meet the EIC criteria will be invited to submit a full application by one of the regular deadlines. The next deadline is expected to be January 2023, subject to approval of the EIC Work Programme for 2023.
