The winning teams of the EIC Accelerator were selected in a highly competitive process. Of the 1,083 applications submitted, 242 companies were interviewed by a jury of experienced investors and entrepreneurs. The final selection fell on 42 European startups, seven of which were from Germany and one from Munich, Omegga.
Non-invasive solution for sex determination of chicken embryos
Omega is a BiotechA company that aims to solve the ethical dilemma in the poultry industry with its in-ovo sexing technology. Billions of male chicks are killed worldwide because they are of no interest to the industry either as egg-laying or as meat suppliers. Routine chick culling was banned in Germany at the beginning of 2022. Omegga's technology starts before hatching: A purely optical, non-invasive solution is designed to determine the sex of chicken embryos – before the seventh day of incubation, when the embryo's sensory perception is not yet developed. The company writes on LinkedIn:
"Our mission is clear: to end the practice of culling male chicks worldwide with the earliest (before day seven), most economical, and non-invasive technology for sexing chicken embryos based on AI-assisted spectroscopy."
The Munich-based startup will receive funding totaling 2.4 million euros.
285 million euros in funding
In total, the 42 selected companies will receive up to €285 million in funding. The vast majority of the selected companies will receive the option of blended financing, a combination of grants and equity investments. The equity investments will be made through the EIC Fund, which was established specifically for EIC Accelerator companies and is designed to attract additional investors to increase total investment to an average of three times the EIC investment.
In most cases, companies will receive the grants within the next two to three months, while the first investment decisions will be made within two months, depending on the urgency of the companies' needs. A further 193 applications that met all criteria during the remote assessment phase and were positively assessed by the EIC panel, but for which sufficient funding was not available, will receive a Seal of Excellence to help them find alternative sources of financing, including from the Economic Recovery and Resilience Fund and the European Regional Development Fund.
