European Startup and Scaleup Hubs pilot
EU Funding & Tenders Portal HORIZON-EIE-2027-02-CONNECT-01 · Horizon Europe (HORIZON)
| Funder | European Commission |
|---|---|
| Status | open |
| Opens | 06 Oct 2026 |
| Deadline | 05 Jan 2027 — 67 days |
| Action | HORIZON Programme Cofund Actions |
| Official page | https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/portal/screen/opportunit… |
| Last checked | 2026-10-30 06:02:40+00:00 |
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| Instrument | HORIZON-COFUND |
|---|---|
| Stages | single-stage |
| EU contribution | €20.0m per project |
| Projects expected | 2, sharing €40.0m |
From the Commission's own budget table for this call. Confirm against the topic page before you plan around it: these move when a work programme is amended.
Scope
Expected Outcome: Projects under this topic will contribute to the following outcomes: Accelerate market expansion for European deep tech startups across EU regions and beyond by fostering collaboration and mutual support among European deep tech startup ecosystem actors; Interconnect top-tier tech startup and scaleup hubs embedded in research, technology and higher education ecosystems; Enable cross-border access to infrastructures, facilities, corporates, investors and talents to deep tech startups and scaleups, including those funded by the European Innovation Council (EIC); Enable more European deep tech startups, including women-led startups and scaleups, to succeed scaling into globally competitive companies; Strengthen less-connected innovation hubs by integrating them into a Europe-wide collaborative network; Boost private and public investment in deep tech ventures established within the participating innovation hubs. Scope: This action builds upon the EU’s strategic vision outlined in the EU Competitiveness Compass [1] , the EIC scaling strategy [2] , and the EU Startup and Scaleup Strategy [3] . It aligns with the objectives of strengthening Europe’s deep tech capabilities, increasing regional innovation cohesion and supporting the growth of globally competitive companies. The EU must act decisively to close the innovation gap with other world regions by enabling more commercial successes based on its scientific excellence. While Europe generates world-class research, European deep tech startups often struggle to scale into global champions. The European Startup & Scaleup Hubs (ESSH) pilot will address this structural weakness by creating strong networks of European leading and emerging startup ecosystems that bring together research and higher education institutions, research and technology organisations, corporates, entrepreneurs and investors, while also encouraging these innovation hubs to expand their activities. The action aims to pilot two networks of around 10-18 ESSHs — highly capable startup and scaleup hubs building on the research strength of leading higher education institutions and research and technology organisations, demonstrating strong track records in venture building, scaling, and investment attraction as well as providing networking opportunities and entrepreneurial education. These hubs shall collaborate across borders to: Better interconnect their innovation ecosystems to support the scaling of deep tech startups through better access to research, talents, corporates, capital, infrastructures, facilities and mentoring. …
What consortia for this call have looked like
6 projects
have been funded under this line
(HORIZON-EIE-CONNECT-01) in Horizon Europe and H2020. This is what they
were made of — not a recommendation, just what the Commission signed.
range 7–24
26 seen across all of them
across those projects
The mix of organisations
Who coordinated them
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