Unlocking Europe’s deep tech: Inside the new Horizon Startup and Scaleup Hubs pilot

The European Commission has just announced the European Startup and Scaleup Hubs Pilot Call, a flagship initiative under the newly adopted Horizon Europe Work Programme 2026–2027. With a total budget of €14 billion, the programme aims to strengthen Europe’s research and innovation capacity in line with the EU’s strategic priorities. 

Within this framework, the new pilot call — part of Horizon Europe’s European Innovation Ecosystems (EIE) programme — dedicates €20 million to building more connected, inclusive and efficient innovation ecosystems across Europe. Its objective is clear: to unlock the growth and scaling potential of European deep-tech startups and scaleups by reinforcing collaboration between leading and emerging innovation hubs. 

The context

Europe has set a clear ambition: to become the most attractive place in the world to start and grow technology-driven companies. This vision is at the heart of the EU Startup and Scaleup Strategy, which recognises that vibrant startup and scaleup ecosystems are essential to boosting productivity, creating quality jobs, and attracting talent and investment. 

Yet, according to the Commission’s Directorate-General for Research and Innovation, this ambition continues to face structural challenges. Fragmented markets, limited access to finance and talent, regulatory complexity, and uneven innovation capacity still constrain Europe’s performance. Over the past 25 years, the continent has shown difficulties in fully capturing the opportunities offered by innovation and digitalisation. 

Startups and scaleups are particularly affected. While they play a crucial role in commercialising disruptive technologies, many struggle to scale. Europe hosts several innovation clusters, but these often remain less mature and generate lower value than other comparable ecosystems. At the same time, insufficient interconnectivity between European hubs limits their ability to develop and scale complex technologies across borders. 

A call to support startup and scaleup hubs 

The European Startup and Scaleup Hubs Pilot Call directly addresses these challenges by supporting the creation of strong, pan-European networks that enable deep-tech startups to scale across regions and markets. 

Evidence shows that startups and scaleups thrive in environments where critical resources are concentrated, including strong research capabilities, access to finance, effective support systems, deep talent pools, and accessible markets. The new call aims to reinforce these conditions by: 

• Interconnecting 10 to 18 leading and emerging startup and scaleup hubs rooted in strong research ecosystems 
• Accelerating the creation and growth of European deep-tech startups through improved access to key resources 
• Creating bridges to existing European support schemes, such as the European Innovation Council (EIC), and the EIC Scaling Club. 

The call in practice 

The call specifically targets startup and scaleup hubs that have: 

• Strong research and innovation capacity
• A solid talent base supported by education, training and management programmes 
• Dedicated startup and scaleup support services (incubators, accelerators, mentoring) 
• Dense innovation networks linking entrepreneurs, investors, mentors and researchers 
• Access to professional services such as legal, regulatory and financial advice 

The successful proposal is expected to contribute to consolidating ecosystems, including strengthening dynamic entrepreneurial networks, promoting deep tech research and innovation collaboration, scaling up startup companies, and building capacity in advanced technologies. Funded activities will include improving access to research and innovation infrastructures, supporting networking and community-building initiatives, facilitating access to funding at EU and local level, and promoting knowledge transfer and peer learning between startup and scaleup hubs. 

The conditions 

The call is open from 12 December 2025 to 10 March 2026 and supports one action with a total budget of €20 million, an expected duration of two years, and a 50% co-funding requirement. 

To be admissible, the proposal must demonstrate its contribution to strengthening Europe-wide innovation networks and enabling deep-tech startups to scale across borders, including: 

• Supporting the cross-border expansion of European deep-tech startups 
• Building strong alliances between startup and scaleup hubs linked to research and higher education 
• Improving access to investors, corporates, talent and infrastructure 
• Integrating less-connected hubs into Europe-wide innovation networks 
• Mobilising additional public and private investment into deep-tech ventures 

The consortium must include at least 10 startup or scaleup hubs from 10 different EU Member States or Horizon Europe Associated Countries: countries with up to 35 million inhabitants may include one hub, while larger countries may include up to two. At least two hubs must come from “widening countries”, supporting a more balanced European innovation landscape and wider integration with neighbouring countries.

All details, conditions and the application procedure can be found on the EU Funding & Tenders Portal.   

What’s next

By investing in stronger connections between innovation hubs, the European Startup and Scaleup Hubs Pilot will be followed by more funding calls as the new Horizon Europe work programme unfolds, translating the EU’s innovation agenda into concrete actions and fostering Europe’s economic resilience, strategic autonomy and competitiveness.