The companies were selected in a highly competitive process, in which 242 companies were interviewed by juries of experienced investors and entrepreneurs out of a total of 1083 full proposals submitted. Out of that pool of 1083 European startups, Omegga emerged as one of the lucky 42 winners.
The 42 selected companies will together receive up to €285 million in funding. A large majority of selected companies (62%) will receive the blended finance option, which is a combination of grants and equity investments. The equity investments will be made through the EIC Fund as the dedicated investment fund for EIC Accelerator companies, and which attracts other investors to increase the overall investment to over three times the EIC investment on average. The selected companies have a geographical spread spanning 15 countries, including three widening countries.
"Winning the EIC grant marks a monumental milestone in Omegga’s journey. The whole team is excited to be acknowledged for our unwavering dedication to revolutionize the poultry industry, making it more ethical and resource efficient and to work with the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA) in the upcoming years." - team omegga commented on the success.
Continuing, they reinforced their determination: "Our mission is clear: to end the practice of male chick culling worldwide with the earliest (pre-day 7), most economical and non-invasive sexing technology for chicken embryos based on AI-powered spectroscopy. And to contribute to a more gender-diverse founder scene!"
The EIC Accelerator offers start-ups and SMEs grants of up to €2.5 million combined with equity investments through the EIC Fund ranging from €0.5 to €15 million or more. In addition to financial support, all projects benefit from a range of Business Acceleration Services that provide access to leading expertise, corporates, investors and ecosystem actors.
Companies can submit their ideas to the EIC Accelerator at any time, which are then evaluated within 4-6 weeks. So far over ten thousand startups have submitted ideas since the EIC launch in 2021. For ideas meeting the EIC criteria for excellence, impact and risk-level, companies are invited to prepare full applications to submit to one of the regular cut-off dates. The next cut-off for EIC Accelerator full proposals, as announced in the EIC 2024 work programme is scheduled on 13 March 2024.
Further Links:
Full list of selected companies
Submission results