Eit Opens €8.6m Creative Technology Funding Call

EIT Culture & Creativity has opened funding and accelerator programmes worth up to €8.6 million for European creative technology start-ups and scale-ups.

The current call covers ventures working in audiovisual media, architecture and fashion. Gaming and cultural heritage businesses are expected to be included in further calls planned for 2027.

Two funding tracks are available. Shape Acceleration is aimed at pre-seed and seed-stage companies with early commercial traction, offering financial support of up to €100,000.

Scale Post-Acceleration targets seed-stage businesses that have demonstrated market and investment traction. Companies can receive up to €200,000, rising to €500,000 for those registered in countries covered by the EIT Regional Innovation Scheme.

Both programmes include six months of business support, with coaching, workshops and introductions to investors and industry partners. Participants will also be able to present their businesses at a Demo Day and join EIT Culture & Creativity’s 100-To-Watch list.

Applicants must be registered, for-profit companies based in an EU member state or a country associated with Horizon Europe. They must operate within the eligible cultural and creative sectors and plan to expand in Europe.

“Europe’s cultural and creative industries have never lacked for talent or ideas, but the business support, investor relationships and funding that take a promising venture from product to scale have been harder to come by,” said Anette Schaefer, chief executive of EIT Culture & Creativity.

The initiative follows a separate €600,000 EIT Culture & Creativity call for professional development courses in the audiovisual sector. That programme is supporting training in artificial intelligence, digital storytelling and intellectual property management.

EIT Culture & Creativity was established in 2023 and is supported by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology, an EU body. It operates through regional centres in Amsterdam, Barcelona, Bologna, Helsinki, Košice and Vienna, with its headquarters in Cologne.