On 6 January 2021, the European Commission announced the first round of equity investments through the European Innovation Council (EIC) Fund. These investments total €178 million, benefiting 42 start-ups and SMEs in the fields of health, the circular economy, advanced manufacturing and other areas.

Since December 2019, over 293 companies have already been selected under the EIC Accelerator programme to receive approximately €563 million in the form of grants: of these, 159 will additionally receive an equity component from the EIC Fund. The 42 companies referred to belong to the first group of companies that have successfully passed the evaluation and due diligence phase.

The first company to receive a direct equity investment from the EIC Fund is the French firm CorWave, which, thanks to the €15 million equity investment from the fund, has managed to raise a total of €35 million from additional investors. CorWave will therefore be able to bring to market the LVAD (“Left Ventricular Assist Device”), a medical solution that will significantly improve the lives of people suffering from advanced heart failure, halving the rate of serious complications and the need for hospital readmission.

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