Deadline Date: January 25, 2026
The EUDIS Business Accelerator supports a cohort of 20 startups and scaleups through an 8 month defence accelerator programme focused on strengthening their position in the European defence industrial ecosystem.
The programme focus includes tailored coaching and training, onsite boot camps across different regions of Europe, access to testing facilities, non-dilutive seed funding, strategic networking in the European defence ecosystem, workshops from top-tier defence experts, unique access to realistic validation and simulation environments, and support aligned with defined defence technology themes. The accelerator will run two cohorts in 2026, with the spring cohort starting in March and the fall cohort starting in September. Each selected company participates in an intensive 8 month programme designed to strengthen its role within the European defence industrial ecosystem.
The programme includes five onsite boot camps across different regions of Europe, connecting participants with defence industry leaders, defence end-users, and investors. Continuous networking opportunities are provided through onsite and virtual activities such as site visits, panel discussions, after works, and pitch sessions. Participants benefit from tailored coaching and ad-hoc expertise hours delivered at a designated accelerator site, along with access to an on-demand physical workspace and integration into the local system. Companies receive more than 300 hours of expert coaching from coaches and experts of the defence industry, covering both technological and business development aspects.
Companies are granted access to testing facilities that allow them to validate and simulate their solutions in realistic scenarios. Each participating company is eligible for a non-dilutive €120,000 seed funding voucher, awarded based on progress toward objectives set at the beginning of the programme, with an additional reward voucher attributed to the top performing startups in the cohort.
Eligibility is assessed on a rolling basis during the selection phase and includes requirements related to financial capability, technology theme relevance, localization within an EU Member State or Norway, and company maturity, including an established management team and full-time employees covering technology and business development. The programme is open to start-ups and scale-ups developing solutions for the defence industry that are not controlled by entities based outside the EU or Norway.
For more information, visit EUDIS.
