You are currently viewing EU Launches Third Women TechEU Round with €12 Million for Deep Tech Founders
The image used is for informational purposes only. Image Source: https://eic.ec.europa.eu/

EU Launches Third Women TechEU Round with €12 Million for Deep Tech Founders

Prime Highlights

  • The EU has launched the third edition of Women TechEU, offering €12 million in equity-free grants to 160 women-led deep tech startups across Europe.
  • Startups from just three previous cohorts collectively raised over €53.8 million in private funding, returning six euros for every one euro invested by the EU.

Key Facts

  • The programme has supported 344 women-led companies since 2021, with the latest edition run by a 15-organisation consortium led by Sploro, AwakenHub and AcrossLimits through 2028.
  • Forty percent of the new edition’s budget is reserved exclusively for companies based in widening regions, with applications open through weekly cut-offs until 13 July 2027.

Background

The European Union has opened applications for the third edition of Women TechEU, committing another €12 million in equity-free grants to women leading deep tech startups across Europe.

A total of 160 selected companies will each receive €75,000 in non-dilutive funding along with mentoring, training, investor matchmaking and networking support.

The programme has run since 2021 and has backed 344 women-led companies across six cohorts to date. The first external edition of the project closed in May this year after drawing 3,792 applications from 43 eligible countries. A 15-organisation consortium, led by Sploro alongside core partners AwakenHub and AcrossLimits, will run this latest edition through to 2028.

The numbers behind the programme make a strong case for its continued funding. Startups from just three Women TechEU cohorts collectively raised over €53.8 million in private funding within a year, delivering a 6:1 return on the €9 million in EU grants invested.

This edition brings several changes. A two-phase application process now separates the eligibility check from the full proposal, cutting down on wasted effort from ineligible applicants.

Forty percent of the budget goes exclusively to companies based in widening regions, addressing geographic inequality within the EU. The programme will also work harder to connect founders with private investors and corporates, and will prepare beneficiaries to apply for EIC Accelerator funding.

The impact of the programme showed up recently at the 2026 EIC Summit in Brussels, where Judit Giró Benet, founder of The Blue Box and a Women TechEU alumna from the 2021 cohort, won the runner-up European Prize for Women Innovators in the Rising Innovators category.

The eligibility application phase opened on 1 June 2026, with weekly cut-offs every Tuesday from 30 June 2026. The final eligibility deadline falls on 13 July 2027, with full proposal submissions opening in July 2026 across four deadlines.