The European Innovation Council (EIC) have created a new flagship report showing the ways the startup-corporate has had an impact on collaboration on innovation and competitiveness in Europe
The report works hand in hand with the EU Startup and Scaleup Initiative. It supports the priorities laid out in Mario Draghi’s 2024 report “The Future of European Competitiveness”, which calls for a stronger connection between research, innovation, and market deployment.
Accelerating innovation through collaboration
A big part of this report is the EIC Corporate Partnership Programme (CPP), an initiative launched in 2017 to connect EIC-backed startups and scale-ups with major European corporations.
Over the past seven years, the programme has allowed the creation of more than 1,500 startup-corporate engagements involving over 120 corporate partners. These collaborations have already resulted in more than 100 business agreements and deals.
Through structured matchmaking, expert coaching, and post-engagement support, the CPP creates meaningful, results-oriented partnerships that go beyond traditional innovation events. The programme’s focus on sustained, tailored engagement ensures deeper integration between startups corporations, particularly in high-tech and deep tech sectors.
Overcoming barriers in deep tech
The report highlights the importance of these partnerships in helping startups, especially in the deep tech sector, overcome significant barriers such as long development timelines, access to industrial infrastructure, and capital-intensive scaling requirements.
For corporates, the benefits are in early access to cutting-edge, disruptive technologies that can drive competitive advantage and support their innovation pipelines.
Four pillars of effective collaboration
According to the report, successful corporate-startup partnerships rest on four key pillars:
- Strategic alignment between startup innovations and corporate goals
- Mutual commitment to long-term value creation
- Skills and capabilities required to manage innovation partnerships
- Early-stage experimentation, including pilot projects and proofs-of-concept
These foundations allow for deeper integration and higher success rates than more conventional, event-based approaches to innovation.
Formats that produce results
The CPP has tested a variety of formats for startup-corporate engagement. In-person, single-corporate events consistently produce the highest number of business deals. Meanwhile, online and multi-corporate formats expand visibility and increase the reach of participating startups. Overall, the programme has a 92% satisfaction rate among EIC-funded companies, confirming its role as a powerful accelerator of startup growth and corporate innovation.
Trends and best practices
The report also shows some emerging trends and evolving models in startup-corporate collaboration. It includes case studies of successful partnerships and outlines best practices in corporate venturing.
European technological leadership
By working with the objectives of the New European Innovation Agenda and the EU’s broader competitiveness strategy, the CPP contributes to Europe’s efforts to strengthen its technological leadership and strategic autonomy. It also reinforces the European Commission’s commitment to creating a thriving innovation ecosystem where startups and scaleups can grow into global tech leaders.
Open call for corporate partners
The EIC continues to invite large corporations with an interest in open innovation to join the Corporate Partnership Programme. Ideal partners are those looking to integrate cutting-edge technologies from startups into their R&D, procurement, or investment activities.
With over 80 initiatives already organised and a growing network of top-tier corporate partners, the CPP stands as a leading model for scaling European innovation through strategic collaboration.
